How do y'all find so much time to ride?

[bulliedawg]

Sometimes I read this foruim and I'm amazed at how much riding some of you do. I always ride Saturday and Sunday, and will often take an afternoon off during the week for a 25-miler. But some of you guys seem to ride four and five times a week. My work schedule is very loose, but I have many other obligations outside work. I'm just wondering how you do it, and whether or not you can teach me.

[pbbob]

sunrise today 5:57. set alarm for 5:30. get up and go.

[TimD]

Lunchtime, nearly every day, 20-25. One ride on the weekend. Occasional longer distance event.

Basically I go whenever there's a hint of an opening. You have to default to "going" rather than the usual "not going" or "let's see if I can think up an excuse not to go" - not to say you are doing that.

Get out there!

[Roy E. Munson]

What are these "other" obligations? Things you cannot possibly get away from?

[Tom]

They let me wander in about 9 or a little after - up at 4:45, out by 5:30-6, you can get a ways down the road before you have to come home and get ready for work.

It helps that my boss likes to run a fall marathon so he understands the mental health aspect of it.

Of course, I save time by not washing. The added side benefit is it tends to keep the meetings short that way.

[Climb01742]

it is tough. in the winter, i'll get up at 4:30 to run before work or ride the trainer inside. or i'll go to the gym at lunch. but now that the weather has turned, and its light later, i try to ride afterwork. spring/summer evenings are my all-time fav time to ride. so somedays i'll get to the offfice 7-8ish, work thru lunch, and book it at like 4. as someone said, once you tell yourself that you simply will ride/run/lift today, it gets easier. giving yourself the out, or the possibility, not to do it, makes missing it easier. i find on the days i don't do something, i'm noticeably more cranky.

[Too Tall]

Commute to work and married to a woman who is just as crazy about sports as me. It is all about lifestyle.

[Bruce H.]

Had my own dental practice so I could always fit one in. Also, sun sets after 7:45 now so if you leave at 5-5:30 there is plenty of time.
For now, I sold my practice and am waiting till June to take Florida boards so I have plenty of time. Funny thing is that I ride less now than when I was working. Go figure?
Bruce H.

[va rider]

I commute to and from work 3 to 4 days a week for about 6 months a year. That gives me 100-125 miles a week.

On the weekend, 1 ride 20-25 miles and another of 40-50. I get up at 6 and am and on the bike by 7. Home by 11 a.m. on the long day.

let' see as far as commitments. I am married, 2 kids (5 and 3) and one due in a couple of weeks. I work full time, teach spinning 1 morning a week at 6 am and teach 1 evening Master's class at George Washington University.

I make time for biking.

[dirtdigger88]

Alarm goes off at 5:45am I am on the road by 6. Ride for an hour to hour and a half, shower and off to work. I get at least one long ride on the weekend, my wife is VERY COOL about my riding. She know how happy it makes me, so she helps me out all she can.

Jason

[gt6267a]

unemployed. you would not believe what i get done in terms of writing, reading, cooking, baking, and riding. that said, i am po (can't afford the or) and it is time to find employment. this latter effort is turning out to be considerably harder than expected. ARGH!

[Kevan]

of priorities. :D

[davep]

My work schedule is also pretty loose, but my wife also rides and we have a 2 year old, so its a problem getting in the miles sometimes. Like others, up at 5:30 and out the door by 5:45 for 20 miles. This way I'm back by 7:00 so my wife can go for a ride and I'm there when the kid wakes up. I'll get up at 5:00 to do a longer ride during the week. It also helps that its still cool at that time, because once the sun comes up it gets hot pretty fast, at least from now until November.

[ericmurphy]

Weekends: try to get in at least a hundred miles. Either two 60-milers or maybe a 75-miler and a 40 miler.

Weekdays: I try to ride three weekdays, but often it's only two. Just quick 12-mile rides after work that take about an hour from door to door. Just enough to keep me spinning.

On a schedule like this, I can do 140 miles a week without too much difficulty.

[Dekonick]

gone out for a middle of the night ride? I have been thinking about trying it - just dont know about lights.

Other than that - I am a firefighter so I get to ride on my days off. I dont ride anywhere as much as alot of you do tho... 100 miles a week is the norm. :beer:

[Madship]

I am a telecommuter. Without having an acutal commute to work each day I can get out on the road most days between 3:30 and 4. I am usually done by dinner time (6 - 6:30) and have actual time to spend with my wife or get things done areound the house in the evening. All that and I don't have to get up at the crack of dawn

[JohnS]

I have to be at work at 7am, so early morning rides are out of the question. Ridng to work is also a nonstarter. But I am home by 4pm so I try to get in a 90 minute ride before dinner. Then I try to get in one 2-3 hour ride on the weekend.

