Hobbies

The Wild Bunch

Hey all

New year, new start and all that.

Basically my missus says I need a hobby. Literally all I do is work 50 hours and in my free time I drink beer, gamble and play Football Manager- not conducive to a healthy lifestyle or bank balance! I have zero other hobbies!

What do fellow Gentleman do as a main hobby in their free time and do you guys have any recommendations?

Cheers

Fat Christy

Badminton and hiking - love them both! Planning on running more this year as well!!

Starscream25

Fairly expensive to get into but motorbiking is great fun aswell as the smaller DIY jobs you can do yourself with them.i changed my brake pads the other day, never knew I had it in me.

Mr_Muffin

I am also looking for new hobbies. I have a few at the moment - i play for a soccer team, hit the gym a few days a week and also do some cycling when the weather is good enough so it's all basically sports or exercising at the moment.

I think it's nice to have hobbies that you can do on your own but also have a few that allow you to mix with others and potentially meet some new people.

I am also interested to see what others do as hobbies as i would like to maybe try some new things this year.

Jawgap

Cycling - don't do it, it's addictive and you end up having to replace all your clothes when you lose weight!

On a more serious note - I got into cycling to lose weight and moved on from that. Then the cycle to work scheme came along and I encouraged my wife to get a bike - she's since sold that and bought a better bike!

It's a nice activity to do together. It doesn't have to be done to excess - plenty of mornings we just hop on the bikes and take a spin to a coffee shop or, in the summer, to have an ice cream. Sometimes, we just throw some food in a back pack and head off for a few hours, and have a picnic along the way.

We've also taken the bikes to various parts of the country and did some cycling there - a great start is the Western Greenway.

My other main hobby is shooting - clay pigeons that is. It can be expensive to get started but it's a pleasant morning out and it's very sociable. If you are competitively inclined there are also plenty of competitions to enter.

Lovely Bloke

Home Brewing.

Start off with a kit or two (there are kits available that will make some pretty decent beer), then move on to Extract Brews, where you control more of the flavour and ingredients, takes approx 6 weeks from brew day to drinkable beers.

Me and my buddies brew every 3 weeks, and it works out to less than a euro a pint, even including the odd equipment purchase.

You can go as deep into it as you like, recently we made a lovely IPA that we will be entering into competitions in the Spring.

There is a very good forum right here on Boards, lots of good advice from experienced guys.

flyingsnail

I took up fixing and running steam trains at weekends, now I don't have time for other hobbies

boobar

I took up cycling last Summer...not road racing...but cycling around country dirt tracks on a hybrid...really enjoyed it, great way to clear the head and improve health.

I bought an SLR camera a good while ago...expensive hobby when you start purchasing new lenses...I'm signing up for a photography course in January

I'm in the gym now as well...not really doing it for me.

sheesh

can you sing?

Choral singing is a nice interest you have your fixed hours of rehearsal and occasional concerts it is easy to plan around it too.

Photography: expensive enough but nice reason to get out

Hiking: really good and social too if you join a club.

fishing: nice easy going hobby but can get a bit obsessive too.

The Wild Bunch

My one regret is giving up on the guitar when I was 19 - I was starting to get really good but once booze and birds kicked in, I put it down for good.

Will dust down my old acoustic and re-string it - probably too old at 29 but one can still dream of being a rock star!

Cycling is also a terrific shout

AdFundum

Hiking is a good one. It's cheap and good for fitness. Over time, you might get binoculars and hiking becomes bird-watching. Both are enjoyable. If you like making things, a wood-turning class or woodwork class of some kind might be interesting. And languages - the alliance francais and the Goethe institute do courses.

Pawwed Rig

Running is an easy one as all you need is a pair of runners and off you go. There are plenty of all ability weekly events that will keep the motivation up.
A more expensive option is scuba diving. Ireland is a great place for it and there are tonnes of clubs all over

ancapailldorcha

Pawwed Rig wrote: »

Running is an easy one as all you need is a pair of runners and off you go. There are plenty of all ability weekly events that will keep the motivation up.
A more expensive option is scuba diving. Ireland is a great place for it and there are tonnes of clubs all over

I was thinking of getting into running. Don't you need custom special shoes? I've seen a few places here with ads for them.

