WAG long commutes

[BarCoach]

Hi,
I recall there might be someone on here that drives 80 mi. to their gym. Or maybe it is 80 minutes.

I'd love to hear from anyone who drives over an hour to do gym. What is the drive like? Does the gymnast eat and do homework in the car? How long have you been doing the drive for? Is it worth it?
Thanks!

 

[MILgymFAM]

My DDs gym is an hour away without traffic (we are in the Bay Area, so traffic is a definite thing). We are lucky that it is a reverse commute though. My DD is homeschooled, so it's daytime practices, six days a week (23 hours).

She eats breakfast in the car on the way to gym, and sometimes reads school assigned books. On the way home she eats lunch and then does Spanish homework the rest of the way. During her practices I usually sit at the library near the gym, except when it's closed. Saturday mornings she has to get up at 6:45 for practice starting at 8:30. That's the roughest. She sometimes sleeps half the ride, and I have to sit in the car the whole practice.

We've only been doing it for a month so far- her previous gym was 15-30 minutes away from home. It's unequivocally worth it.

 

[Gymmom5]

My DD started gymnastics 55 min away when she was 6 and started with level 4. When she started optionals at age 9 we had to switch gyms and the commute grew to 75 min. one way. We did this until she was 18, graduated high school, and started d1 college gymnastics. We had no choice as we live in a very rural area. On the way down after a full day of school (and sometimes track/diving practice) she ate and slept. On the way home we chatted and sometimes she slept. She rarely did homework - too dark on the way home, not ideal setting, etc. Saturday mornings were def the hardest. Parents were welcome to watch so sometimes I watched, sometimes I shopped, sometimes other parents and I socialized, and I joined an exercise class. It was, without a doubt, worth it. The relationship that my DD and I have is unbelievable. She still calls regularly to chat about her day. And, of course, she found something she loves, is good at, and has helped to make her a better person.

 

[txgymfan]

Gymmom5, we have heard about different experiences in D1 gymnastics, on another thread I would love to hear your DD's and your unvarnished and brutally honest opinions of the highs, lows and daily ins and outs of being on a college team.

I'm so glad you think all the commute hours were worth it.

 

[bookworm]

80 miles each way...that would be me.....with traffic ( aka always) takes a minimum of 2 hours to get to gym...yes, they ate in the car on the way home ( I would make a dinner and zap it in the microwave so they could eat on the way home) and then they would do homework...I always drove with the interior lights on in my van so I looked like a city bus! And I did the 80 mile trek ( 160 RT) for 5 years.....

Was it worth it? In a word , yes...we had an amazing coach that really nurtured and brought the best out of both my girls. Although to be honest, I wouldn't consider that long of a commute for below level 9...

 

[Gymmom5]

Gymmom5, we have heard about different experiences in D1 gymnastics, on another thread I would love to hear your DD's and your unvarnished and brutally honest opinions of the highs, lows and daily ins and outs of being on a college team.

I'm so glad you think all the commute hours were worth it.

I did post on the current thread "Ugly side of collegiate gymnastics" with my take of the current Penn St situation. My DD has had a good, hard first year. A close team, with supportive teammates, makes all the difference in the world!

 

[tomtnt]

wow, those are long drives. you parents are the real superstars! I hope your daughters experess their gratitude on a dailyl basis. I feel bad complaining about our 15 minute bike commute to the gym.

 

[3gymgirls]

We drive about 70 miles which takes between 75 and 80 minutes depending on traffic and road construction. My daughters on team are 9 and 7 and have just finished a level 2 competitive season. They practice 2 times a week for 90 minutes, and my 5 year old in rec practices one of the same evenings.
At their age, they don't often have homework, but they do typically do any homework and eat dinner in the car as well. It is a great opportunity to talk about their day.
We have been doing this drive since the oldest started rec gymnastics 6 years ago. For us, it is worth it as all of the closest gyms are over an hour away and my girls all love the sport.

 

[duyetanh]

We too have no choice but to drive. So drive we do. 55 to an hour without roadwork, traffic, and/or weather. Which incidentally abound on this commute.
Sighhhh...
I will admit some days I wish she had glommed on to a different sport. But where we live, it is limited anyway...we probably would still be driving at least half the distance.
Siggggghhhh...

 

[sewgood]

We drive about 45-50 minutes from their school (and my work is another 30 minutes from there, so MY commute is even longer than theirs). There isn't much of a choice, so what are you going to do, kwim? They love gym, so I make it happen.

 

[Torimom12]

I give you guys credit! I have a half hour drive to my DD gym and it is a pleasure. I experienced driving over an hour and a half for my sons ice hockey and after a year, I couldn't do it anymore. My husband and I would take turns but a lot of times he couldn't get home from work in time to leave so I was stuck doing it most nights. It took a toll on me, my son, my daughter (who had to come because she was little) my car and his school work was slipping. We thought it was the right decision for coaching but the benefit didn't outway the driving.
Kudos to you who say it's worth it!

 

[duyetanh]

It's worth it when you have no other options and your kid lives and breathes for it...but we originally were at a gym 15 min away that folded. We probably would have never started the sport otherwise...I wouldn't have driven as far as I do now for a rec class.

 

[GiantFlyaway]

Now that I have my license, I drive my own 1 1/2 hour commute (both ways)! When my parents drove, I ate in the car- parents would do a slow cooker thing or soup and bring me some in a thermos to eat on the way up, and a little extra that I'd heat up before leaving, to eat on the way home. I do this now just with a little more caution.