[djg]

I mean, I do what I can. I ride to work a few times a week and I try to negotiate more weekend miles rather than fewer. Sometimes I'll grab a spin class at lunch and sometimes I jump on the rollers when everybody is asleep (not that either of those is actually riding). But I've got three little kids and a career and the miles are frequently not what I'd like them to be. That's just the way it is.

[bulliedawg]

I am a telecommuter. Without having an acutal commute to work each day I can get out on the road most days between 3:30 and 4. I am usually done by dinner time (6 - 6:30) and have actual time to spend with my wife or get things done areound the house in the evening. All that and I don't have to get up at the crack of dawn

Madship:

You, my man, got it figured out. Kudos!

[MarinRider]

gone out for a middle of the night ride? I have been thinking about trying it - just dont know about lights.


During winter months I ride at night (at least in darkness) from 7:00 to 10:00 p.m. I have a Nightrider HID light and it's bighter than you need for night road rides, event descending at 30mph.

Now days we get so much sun light that I only need lights for the first hour of the ride. I get up at 4:00 a.m. and on my bike by 4:45 a.m.

[Sandy]

Easy!

1. Be old.
2. Own a family business.
3. Fire yourself.
4. Retire
5. Start spinning.

Silly Sandy

[Ken Robb]

I've done some night riding and it has lots of plusses: Not at work, fewer cars, cool, no sunburn so no yucky cream required.

Negatives: come home too tired for -----you know.....
Fewer cars but higher percentage of drunks driving.
Have to keep speed down so you don't out-ride the range of your healight. I have a dual Nite-hawk rechargeable system that I have yet to use. I just take my Riv Allrounder with Schmidt Dynohub generator and LumoTec lights.It is plenty bright up to about 15mph.

[Kevin]

Get up with the sun, and go to sleep with the moon. This will leave you with plenty of time to ride.

Kevin

[TimD]

First night ride in a while, 21 miles. Beautiful night here west of Boston, 70 F, no wind, and lots of stars :)

[csb]

you would not want to deal with me if i
did not ride (exercise)

luckily it works

[Scott]

We (my 14 year old and I) roll out of the driveway at 4:30am for a 15 miler Tues-Fri. We (my 14, 12, 10 and I) ride early Sat (6:30 am) for a couple of hours. We (Wife, 5 kids just mentioned, 2 in the Burly) ride the Silver Comet Trail - rails to trails project - for about 2 hours on Sundays when weather permits.

I love riding in the dark. Gives a different sense. Get good lighting and ride familiar routes.

I'm acutally less tired at night when I ride.

[Bradford]

With the tandem, ride time is together time, not alone time. It kills two birds with one stone.

I'm not sure what happens when the kids come in a couple of years, hopefully we'll figure it out by then.

[dgauthier]

I too have loose/flexible work hours. I get out by 7:00 AM, ride 20-25 miles in 70-90 minutes, get home and eat/rest/shower 'til 9:30 and get to work by 10:00.

However, when it's busy I'll be working 70+ hours per week, and sometimes I'm just getting home at 7 AM! I used to just not ride, but that got to be unacceptable. For those times, I've started to discover the joys of spinning on a trainer: Get home at 3 AM, down a shot of Macallan's, spin 'til 4, sleep!

[davids]

...Alarm went off at 5:45, I was out the door at 5:58, and at the breakfast table with my daughter by 7:10. I don't get long morning rides until the school year is over, but I try to do 2 hour-long rides on weekdays until then.

This morning was glorious - 60 degrees, no wind. I went fast! :D

[t. swartz]

:banana: :banana: two words: early retirement.

[72gmc]

commute every day + weekend mornings. I have also been known to ride home from work at 10pm, putter around in the basement because I'm too wired to sleep, and ride up and down the block at midnight checking adjustments.

[xlbs]

to ride. I'm part of the toffee generation; stretched about 9 ways:

wife
house X 2 maintenance (see partially...)
busy career
partially disabled mother-in-law
pets
parents
3 children in another city
volunteer and church commitments
part-time college instructor

Putting ride time on my day-timer is the only way I can squeeze in a few k's at the best of times. Today is about the first day the weather's been really nice in the past 6 months. We Canadians are weather restricted too.

