When do you ride?

[shadon]

I'm really struggling with finding enough time to ride. I can get a quick spin in after work, but that will dimminish as the days get shorter...so I can ride on the weekends, but that's not gonna get me in shape for the Cinderella Classic, or the AIDSlifecyle Ride after that.

Help!

[RoadRaven]

Winter here in NZ and its really tough... I have been jumping on the trainer every evening and watching the Tour highlights while I spin for 30-45 minutes
But its difficult when the days are short, work is a half hour away when driving and I am tied to being a taxi to and from school

I try and do some spinning on Saturday morning
I usually go for a Sunday afternoon jaunt - about 40 kms (about 28 miles)

In Autumn and Spring when there is a bit more daylight, I try and ride to work twice a week (Mondays and Fridays) - more when I don't have a class to teach first thing on the "middle" mornings (just over 25km- nearly 16 miles) - on summer and autumn days when there is plenty of light I like to ride home as well

Otherwise, when there is still evening light I try and do a spin or interval session for a little while after work

[singletrackmind]

My favorite time to begin a ride is 5am, before most motorists are on the road. I have lights and a blinky butt for until the sun comes up.

Other than that it's whenever the heck I can get out of the house (kids)! We have trails around here I can pull a trailer on and take kids and decent roads and I have lights for when it's dark and I'm on my own.

[cruziegirl]

If you work outside the home, that is. Commuting to work is the way I took up cycling again about 12 years ago and found that it was perfect. I couldn't woose out at the end of the day because I *had* to go home sometime and the bike was the only transportation I had. But if commuting isn't an option for you first thing in the morning seems to work best.

[betagirl]

I get my longest rides in by starting by 6am, which I do on Saturdays. During the week I ride around 6:00 til I run out of daylight. I work from home so it's hard to not hop on the bike for my "lunch break" :D

[KSH]

Well, I typically only ride Saturday and Sunday.

There has been a Wednesday night I picked up this last week too. Which is harder for me to do... since I have to run home at lunch to walk my dog... and then I don't get home until 8:30 PM (bed at 11:30).

I think each person has to find what works for them. Due to the fact that I am single, with no kids, I have and easier time of it... but I still find it a struggle.

Oh... do you think you can ride early in the morning on the weekends? You didn't say if you had kids/hubby/etc... so not sure what your restraints are. But maybe you can find a babysitter for certain days/times so you can ride?

[shadon]

Well, I typically only ride Saturday and Sunday.

There has been a Wednesday night I picked up this last week too. Which is harder for me to do... since I have to run home at lunch to walk my dog... and then I don't get home until 8:30 PM (bed at 11:30).

I think each person has to find what works for them. Due to the fact that I am single, with no kids, I have and easier time of it... but I still find it a struggle.

Oh... do you think you can ride early in the morning on the weekends? You didn't say if you had kids/hubby/etc... so not sure what your restraints are. But maybe you can find a babysitter for certain days/times so you can ride?

You just about described me to a tee! No kids but I work for the most uncreative comapny in the world and have an iron clad 8-5 schedule. I walk a friends' dog after work so that ads an hour at the end of the day.

No kids, so that issue is moot.

I may try and get out for a ride around 5:30 am, since the sun is up by then. I might be able to get an hour in there.

Thank you all! for your suggestions! I may invest in a trainer so that I can ride a bit in the evenings.

Wow! I love this place!

[KSH]

You just about described me to a tee! No kids but I work for the most uncreative comapny in the world and have an iron clad 8-5 schedule. I walk a friends' dog after work so that ads an hour at the end of the day.

No kids, so that issue is moot.

I may try and get out for a ride around 5:30 am, since the sun is up by then. I might be able to get an hour in there.

Thank you all! for your suggestions! I may invest in a trainer so that I can ride a bit in the evenings.

Wow! I love this place!

Well, I work 8:30 to 5:00 M-F.

Do you think someone else could walk your friends dog? Or maybe you could go during lunch so you could ride after work? Or could you ride and then go walk the dog?

