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

[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...