Grant's riding times in Toronto are better because the city generates its own heat, clearing roadways earlier...I'm in the boonies...

[lemondsteel]

Find a job that pays only commission. Set your own hours and try to get all the work done by 3pm. On the road by 4:30pm and home for supper at 7pm. My wife works out at the gym 3-4 night a week and is never home until 7:45pm. I have one in college (senior) and one that's 26 an lives out of town. Even when my kids were small it was an understood fact of life that I ride during the week and both days on the weekend. My son now rides with me and the others use to go out on a tandem as the stoker while I dragged their butts around at speeds high enough to satisfy me. They learned to have fun with me! THE SECRET!

[Kevan]

These time warps are really freakin' me out man!

I think I scored a bad Gu last weekend.

[Ray]

When this thread first came to life, I was working full time in an office. I worked from 7-3:30 and got lots of afternoon rides in, at least during daylight savings time. But that was all worked around wife, kids, night meetings, etc. Still did about 5,000 miles a year, but I really had to want to.

About two years ago I fired my boss and started my own consulting 'firm' from a home office. Now I can arrange my schedule to ride just about anytime its nice. I work plenty, but I have plenty of time to ride too. My youngest daughter leaves for college in a few months and then I'll have more time than I'll know what to do with. Last year I didn't feel like I rode that much and still finished with about 5500 miles. A tough winter and spring so far this year - today was the first really nice ride of the year, at least since our late summer ended in early January. My mileage will be lower but, assuming we're finally moving into some nicer weather, I'll start getting out my usual 3-5 times a week starting about now.

-Ray

[Moosedryvr]

I'm at my desk from 6:30 am to at least 6:00 pm. With the metro DC commute that means the alarm goes off at 4:45 just to get to work! Ugh! Luckily these hours shouldn't last more than one more year then just ~ 9 short months until retirement #1. Then, if all goes as I hope, it's on to the airlines and way more time off than I get now (hopefully not permanent time-off due to fuloughs, backruptcy, etc. though!).
For now I am working at forcing a 20-mile ride into my lunch period as many days a week as possible with one longer 30-50 mile ride on Sat morning (I'm used to being up early anyway, might as well be up early on a bike!). Nowhere near as much saddle time as I'd like, but I am more appreciative of each minute that I get! :rolleyes:

Shawn G

[OldDog]

I'm in a slump. No ambition to get out these past two weeks. Have a few hundred miles under my cleats since January, but lost my desire to carry on. Been stacking up the miles on the Harley. Stacking on a few pounds too. Maybe this nice weather will snap me out of it, I like riding in the warmth. Been a bit#h of a spring.

[dreadpiratetim]

As I'm fond of saying: Work, Family, Sleep... Give up one.

Seriously, here are some options that have worked for me. YMMV.

Check your bike in the evening... pump tires, layout riding gear, layout work clothes (if you're not bike commuting), get bottles ready and in 'fridge... basically everything you need to roll. I'm able to get out the door within 15 minutes of waking.

Depending on how long I'm going, it's easy to put on lights and get 3 or 4 or 5 hours before work. (This is the part about giving up Sleep.)

Lunchtime can often stretch to 2 hours. Load bike in car (if not bike commuting) and a duffel with riding gear and food. Put the pump in the trunk for insurance -- that way you'll never need it. Alternatively, book a morning or afternoon 'meeting' off site if you have the flexibility. Drive to ride start of your choice and change in car. Catch up on email when you get home. (This is the part about giving up Work.)

There may be ways to cut back on Family time... but that is not an option I have ever considered. I have some now-single friends who may be offer advice, however.

PS - Bike commuting is a GOOD thing. Even if you don't have a shower at work, you can do it. Shave before you leave home. Go 'easy' on the ride in, find a bathroom and bring along 'baby wipes'. Two or three and you're fresh. Wash face (and hair, if necessary) in sink. Short hair helps.

[d_douglas]

I love night rides. As emntioned earlier, they end up being slower, but things are so zen and quiet (+1 to Dave T. for the comment about drunks ont eh road, but...)

When I was in grad school, I would work at my studio until 3 or 4am, then cruise home on empty streets in Vancouver. In wet weather, it sucked a bit, but in dry weather, it felt like I was going so fast because I could hear and feel everything.

One time after a particularly stressful night, I was riding along on a long empty stretch of road adjacent to the university parkland (if you have been to UBC, you know it is vast) and I let out the loudest, blood curdling scream that I sustained while pedaling for about 10 seconds. It felt awesome and no one but the sleeping animals heard. Try it if you are stressed out. It's great therapy. I went home and fell asleep right away.

