How do you find time to ride on weekdays?

[scottcw]

My workday is from 8:00-8:30 to around 5:30. I get home around 6:00. It does not stay light long enough for me to get in a good ride in the evening. Same in reverse for morning riding. I used to work at a place that had a locker room with showers, so I would ride during lunch. My current place of work does not have showers, so that is out.

How do you find time to ride on weekdays? just do a quick 15-20 in the morning/evening or do you have some way that you are able to work in longer rides?

[Climb01742]

get up really early in the summer and ride outdoors. ;) in winter, get up really early and ride indoors. :crap:

[FlaRider]

I wake up at 5:00 am and ride from 6:00am to 8:00am. Shave, shower and into work by 9 am. My commute if only 20 minutes. You may need to wake up a 4 or 4:30 am to get a ride in if your commute is longer. If you ride that early, you will need a head light and tail light, at the very least.

[va rider]

bike commute 3 to 4 days a week (30 miles/day). 1 to 2 lunches per week ride for 50 minutes.

I have showers where I work :D

[bulliedawg]

I ride in the morning before work and before the sun comes up, but I don't have a "set" time that I have to be in the office. Still, I'm usually there between 8:30 and 9 even on days that I ride.

I have a 20-mile loop that I do during the week. It has enough hills to keep it interesting. And then I go further distances on the weekend. I'm fortunate that I live in a rural enough area that I can just roll out my driveway and start turning them over. I feel sorry for people who have to brave city traffic before getting out into the country, or, worse yet, have to drive somewhere with their bike. I fear that time will come here where I live. But when it does, I'll be long gone to someplace else with undeveloped land.

[Dr. Doofus]

Dear Time-Trauma-Tried Serottans:

Your correspondent had the relative luxury of starting days at his former school at 6AM and leaving at 2:30, allowing him to ride by 3:00 or 3:30 each day. Of course, he was waking at 4:00 to make the 35-mile drive to school, but at least he could ride while the sun was out, yes?

Currently, your Doctor arrives at Rock Hill High by 7, leaves at 5, but packs a bike in the back of his truck, changes in the bathroom, and gets in some training before it gets dark around 8. As the days grow shorter, your Doofus will have to arrive at 6 so he can tidy up and leave by 4....

If the location allows, bring the bike to work....


Your Humble servant,

Dr. D. Doofus, Esq.

[William]

Early mornings during the week are out for me right now. I have to have my wife to the train station for a commute to Boston by 7:00. My wife just landed a good job here in RI so when that starts that will free up early mornings during the week. I run my own business so I often have some time open up during the late morning/early afternoon to get a ride in. In the evenings (when I'm not training people) I will often jump on the rollers so I can spin and get a little more riding time in.

On the weekends I'm usually up and on the road by 6:00 - 6:30 so I can get a good ride in and still have the rest of the day with the family.

William

[Benjamin]

get some lights and hit the road!

for better or worse, i live in an urban environment. i have to ride a few slow miles through traffic to get to a park, but then i've got a 3.75 or 6 mile traffic free loop, depending on where i go.

i imagine i'd be more reserved about sharing the road with cars at night.

[bostondrunk]

if you get home at 6, why don't you have time to get a couple hours in??? Where do you live, the south pole?! :beer:

[dirtdigger88]

I once got up every morning at 5:00 am to get my rides in. Now, I am blessed with an infant son, so I get up once in a while at 5:00 am to get in a ride. The rest of the time I sleep in cause my boy kept me up late. :banana:

jason

[William]

I feel for you. :) Been there, done that. :) :)

Sleeping in for our kids still means getting up around 6:30 - 7:00. :crap: :crap: :crap:

:D William :D

[dirtdigger88]

Next spring I am buying a trailer and I am going to wake the ankle biter up at 5 am to TAKE him on a ride. Good pay back, good for the legs. I just long for the day for dad to take the young one out and school him on a bike. You know let him know dad isn't so old after all.

Jason

[Dekonick]

I cant wait until I have an ankle biter... still working on that.

For me, its unfair to compare as my work schedule allows me to ride 2 out of 3 days. My schedule is normally from 7am to 7am the next day (24 hour shift) - then 48 hours off - repeat. Usually my first day off I go home and sleep until about noon, then go for a ride. I go for a ride on the following day then back to work.

It would be fantastic except I also teach (usually on weekends) and work overtime. That and the 'honey do' list keep my rides to about 2 hours on average. Weekly mileage for me averages from 90-140. I really want to get it up to 200 - but the honey do list never seems to get done! :crap:

If I were to work a day work schedule, I would commute.

