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

[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.

[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...

[nicole309]

Ha ha! I'm always giving my husband a hard time about how long it takes him to get out the door! Surprisingly, it takes him WAY longer than it takes me, and I can't figure out why.

I like to lay out my clothes the night before, but it still takes me a good 20 minutes to get out the door. My routine is very similar to yours, Jiffer.

It always takes my BF way longer as well, even though I usually get dressed and pump up both of our tires. Lately, I have been able to convince him to let me leave as soon as I am ready as he is way faster than me and our ride always starts with a big hill because I live in a valley! He usually catches me pretty quick even if he leaves 10 minutes later!

[RolliePollie]

This morning I got out of the house in 20 minutes and was on the road by 7:00 am. But I was motivated to get out there asap and beat the heat! Generally it takes me much longer than that...primarily because I don't think I'm even all the way awake for at least a half hour. I usually take a shower just to wake up a little. Then there's the breakfast issue. It's hard for me to eat when I first get up. This morning I choked down a big glass of soy milk and a Power Bar.

I don't know if my big rush this morning was the culprit or not, but I had a really crummy ride. I didn't want to be out there and I felt like a big slug. I just got back from vacation though, and I haven't been on the bike in 6 days. Maybe that was the trouble. I also should've left about an hour earlier because it was already too hot!!!

[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).

[teigyr]

Despite my slothfulness in getting ready to ride, I AM capable of doing it more quickly

If I have plans to meet people in the morning to ride, I can be out of the door within 20 minutes. I load my bike and get everything ready the night before and just get dressed and go. I tend to do drive-through McDonalds breakfasts before long rides, I don't know why but it works.

So I can do it if someone is depending on me to be somewhere! It's great motivation to ride with people.

[mimitabby]

I really prefer to get everything ready the night before so i can worry about OTHER stuff (eating, checking email, bathroom) before the ride.
tomorrow's a big ride; so tonight i will get everything together...

[Deanna]

I don't count normal morning/daily routines as part of "getting ready to ride" as I'd do them if I was riding that day or not. That cuts my getting to ride routine and time pretty significantly:

1. Fill water bottles & set out ride food
2. Pick out riding outfit best suited for the ride and weather
3. Get dressed
4. Stretch
5. Apply chamois cream if ride is >50 miles or I'm on the tandem
6. Stuff ride food in pockets
7. Put out the dog and lock the house
6. Check bike & leave