[Grant McLean]

to ride. I'm part of the toffee generation; stretched about 9 ways:

wife
house X 2 maintenance (see partially...)
busy career
partially disabled mother-in-law
pets
parents
3 children in another city
volunteer and church commitments
part-time college instructor

Putting ride time on my day-timer is the only way I can squeeze in a few k's at the best of times. Today is about the first day the weather's been really nice in the past 6 months. We Canadians are weather restricted too.

Grant's riding times in Toronto are better because the city generates its own heat, clearing roadways earlier...I'm in the boonies...

too true.

plus, i'm:

single
no kids
young-ish parents ( in FLA 1/2 the year)
no pets
10 minute commute
gym membership located 1/2 way home

Besides work, sunday am and sunday dinner are
pretty much the only things on my schedule that
can't be moved.

g

[tch]

Don't worry about it. If you look through these postings, one thing stands out: everyone who gets in a lot of miles has made some really hard decisions about how to fit them in. They get up early, leave work early, commute by bike, bike year round (those of us in the north have hard choices when winter rolls around) and/or give up chunks of weekends.

But folks here are also not the standard; they have committed to biking in ways that many folks don't understand (look at how most Americans would think of guys advising you to get up at 4:30 or 5 for cripes sake!).

I used to wonder how I could fit in more than my measly 3K a year also until I realized I had already made my decision. I had decided I didn't want to wake up that early, dedicate every free afternoon to the bike, do six hours on Saturday and Sunday, ride through the friggin' winter, etc. That would make it too much like a JOB. Now I understand that I have decided how to allocate my time and that the bike is an enjoyable activity, one I would never give up -- but not the be-all and end-all of my life. If it were, I'd do all those other things....because I wanted to. Now I ride when it's easy for me and when I want to and I continue to love it. Almost every ride is an outright pleasure. I feel like the happiest low-mileage guy in the country.

[93legendti]

...my wife is VERY COOL about my riding. She know how happy it makes me, so she helps me out all she can.

Jason

Jason hit it on the head. If not for my wife's understanding, I would ride a lot less.

QUOTE=TimD]...Basically I go whenever there's a hint of an opening. You have to default to "going" rather than the usual "not going" or "let's see if I can think up an excuse not to go" - not to say you are doing that.

Get out there![/QUOTE]

Another great point. I picked up my 4 year old from school with the Burley. If we had gone out tonight, I would have ridden by bike and met the family there and rode back.

[Grant McLean]

Don't worry about it. If you look through these postings, one thing stands out: everyone who gets in a lot of miles has made some really hard decisions about how to fit them in. They get up early, leave work early, commute by bike, bike year round (those of us in the north have hard choices when winter rolls around) and/or give up chunks of weekends.

But folks here are also not the standard; they have committed to biking in ways that many folks don't understand (look at how most Americans would think of guys advising you to get up at 4:30 or 5 for cripes sake!).

I used to wonder how I could fit in more than my measly 3K a year also until I realized I had already made my decision. I had decided I didn't want to wake up that early, dedicate every free afternoon to the bike, do six hours on Saturday and Sunday, ride through the friggin' winter, etc. That would make it too much like a JOB. Now I understand that I have decided how to allocate my time and that the bike is an enjoyable activity, one I would never give up -- but not the be-all and end-all of my life. If it were, I'd do all those other things....because I wanted to. Now I ride when it's easy for me and when I want to and I continue to love it. Almost every ride is an outright pleasure. I feel like the happiest low-mileage guy in the country.

great post.

No point in worrying about somthing that won't change.
My good riding buddy just had a second kid, and they've
got a new home and a dog. He knows that the bike is
off the plate for a while, but not forever. Sometimes
you gotta accept where you are in your life, and just
do the best that you can.

I've never ridden when I didn't feel like it. Tonight was
a recovery ride, and i took the scenic route home, and
it was a blast. Sometimes a short ride is all you need
to recharge the batteries. Not every ride needs to be
an epic hammerfest. Sometimes it just needs to be a
spin on your bike on a nice evening.

g

[mflaherty37]

No wife, no kids, no job.

