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

[Jiffer]

I'm still trying to get my system down, but it seems no matter what I do, it takes pretty darn near 30 minutes from the time I get up, to the time I ride away on my bike. I think I did it in 25 once.

So, here's my routine. I get up, go potty, of course (sorry! ), throw on the cycling clothes, put my hair in a pony tail, brush my teeth (sometimes I skip that since I do it again after eating and drinking sports drinks), put on sunblock, go downstairs, let the dogs out to go potty, start eating a banana and sip water while I get my sports drink(s) ready, put my Blistex on and put it in my jersey as well as the garage door opener and a few tisues (neatly folded!), and my cell phone, get my bike down out of the bike closet, pump up my tires, put Chamois Buttr' in my shorts (after most likely going potty again!), put on my shoes, my helmet and my sunglasses, put my bike computer on my bike and turn it on, roll the bike out, close the garage door and wait about 30 seconds for my GPS to kick in and then ..... AHHHHHHHHHH .... finally time to ride!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm sure many of you do way less than I do to prepare. Dh is a big advocate of pumping tires every time I ride. He used to not pump every time and found he got a lot more flat tires. I know I could get my drinks ready the night before, but it still has to be done and I'd rather just do it in the a.m.

Anyways, I'm wondering what some of your routines are and how long it takes you to ride away.

[Pax]

My Routine:

Get up, wander out and make coffee, sit and drink coffee while checking the weather, try to decide if I can beat the weather or should I just stay home and have more coffee, decide weather is "doable" and wander back to the bathroom to get ready, realize I forgot to eat, wander back to kitchen and grab a banana, stare longingly at coffee pot, finish getting ready, go to garage, pump up tires, wish for more coffee, GO!

Total time from bed to road = 1.5 hours.

[teigyr]

Hmmm.

Ok.

Stay in bed for a bit and ponder what I'm going to do. Wander downstairs, check e-mail. Look around on the internet at what my friends are up to via blogs, etc., and then make breakfast and something with caffeine.

Eat and drink.

Go potty.

Wander around the house and play with the cats.

Check e-mail again.

Get involved reading something online that really doesn't matter except for the fact I'm procrastinating.

Change into cycling clothes and do the normal getting ready stuff. Load bike into car (usually drive to start point) along with cycling bag. Go to the post office on my way to ride because there might be packages there for me or something! (P.O. Box, of course.) Leave Post Office dejected.

Get to bike trail, put on cycling shoes and helmet, pump tires, and go.

Total time? Maybe 3-4 hours on a good day??!

[Aggie_Ama]

Considering how much you do JIffer, I think 30 minutes is fast!!

1. potty
2. wash hands, put in contacts.
3. Get dresed, spend at least 5 extra minutes contemplating my SOCKS!! I have a lot of pairs, have to decide which ones match and how low they are.
4. Braid hair, new part of routine as my hair has grown. This takes me close to 10 minutes.
5. Put on sunscreen, will probably miss a spot and it still takes me close to 10 minutes.
4. Wander around, force my stubborn schnauzers outside (it is like herding cats). Make water bottles for DH and myself, contemplate my Sport Bean flavor of the day.
5. Kennel above brat dogs.
6. Go out to garage, DH has usually taken care of the tires.
7. Load tire levers, extra CO2, keys, cell phone. Put on headband, helmet. Clean sunglasses.
8. Spend a few minutes putting on shoes and checking tightness. I wear insoles and it is very key to avoiding a painful ride not to have my shoes too tight.

Ride time- 45 minutes to an hour. When we are in a hurry it has been cut to 30 minutes, but this is not the norm.

[Zen]

I'm right there with you Teigyr but I usually skip the mail portion.
Bills > Money = too depressing

[Sheesh]

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.

[Jiffer]

\ 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.

So there's hope yet for me! 20 minutes sounds like a nice goal! I don't typically lay out my clothes the night before because they're easily accessible, but I often think through what I'm wearing and make sure it's clean and that it's really where it goes.

[Torrilin]

2 hours if it's a get up and go utility ride (not that I moved any faster with a car...)

About 15 minutes for short fun rides. Grab water bottle, bike, helmet and go. I usually don't go more than about 5 miles from home, and I can walk that distance easily as long as I have water. Longer fun rides mean I need to pack a lunch, and sometimes other stuff so the time til I'm out the door goes up.

[BikeDutchess]

Well, tonight I got ready in record time (about 5 - 10 min) since I was running late for a club ride. I threw on my cycling clothes (luckily everything was clean!), filled my water bottles, swapped out the lenses in my glasses since it was overcast, hopped on my bike (I pumped the tires yesterday and figured it was good enough) and sped off. It has been a stifling hot day, and as I was zipping along I was surprised that it didn't feel as hot as I expected. Then I realized I had forgotten to put my helmet on! Aaargh!

So I lost all that saved time in having to turn around to get my helmet. At least I still made it to the club ride since they were a few minutes late starting.

[suzieqtwa]

I do the exact same things you do ,in the same order except ,I have 2 cats ,no dogs...I lay my clothes out the night before ,and I pump my tires the night before. I fill 2 bottles of water /fitness drink ,and have them in the freezer ,so they are cold for me. It takes me about 25-30 minutes.

[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??

[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.)