When do you ride?

[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....

[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.

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. ...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.

[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.