[AgilisMerlin]

week: between dropping kids off at school and work
weekends: short ride sat. short ride sun.


you get what you give

[chuckred]

Sometimes I read this foruim and I'm amazed at how much riding some of you do. I always ride Saturday and Sunday, and will often take an afternoon off during the week for a 25-miler. But some of you guys seem to ride four and five times a week. My work schedule is very loose, but I have many other obligations outside work. I'm just wondering how you do it, and whether or not you can teach me.

I travel for work - so when I'm in CA, I've got an old mtn bike and lights. Perfect for So Cal fire roads - year round. Can get two hours in 6:00 - 8:00...

[soulspinner]

Don't worry about it. If you look through these postings, one thing stands out: everyone who gets in a lot of miles has made some really hard decisions about how to fit them in. They get up early, leave work early, commute by bike, bike year round (those of us in the north have hard choices when winter rolls around) and/or give up chunks of weekends.

But folks here are also not the standard; they have committed to biking in ways that many folks don't understand (look at how most Americans would think of guys advising you to get up at 4:30 or 5 for cripes sake!).

I used to wonder how I could fit in more than my measly 3K a year also until I realized I had already made my decision. I had decided I didn't want to wake up that early, dedicate every free afternoon to the bike, do six hours on Saturday and Sunday, ride through the friggin' winter, etc. That would make it too much like a JOB. Now I understand that I have decided how to allocate my time and that the bike is an enjoyable activity, one I would never give up -- but not the be-all and end-all of my life. If it were, I'd do all those other things....because I wanted to. Now I ride when it's easy for me and when I want to and I continue to love it. Almost every ride is an outright pleasure. I feel like the happiest low-mileage guy in the country.


Feel exactly like you. I have never enjoyed riding more than i do now. Rubber down.

[chuckred]

gone out for a middle of the night ride? I have been thinking about trying it - just dont know about lights.

Other than that - I am a firefighter so I get to ride on my days off. I dont ride anywhere as much as alot of you do tho... 100 miles a week is the norm. :beer:

Don't know how it'd be on the road, but mountain biking at night is great.... a good set of lights is like having a whole new world of freedom!

[swalburn]

I have no kids, and this is my only hobby.

[sjbraun]

First of all, if you saw my yard you'd know where the time came from.

I commute to work, aiming to ride three times a week minimum. That gives me approx. 45 miles before the weekend rides.

Lately, I've slacked off a bit. I never want to ride just to accumulate numbers in my mileage log. That kills the joy of cycling for me in a big hurry.

I'm working on an online Masters degree (Nursing.) My goal for the MSN program was to continue to ride more than 5000 miles a year. So far, I'm on track.

Steve-who likes riding more than school work.

Tucson- where its not a challenge to ride all year round, provided you can get up early in the summer. You'd be surprised how many road riders train in the dark hours before dawn in summer.

[Steelhead]

During winter months I ride at night (at least in darkness) from 7:00 to 10:00 p.m. I have a Nightrider HID light and it's bighter than you need for night road rides, event descending at 30mph.

Now days we get so much sun light that I only need lights for the first hour of the ride. I get up at 4:00 a.m. and on my bike by 4:45 a.m.

When you get up at 4:00 what time do you go to bed? How much sleep are you getting?

[Lifelover]

gone out for a middle of the night ride? I have been thinking about trying it - just dont know about lights.

Other than that - I am a firefighter so I get to ride on my days off. I dont ride anywhere as much as alot of you do tho... 100 miles a week is the norm. :beer:


I love night riding. Most times I leave the house around 9:30 but have left as late as 11:00. I take a MTB with slicks and blinkies. The streets around my area are well lit enough that I don't really need anything else. I seek out sidewalks, parking lots, muts. Because it is a little dark it forces me to slow down and enjoy the ride.

Completely different experience than road riding during the day.

[Erik.Lazdins]

I usually wake up about 4AM and roll out of the garage at 4:15. A couple hours of riding to start your day is the way to go in my book. I typically go to bed about 9-9:30.

[Steelhead]

I usually wake up about 4AM and roll out of the garage at 4:15. A couple hours of riding to start your day is the way to go in my book. I typically go to bed about 9-9:30.

What type of effort are you doing on these early am rides? I usually get out for anywhere from 45 minutes to 1:30 in the morning, and I always try to hold back but it seems like I (as usual) push it and then I'm tired for the rest of the day. I wear a HRM and my goal is to ride for 1+ hour at a sustained level, not pegging it for most of the ride like I tend to do. I have a very regular route that I ride and I know it well so I have a few specific sections where I use road signs as markers for intervals, but other than that I'm just trying to get a good aerobic work out and keep the mileage up. :)