AdFundum

ancapailldorcha wrote: »

I was thinking of getting into running. Don't you need custom special shoes? I've seen a few places here with ads for them.

You can start with a good fitting pair of asics trainers for dirt cheap Then, if you stick with it, you can upgrade. If you are just running for fun, there is no need for all the gear really. Just make sure whatever trainers you use have decent cushioning and are a good fit.

Tramps Like Us

Jawgap wrote: »

Cycling - don't do it, it's addictive and you end up having to replace all your clothes when you lose weight!

On a more serious note - I got into cycling to lose weight and moved on from that. Then the cycle to work scheme came along and I encouraged my wife to get a bike - she's since sold that and bought a better bike!

It's a nice activity to do together. It doesn't have to be done to excess - plenty of mornings we just hop on the bikes and take a spin to a coffee shop or, in the summer, to have an ice cream. Sometimes, we just throw some food in a back pack and head off for a few hours, and have a picnic along the way.

We've also taken the bikes to various parts of the country and did some cycling there - a great start is the Western Greenway.

My other main hobby is shooting - clay pigeons that is. It can be expensive to get started but it's a pleasant morning out and it's very sociable. If you are competitively inclined there are also plenty of competitions to enter.

How does the bike to work scheme work?

Pawwed Rig

AdFundum wrote: »

You can start with a good fitting pair of asics trainers for dirt cheap Then, if you stick with it, you can upgrade. If you are just running for fun, there is no need for all the gear really. Just make sure whatever trainers you use have decent cushioning and are a good fit.

This exactly

Customs are for when you want to take things a little more seriously but before that any brand designed for jogging are fine. The biggest issue in running is the motivation factor. As you are in the UK join one of these http://www.parkrun.org.uk/events/events/
These are mixed ability 'fun runs' that happen every week. They are timed events so you can track your progress. Also a great place for meeting people and waking yourself up on a Saturday morning.

available in Ireland too http://www.parkrun.ie/

Jawgap

Tramps Like Us wrote: »

How does the bike to work scheme work?

Your employer buys you a bike and 'gives' it to you. You pay for the bike by having the amount (no more than 1k) taken from your salary. The salary 'sacrifice' is not counted for tax purposes - in other words, the money is removed then your tax liability is calculated therefore you are effectively getting about a 42% discount on a new bike.

As they say, other terms and conditions apply, but that's essentially it. the employer also benefits by not having to pay the PRSI on the money used to buy the bike.

There's a thread on it in Cycling

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056382170#

My own advice would be spend it all on the bike - avoid package deals that include lights, helmets etc. And buy more 'bike' than you need - if the bug bites you don't want to be changing bikes in 6 months to get a better 'steed' to suit your expanding hobby.

Unfortunately if you're self-employed you can't avail of the scheme.

Tramps Like Us

Jawgap wrote: »

Your employer buys you a bike and 'gives' it to you. You pay for the bike by having the amount (no more than 1k) taken from your salary. The salary 'sacrifice' is not counted for tax purposes - in other words, the money is removed then your tax liability is calculated therefore you are effectively getting about a 42% discount on a new bike.

As they say, other terms and conditions apply, but that's essentially it. the employer also benefits by not having to pay the PRSI on the money used to buy the bike.

There's a thread on it in Cycling

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056382170#

My own advice would be spend it all on the bike - avoid package deals that include lights, helmets etc. And buy more 'bike' than you need - if the bug bites you don't want to be changing bikes in 6 months to get a better 'steed' to suit your expanding hobby.

Unfortunately if you're self-employed you can't avail of the scheme.

that sounds great, my employer definitely does it I'll have to do that. Thanks.... now to decide what bike haha

syklops

I, too, have identified a need for a non-technical hobby. My job and all my existing hobbies are all technical in nature which requires large amounts of internet based research. Effectively meaning, I spend the bulk of my waking time in front of a computer.

So having taken advice from friends, I bought myself a model air plane kit which I intend to start soon. I'm also considering taking up chess and joining a chess group. I'ts not so much what you do, its the doing of something different.

I'm also open to other ideas.

Lardy

Field Archery is great hobby for getting out and about. Meet lots of new people and clubs shoot pretty much every week. Great fun and exorcise.