When they drove I did homework in the car, slept, caught up on sleep, etc. Although it sounds crazy (and it is!) it is SO worth it. My old gym was so toxic. I have flourished as both a person and an athlete there. It is worth it in that sort of circumstance.

 

[CLgym]

This thread came at a perfect time for me -- we are currently contemplating a gym move (in order to move from Xcel to JO) -- which would increase commute time to/from gym from 5 minutes to 30-45 minutes, five days per week. And it's a lousy commute. Only 9 miles from home but because of stop-and-go city traffic, can take up to 45 minutes or more one way. Last week we did a trial week, and the commute was really hard on me. Because I left my pre-teen and teenage boys at home, I drove back and forth -- rather than staying. By the time a got home, I had no more than an hour and a half before doing it all over again. Enough time to throw some dinner on the table for the boys and make sure homework was started...

For those with longer commute times, do you stay? Drive home? Take or leave older kids? And speaking of older kiddos, how do you get them to/from their activities (this was a problem one day last week for us)? Has anyone hired a babysitter just to help with the drive, or even a transportation service? I've reached out to the new gym re: carpooling options, but haven't heard back. Thanks for any words of wisdom!

 

[GymDad9.9]

This thread came at a perfect time for me -- we are currently contemplating a gym move (in order to move from Xcel to JO) -- which would increase commute time to/from gym from 5 minutes to 30-45 minutes, five days per week. And it's a lousy commute. Only 9 miles from home but because of stop-and-go city traffic, can take up to 45 minutes or more one way. Last week we did a trial week, and the commute was really hard on me. Because I left my pre-teen and teenage boys at home, I drove back and forth -- rather than staying. By the time a got home, I had no more than an hour and a half before doing it all over again. Enough time to throw some dinner on the table for the boys and make sure homework was started...

For those with longer commute times, do you stay? Drive home? Take or leave older kids? And speaking of older kiddos, how do you get them to/from their activities (this was a problem one day last week for us)? Has anyone hired a babysitter just to help with the drive, or even a transportation service? I've reached out to the new gym re: carpooling options, but haven't heard back. Thanks for any words of wisdom!

Nothing worse than a 9 mile drive from home taking 45 minutes. Ugh.

As for car pooling I would try to find out if anyone else training at the gym at the same time is from your area and would speak to parents as well as asking the gym. Good luck.

 

[MILgymFAM]

This thread came at a perfect time for me -- we are currently contemplating a gym move (in order to move from Xcel to JO) -- which would increase commute time to/from gym from 5 minutes to 30-45 minutes, five days per week. And it's a lousy commute. Only 9 miles from home but because of stop-and-go city traffic, can take up to 45 minutes or more one way. Last week we did a trial week, and the commute was really hard on me. Because I left my pre-teen and teenage boys at home, I drove back and forth -- rather than staying. By the time a got home, I had no more than an hour and a half before doing it all over again. Enough time to throw some dinner on the table for the boys and make sure homework was started...

For those with longer commute times, do you stay? Drive home? Take or leave older kids? And speaking of older kiddos, how do you get them to/from their activities (this was a problem one day last week for us)? Has anyone hired a babysitter just to help with the drive, or even a transportation service? I've reached out to the new gym re: carpooling options, but haven't heard back. Thanks for any words of wisdom!

I stay. We already have 9,000 miles on our four month old car, so I would never add more miles than I have to. My other dd stays home most days. We chose my ODDs program, in part, because it was a day program. All of the evening programs had insurmountable logistical issues- my YDD practices three evenings (and one morning) a week, and I haven't figured out how to be in two places at once yet. Carpools would be the most common solution to those sorts of problems, but they only work if your kids go to school with teammates or you live near them- never an option for us.

 

[GymDad9.9]

God Bless All You Parents With Long Commutes! And short ones too!

 

[samsmama]

Our commute is 45-55 minutes each way. It's not terrible. DS practices 4:30-8:30 so I drop him off, go home for a couple hours and have dinner with DD, then go pick him up. He gets out of school at 4, so I pick him up 15 minutes early and he has a snack and changes in the car. He also has a snack on the drive home. He's only in 3rd grade, so no homework generally, but that's going to be a huge challenge over the next few years!

 

[duyetanh]

I SO stay, but we only have one kiddo. But it doesn't make sense for me to drive a total of 4 hrs for a 4 he practice. That's what works for us though;everyone's situation is different.

 

[rosiekat]

My trip to the gym isn't far in off hours, but because of a bad intersection, I have to plan on it taking 30 minutes each way. DS only has 2-hour practices right now, so it wouldn't make sense to drive there and back and there and back, 2 hours of driving for 1 hour at home.

I was mostly chiming in to address the question above about juggling times, hiring babysitters just to drive, etc. My kids are both elementary age, but DS goes to the school you can see from our driveway while DD goes to a charter school 45 minutes away. Of course, they both start and dismiss at the same time. We use various combinations - DH and I trade off who does the long drive in mornings, as I don't work and his work is about halfway in between the school and home. Afternoons, we have a mix. Son does an after school program 3 days of the week, I pay someone I know to drive DD home 2 days and to the gym 1 day, DH picks up DD 1 day then I drive to his office as soon as I can and get her. We're looking at perhaps having to use DD's afterschool program some next year, as well as sometimes one of those services you can hire that is basically like a taxi service for kids, but with a regular driver. I also know people who have shared a nanny's hours and hired the nanny just to do the drive.