What about weekends? If you ride 2 days a week... that would be good.

Without kids or a family, we have more flexibility. Good luck on finding what works for you!

[Veronica]

I'm really struggling with finding enough time to ride. I can get a quick spin in after work, but that will dimminish as the days get shorter...so I can ride on the weekends, but that's not gonna get me in shape for the Cinderella Classic, or the AIDSlifecyle Ride after that.

Help!

Lights on your bike can add hours to your day! In the Bay Area, the weather is decent enough year round that we can ride, even in the dark with lights.

V.

[shadon]

Lights on your bike can add hours to your day! In the Bay Area, the weather is decent enough year round that we can ride, even in the dark with lights.

V.

I'm thinking I may get some good lights...that'll give me a little more time to ride.

My task this week is to find a slightly longer ride than the one I did last week...it's time to start pushing it a bit!

[RoadRaven]

*blushes... a little embarrassed*

I won't put a light on my bike... its too pretty without one

Road - just call me vain - Raven

[Grog]

I have the most flexible work schedule so right now I ride too much. (No kids an no family and... recently no boyfriend so I'm pretty free to ride. I know I'm lucky from a cycling point of view, and appreciate it.) :) I usually ride after work sometime around 5pm to 8, about twice a week, and longer rides on the weekend if the weather allows it. I accomodate my riding friends' schedule too. I wish I could get back in the discipline of going to bed earlier and go ride when the sun rises (at about 5:30 these days in here) because it's not as warm and I love it when there's nobody but passionate roadies on the path by the river...

QUESTION:
I know there are a couple of grad students around here. As I'll become one again in September, I'm curious to know how you manage your schedule (depending on what part of your degree you are in - coursework, research, writing up... and whether you also work or not). How do you do it?

Thanks!

[DeniseGoldberg]

This is my good riding time of year - summer with longer days. I try to ride at least 5 days a week during the summer - definitely decent length rides both weekend days. Plus I try to commute to work 2 or 3 days, and I ride after work 1 or 2 days (non-commuting days). During the winter off-season I pretty much only ride on the weekends, although if I know a day is going to be great I may bring a bike with me to the office and grab a ride mid-day.

While I know there are good lights available, as we start to lose the daylight the temperatures here (Massachusetts) also seem to start to slide. And to be honest, a lot of the drivers here are a bit nuts, and riding in minimal (or no) daylight conditions scares me. (OK, I know, I'm a baby...).

--- Denise

[singletrackmind]

*blushes... a little embarrassed*

I won't put a light on my bike... its too pretty without one

Road - just call me vain - Raven

There are lights for your helmet and your back end!! I prefer them on the helmet anyway, since you turn your head in the direction you are headed before you turn the handlebars. I loosely zip-tie the cord to the back of my helmet so it doesn't droop down into my face and put the battery pack either on the top tube or in my camelback. My DH slips his pack into his jersey pocket. I clip the taillight to the top of my shorts where it's visible to drivers when I am bent over the bike. If I put it on the camelback clip they can't see it from my normal riding position.

I love the freedom having the lights give me-I don't have to worry about being home by dusk and I don't have to wait for dawn, either. I keep the light mount on the helmet (it's very lightweight) and the light in my camelback. When it's time it takes only a few seconds to slip the cord through the zip-tie and the light into its mount.

That's me, singletrack christmas tree!

Speaking of those, when I was commuting I bought a string of those battery-pack cristmas tree lights and did string those on my bike so I could be seen from the side!
'Course, I kind of enjoy looking ridiculous.... :D

[nicolezoie]

New here, supercool site. :)

The majority of my riding is done after work, but I really prefer riding in the early mornings OR after the morning traffic has died down. I'm not overfond of playing dodge-car. :p

Regardless, I commute to and from work. My work commute is about 12 1/2 miles round trip, and that is *not* enough to satisfy my love of seeing the world from the seat of a bike. :D ...nor is it enough to get a good workout, even with all the hills around where I live. As part of my ride home, I also ride extra after work, and 1 day a week, extra miles early in the morning on my way into work.

