How long do YOU take to get ready to ride?!

[AllezGirl]

Start to change at work...phone rings...blah, blah..try to be friendly but don;t you people know I have somewhere to be?, put out fire, I have to go...get in full lycra kit, damn, I forgot to put on HRM...drive to ride (if I leave 15 min. late, forget it, traffic will be too bad). Get near ride start, dressed...stop at WaWa, in full lycra, but there's a bike on top of my car, so it's not weird! Buy a boatload of gatorade. Get to ride start, pump tires, put on gloves and helmet, and oh yeah, HRM. I'm ready to go...........but the ride doesn't start for another 45 min. Yes, I'm one of those perpetually early people.

[oxysback]

All I know is it'd take me a lot less time if I didn't have to pee about 5 times before a long ride.

Why is it that I do that??

[csr1210]

All I know is it'd take me a lot less time if I didn't have to pee about 5 times before a long ride.

Why is it that I do that??

Good Grief this is ME! This makes me nuts - I also have to do that before bedtime.... I could get out sooo much quicker without this affliction. When I ride with hubby, I am constantly inquiring, "are you almost ready--I have to do my last bathroom run if you are..." It's not good if I've "buttered" up too early

End of rant

[GLC1968]

My routine varies greatly depending on the type of ride and where we are starting from.

My commute:
it takes me 10 minutes. I get up, pee, splash water on my face, put on my clothes (already stacked neatly in the bathroom so that I don't wake DH searching for stuff), put my hair in a pony tail, grab the waterbottles out of the fridge, put on my shoes and go. Everything is already set up on my commuter bike and waiting for me. I wake up somewhere about 3 miles down the road. If DH is also commuting, then it's about 15-20 minutes longer as I need to leave time to take care of the dogs. If he's not commuting, he does it when he gets up after I'm gone.

Long ride from home:
about 25 minutes or so. Here I do the above but I also apply chamois creme, pack snacks, and air up the tires, decide on sunglasses, apply sunscreen, etc.

Long ride from somewhere else:
about 20 minutes to get in the car and then about 15 minutes at the location. All the same as above, except that everything I need gets tossed in a huge messenger bag and thrown in the car (shoes, sunglasses, helmet, gloves, water bottles, snacks, etc). I spend a bit more time getting ready at the location than DH, but I also never forget anything with this 'big bag' tactic.

Lunch ride from work:
20 minutes to get ready. I have to change, apply sunscreen, get water, got out to my car, air the tires, get all my stuff tucked away (cell, id, computer, etc), get shoes, gloves, helmet and sunglasses on...and go. The worst is after the ride...I feel like it takes me so long to get back to work! All in all, a 1 hour lunch ride takes me about 2 hours between getting ready, riding, getting cleaned up, and eating at my desk.

I will say that reading everyone else's routines makes me feel much better. When we are getting ready to head out for a long ride, DH is notorious for getting all steamed at me for taking too long. He stresses me out and I end up forgetting stuff (like usually, to pee one more time)!

[Grog]

I'm with GLC1968, my prep time varies.

This week I rode twice in the early morning, sub-1-hour rides. I just threw my bike clothes on, didn't have to pump the tires (I pump them every third day unless I'm going to a club ride or to something with lots of climbing), filled one bottle with water, put my wallet (it's quite small) in my pockets (instead of the plastic version that I take on long rides), my cell phone, my keys and a gel in my pockets, pull the bike out of storage, put on the buff, shades, helmet, bike shoes, and off I am. Took me 15, maybe 20 minutes.

For some reason, knowing that I'm just going for an hour, close from the house, pulls me out faster. Whenever I go for a long ride, it's more prep time, for some reason.

Happily I just need to go potty once.

It's 7:30 am, so no sunscreen.

It's important that I make up my mind the night before about riding though, and run the routine through my head before falling asleep, and tell my partner I'm going to go riding in the morning. That creates a commitment and somehow it's faster that way. I don't do the other stuff I would normally do as soon as I get up (coffee, email...).

Obviously this would take me longer with kids or even pets.

ETA: No HRM in the summer. I just leave it. One less step, one less thing to consider, more fun, somehow...

[Starfish]

I hate riding in the morning. I'm not thinking or moving well. So, it really depends for me on whether it is a morning ride (that I have to do for some reason), or a very late morning or afternoon ride.