Jawgap

Tramps Like Us wrote: »

that sounds great, my employer definitely does it I'll have to do that. Thanks.... now to decide what bike haha

A lot of people are put off by drop bar (racing bikes) - don't be. At the very least look at a fast hybrid (flat handle bars, skinny tyres etc). They're more fun and more adaptable - as someone suggested earlier in the thread, you can go off road on to light trails, canal towpaths etc.

Avoid mountain bikes unless you are going to go up and down actual mountains!

And avoid anything with a suspension.

Pawwed Rig

Jawgap wrote: »

Avoid mountain bikes unless you are going to go up and down actual mountains!

And avoid anything with a suspension.

That is what I have and cycling on the road with it is slow going. Mine was helpfully referred to a a bso* in the cycling forum

*bike shaped object:pac:

Gormley85

flyingsnail wrote: »

I took up fixing and running steam trains at weekends, now I don't have time for other hobbies

That sounds interesting. Have you any other info on this. How to get started. Where to buy etc

Tramps Like Us

Jawgap wrote: »

A lot of people are put off by drop bar (racing bikes) - don't be. At the very least look at a fast hybrid (flat handle bars, skinny tyres etc). They're more fun and more adaptable - as someone suggested earlier in the thread, you can go off road on to light trails, canal towpaths etc.

Avoid mountain bikes unless you are going to go up and down actual mountains!

And avoid anything with a suspension.

I cycle to and from work (ok its only ten/15 mins each way) on a mountain bike so I'd be getting a road bike, there's just so many

flyingsnail

Gormley85 wrote: »

That sounds interesting. Have you any other info on this. How to get started. Where to buy etc

I do it with the railway preservation society of Ireland as part of their Dublin based operations (there is also work done in Belfast / Whitehead). To start all you really need is a pair of steel toe boots, some overalls / clothes you will never see clean again and membership in the society (Required for insurance).

We are kind of wound down for the next week or two taking a break after Christmas, if you are interested in joining the team i suggest you send a message via the facebook page below.

http://steamtrainsireland.com/
https://www.facebook.com/RPSIDublin

Jawgap

Pawwed Rig wrote: »

That is what I have and cycling on the road with it is slow going. Mine was helpfully referred to a a bso* in the cycling forum

*bike shaped object:pac:

MTBs have knobbly tyres - more rubber in contact with the road means more friction means greater effort.

Likewise, suspensions waste energy. The stiffer the frame the more energy is transferred to the road. Suspensions when they flex absorb energy, so it's best to avoid them unless you need them for off-road riding.

Good time to be buying a bike. The 2015 models are in the shops so there'll be good deals to be had on the 2014 stock.

If you're buying focus on the groupset / drive train - it's worth spending to get a decent one. Things like wheels, saddles etc can be easily upgraded over time.

Keano

I took up golf about 3 years ago and it's now an addiction! I was one of the founding members our very own boards golf society. Members from all over the place meeting once a month to play some great courses. It's a tough game as no two days are the same but I've put a lot of practice in to hopefully improve this year.

Slippin Jimmy

I know that you are looking for a hobby that may be healthier; can't help you with that. But I can improve your bank balance if you like the cinema.

During last year I got myself a cineworld unlimited card. I can't recommend it enough. Basically you can see as many films as you like for €21.40 a month. Seen some gems last year, also seen some crap. Don't feel too bad about the crap ones cause of the deal.

Alanstrainor

I have quite a few really, I love photography, cycling and cars. There's usually something to fix on weekends, or somewhere to go out and get air/photos. Photography in particular is great and easy to get into. No need for a DSLR for beginners, any camera will do!

Gormley85

flyingsnail wrote: »

I do it with the railway preservation society of Ireland as part of their Dublin based operations (there is also work done in Belfast / Whitehead). To start all you really need is a pair of steel toe boots, some overalls / clothes you will never see clean again and membership in the society (Required for insurance).

We are kind of wound down for the next week or two taking a break after Christmas, if you are interested in joining the team i suggest you send a message via the facebook page below.

You know that would defintiely be up my street if I lived in Dublin Oh well.

Gormley85

Duffff-Man wrote: »

During last year I got myself a cineworld unlimited card. I can't recommend it enough. Basically you can see as many films as you like for €21.40 a month. Seen some gems last year, also seen some crap. Don't feel too bad about the crap ones cause of the deal.

I never heard of that before. Do all cinemas take them or just certain ones?