[Dogmama]

While I know there are good lights available, as we start to lose the daylight the temperatures here (Massachusetts) also seem to start to slide. And to be honest, a lot of the drivers here are a bit nuts, and riding in minimal (or no) daylight conditions scares me. (OK, I know, I'm a baby...).

--- Denise

If you're a baby, make room in your crib for me! I don't do the bike-with-a-light thing either. Drivers around here are unconscious.

I ride before work and on the weekends in the morning. After work, it's about 110 degrees outside...

[alison_in_oh]

I work 8:30 to 5 M-F. I commute by bike (just 10 minutes there/13 minutes back). I'm home by 5:20, I walk my dog, change, and get back out the door by 5:45 to 6pm. I either meet the Tues/Thurs group ride at 6 or I just tool around on my own; daylight nowadays means I have about 2.5 hours of riding available to me. I ride 3 to 4 weeknights depending on how much rest my body demands.

I ride both days on the weekend, and I try to make one of those a ride of over 3 hours. My husband took me on a 5 hour (4:30 on the bike) tour of Cleveland's Emerald Necklace this weekend, my longest ride yet!

[Geonz]

I commute - 7 miles one way unless I go the 15 or 20 mile route (less likely now taht I have to be in at 7:30), and we have Fridays off (that's why we have to be in at 7:30). I also ride with the bike club on evenings and weekends. I have lights for when it's getting dark early, but IT isn't Massachusetts -- a few of the riders are nuts but most are decidedly and delightfully MIDWESTERN. We had 32 riders in a line going down the road (at 12 mph - not the tour de france!) Saturday and people just managed to get past us. I'm thinking next week I'll break us up into groups of ten or less so cars can pass one clump at a time...
I know I can get out and back and do a "lap" of a 10 mile route in about 40 minutes so sometimes that's what I squeeze in between One Thing Or THe OTher.

[CorsairMac]

I ride to work also - about 12 miles round trip and I've added a lunch ride of anywhere from 10-14 miles. I eat at my desk while still working and then take my "lunch hour" to ride. Then I ride on the weekends: either MTB or really long rides depending on time and mood!

[bikerz]

Hi Shadon (from another Bay Area rider...)

My goal is 3-4 times a week - I have 2 regular rides I do on weekdays - a short (~1 hr) primarly up-hill ride from home, and a longer 1.5 to 2 hr flat ride along the bay. Then I try to get a longer ride in one or both days on the weekend - hopefully to a new place (I haven't been riding that long, so there are lots of new places!) Sometimes I squeeze a 5th ride in, when I really need it for mental health!

[JanT]

I do what others have said--commuting sometimes, and night riding sometimes:

I'm a teacher, so have the summer off; however, here in Phoenix, it means getting up even earlier than I do to go to work! I usually try to hit the road before 5:30 am. When I go back to work, I'll sometimes get up at 2 or 3 a.m. to ride with the lights. It's an amazing experience, with the roads quiet and the lights of the city almost seem magical. You feel like you own the city! I live near enough to the desert that after a few miles, I can hear the coyotes. If you've never lived in the desert, you should know that it is still 85-90 degrees in the wee hours of the morning. However, I rarely ride at night during the winter! I'm a real wimp, and 40 degrees is just too cold when you add the bike's wind chill factor. That's when I try to get out and run a few miles. We also have an exercise bike in the living room, but I rarely use it because it's a recumbent and employs different muscles and makes me sore.

[SJCzar]

I try to do the work commute two or three times per week (30 miles roundtrip). If I don't do at least two days, I put in a ride or two after work.

I ride Weds. nights with a group from the ski club I belong to. That ride is usually around 17-19 miles.

I try to get in a least one longer ride on the weekend. I should hit 1,000 miles on my new baby after this weekend.