Morning rides take me forever to get out the door for, with many missed items, retraces of footsteps, etc. Up to an hour. Even when I think everything is ready in advance.

Afternoon rides are quick to get to...15 minutes. Dress, fill bottles, pump tires, go. Firing on all cylinders.

[jobob]

Heh, my routine is a lot like Queen's (maybe a bit quicker, but not by much) which is why I get up so freakin' early for my before-work rides.

[pooks]

I'm glad you asked this question because I keep thinking, "There has to be a better way!"

Clearly, there's stuff you simply have to do and it takes time.

Of course sometimes I end up hunting for socks or kit or whatevers. I do need to get better organized.

This summer I've loved riding in my Keen sandals that I'm usually wearing most of the day, anyway. It's amazing how much faster the "getting ready" seems when I'm not putting on socks and cycling shoes. (It can't really make that much difference, but it feels like it is.)

[singletrackmind]

I'll get everything ready the night before if it's an early morning ride. Camelback ready in fridge complete with anything I'm taking with me or packed next to sink with bladder out and ready to fill, bike set out, aired/lubed, gear laid out and waiting.
If it's a 4am slip out before the hubby goes to work ride I'm out of here in ten or less, but everything's been done the night before, I don't bother with teeth or sunscreen or food (have some with me, just in case), lighting is already set up on camelback/helmet and the dogs are still asleep.

Getting ready from scratch 1/2 hour is quick, I think.

[Velobambina]

Winter is more difficult. More to put on, have to determine how many layers you'll need, and then, pull them on.

I'm one who prepares in advance and has everything ready to go.

[SouthernBelle]

Half hour sounds fast to me for a morning ride! The only suggestions I could make is to pump your tires the night before, have your puter charged and on the bars but off the night before, and lay out your kit too.

[farrellcollie]

I am impressed with how quickly you get out in the morning- It takes me at least 30 minutes to feed and play with the dogs before I can leave them - let alone what I have to do for myself and the cat. I am not really a morning person - so except for school yr when I commute - I usually bike later in the day.

[gingergin]

If I am riding after work I can get out in under 10 mins! I don't even go upstairs to my bedroom - I have all my cycling clothes downstairs the night before so I basically strip as soon as I walk in and put everything on, pee and walk out! I only have to time to go about 9 or 10 miles after work so I don't even bring water for those short rides. But it's a drag when I come back home and have to clean up my work clothes that I threw all over the living room floor!

[Jiffer]

In response to all your great replies .... ...

I'm with csr1210 and oxysback on the peeing every five minutes! And if not every five minutes, certainly right before heading out ... to do ANYTHING! Have to have the last minute pee time ... which is why I wait until then to put the Chamois Buttr on, but only do that for longer rides.

I forgot about the HRM when I listed my routine, which is new for me. I don't pump my tires the night before because Dh says you lose 30 lbs of air before the a.m. If I'm doing a short ride and the tires were pumped the day before, sometimes I skip it.

I can slide my Garmin bike computer onto my bike the night before, but that's quick. It's not a matter of waiting for it to charge, it's waiting for the GPS to kick in, which can't be done until I'm standing outside of the garage with the bike. Luckily, it's much faster than the Garmin watch I wore for running.

I could have my bike sitting out in the garage instead of hanging in the closet, but that would defeat the purpose of the closet, which is to protect the bike. There's not a lot of space around my car and there's no sense risking it getting knocked over.

Like some of you (which crack me up!) I could easily lounge around in the a.m. and take my time getting out the door (and have) on days that are ... #1: not smoldering hot outside the later it gets and ... #2: I don't have somewhere to be (usually my kid's a.m. horse lessons) Also, I am so NOT a morning person, I'm not going to get up at 5:00 or 6:00, which would allow myself more time to be easy going. I'd much rather sleep until the last possible minute and rush through my routine!

[Grog]

I don't pump my tires the night before because Dh says you lose 30 lbs of air before the a.m. If I'm doing a short ride and the tires were pumped the day before, sometimes I skip it.

I don't mean to undermine your DH's cycling authority, but I would suggest you do the experiment yourself with a gauge instead of trusting his word, especially if it impairs your capacity to be on the road quickly. High-pressure road tires loose about 3psi per day, which is a lot compared to low-pressure tires, but not a lot overall. You can quite safely ride your tires at about 90psi, or even less (although I don't like to be under that).