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

[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

[Fredwina]

I can do it in about 20-25: minutes
1. Alarm goes. I look at think "why do I want to get up this early?" Then I remember that I have to work or that is going to be 97 degrees later on).
Get out of bed. listen to NPR. Go look at thermometer to decide clothing and take potty break.
Get dressed
get bike out and turn on lights, if needed
Head out door.
I usually don't lay clothes out. I'll usually change/charge the batteries on the light the night before.

[Dianyla]

Love this thread! On days when I bike commute I always feel like I'm futzing around forever in the mornings. I'm so not a morning person so I always try to do as much as possible the night before.

The night before:
1. Pump tires up at least every other day.
2. Rinse and fill waterbottle with fresh water.
3. Pack and panniers with school materials (only the minimum for the given day), clothes (don't forget the underwear), bike lock, extra jacket, etc.
4. Plug in headlight to charge overnight.
5. If necessary, change lenses on sunglasses to clear (for nighttime or rainy weather) or colored (bright sunlight).

The morning of:
1. Put on bike clothes that have been laid out the night before. Occasional wardrobe adjustments if the weather appears noticeably different from forecasted.
2. Brush teeth & hair. I used to braid my hair, which took ~10 minutes. In the interest of time, now I twist my hair up into a quick n' sloppy scrunchy bun, set low on my head to allow helmet clearance. This style takes me about 1.5 minutes to do, and the buff keeps any stray hairs poking out off of my neck.
3. Put on buff, helmet, sunglasses, gloves, bike shoes.
4. Load lunch into panniers, roll them closed, load on bike.
5. Grab a big mochi cake from the fridge to eat on the way. Gluten free!

When I've got everything all prepared, I can go from bed to door in 15 minutes. If I'm not prepared or I wake up to something like a flat tire, it can run up to 30-35 minutes while I run around scrambling. My biggest challenge seems to be switching modes between bike and car days. On those days I tend to not have all my bike stuff lined up or I'll forget my work keycard badge, etc.

The only real difference between my commuting routine and a long ride prep routine is focused on food and water. For long rides I need to pack my own food and I'll usually load it up into a hydration pack with a 2L or 3L bladder full of water. I'll also add a bottle of sunscreen, some extra bike tools, small packets of chamois butter, first aid kit, and extra inner tubes.

[hurleygirl]

Okay, I also don't count normal morning stuff as "getting ready to ride", mostly because I usually don't ride in the morning. Besides, if I ever do a "first thing" ride I have to eat a decent breakfast or I'll bonk.

I can get ready in about 15 minutes:
1. I prep the bottles while my husband checks the bikes/pumps the tires
2. Change
3. Put on sunscreen
4. Stuff my back pockets
5. Put on helmet, gloves, shoes, glasses
6. Go

3 & 4 go quickly because I keep all my stuff (except the shoes) in a bin. The shoes are kept in the same closet as the bin, so it's a grab and go situation.

The bin holds: Clean pairs of gloves, arm/leg warmers, sunglasses, normal back-pocket stuff, any gels not consumed on previous ride (I take 2-3 gels with me on every ride), little pouch with ID/cash/small first aid kit, and my helmet. It currently holds my repair stuff since I removed my saddle bag a while ago and haven't bothered to put it back on.

[cosc]

1. Let my dog out.
2. Have coffee and cereal. I'm with Jotjepose in that I have to have breakfast.
3. Catch up on weather, forums and messages. Drag my feet here a bit wishing
I'd got up earlier to beat the heat. Why do I have company to 1:00 every
night?
4. Air tires, fill bottles, sunscreen, put on clothes-shoes and helmet.
5. Bring dog back in.
6. About 1 1/2 hours after waking I take my bike outside and down my first hill I go. Wheeeee!