Ride on! :bike:

[ericmurphy]

Live in downtown San Francisco. Work in downtown San Francisco. Eight-minute walk to work (too short to bother riding). Get home from work at 5:30. On the road by 5:45. Usually only do an hour-long ride (12-13 miles; a lot of stopping at stop signs). But it's light out until at least 8:30 this time of year. In the winter, it's dark by the time I get home, but that's why god invented headlights.

If I ride 100-140 miles on the weekend, and then even 35 miles during the week, I'm getting in 120-180 miles for the week.

[Tom]

I can wander in about 8-9 in the morning which gives me time for 30-40 before work if I get my sorry butt out of bed and have a couple cups of coffee. Fortunately Karen likes to run early in the morning so things work well. I have a pretty short commute and I like to stay after the big 5pm traffic pulse so the drive home isn't so hairy.

[RichMc]

I get home anywhere from 5:30 pm to 6:00 pm depending on traffic. That usually leaves enough time to get in 15 to 25 miles. We'll be losing light fast in the evenings starting next week and by the end of Sept. it'll be back to the indoor trainer. I've thought about headlights but there is a lot of junk on our roads and it's a dodge game even in broad daylight. But hey, I really, really don't like that trainer even with Stevie Ray turned up and the fans going. Will have to tough it out until mid February as far as after work goes.

[Kevan]

the lawn has turned to bamboo. I've always preferred the look of natural wood than painted exterior walls. The stairs aren't THAT dangerous. The constant drip of the faucet prevents the pipes from freezing. Okay, so the microwave door doesn't seal; stand away from it!

There's always time to ride. :D

[froze]

I commute to work, then on the way home I take a long detour. Sure it's starting to get dark earlier, so you use a headlight and taillight no big deal. If I didn't commute I would still go out after I got home.

If your a family man then you have to be careful you balance your time and you may not be able to ride enough to train for races, but you can still get some decent riding in. I ride every other day about 20-25 miles on those days, the other days I'm with the family all evening instead of just an hour or 2 before they go to bed. Then on either a Saturday or Sunday I do my 50 to 100 mile rides.

[TimB]

I get up at 4:45am and head to the gym five days a week for a quick 30-35 minutes, then a quick shower and a 40 minute drive and I am at work by 7am. I'm off at 3:30pm but with a 19 month old daughter I tend to limit my riding during the week to one or two nights after work so I can see her in the evenings before she goes to bed. When I do ride, I stop on the way home where there is a nice 25 mile loop. I can typically be on the road by about 4:15pm. I do this year-round and even in late December when light is shortest, I need lights only for about the last half-hour or so.

[Ray]

I work from 7:30-3:30 and live two miles from work. I'm home by 3:45 (generally commute by bike), changed and on the road by 4-4:15, and back from a quick ride in time for dinner at about 6:30. Usually good for 30-35 miles. Sometimes, usually when my wife and kids are otherwise engaged, I'll stay out until 8 or 8:30 and get 40-50 miles in, grabbing a late dinner. I don't usually ride more than 2-3 times during the week, but my schedule works really well for riding. Did about 35 last night and made it home for dinner.

During the winter, I don't ride much during the week - mostly just my commute and then whatever the weather allows on weekends. I kind of like the hibernation time. I do yoga and pilates a lot more in the winter, play some basketball, and also grab plenty of couch time.

-Ray

[Spectrum Bob]

I roll out of bed at around 5:25, 4 times during the week and hit the trainer for 30 minutes. I am able to get out once sometimes twice during the week after work for a 16 to 28 mile ride, as long as there is light.
In the winter once or twice a week when I can’t get outside I get up a little earlier and do a spinervals tape.

[Keith A]

I'm another early riser and ride about 3 mornings a week before work which means riding in the dark for most of the year. A good head and tail light are a must along with getting to bed early. I typically have enought time to ride 20 to 30 miles.

With three children at home, after work just doesn't work for me. Plus here on the east coast of Florida, it is always more windy and rainy in the afternoons.

[davep]

On mornings I ride I get up between 5:00 and 5:30, depending on how far I want to ride, and am out the door 15 minutes. 20 - 30 miles and I try to be home by 7:00am. Then my wife can go out for her ride and I can watch our 2 1/2 year old, if he's up, or relax and read the paper if he's not. I own my own business and don't need to get to the office until 10:00. Even if I wanted to ride in the afternoon/evening, mornings are also much cooler, drier and less traffic.

[kidamaro]

I use lights early in the morning, or late in the evening, before and after all the car commuters. You can also commute to work, or partially commute to work. I commute home on Monday's, leaving the car at work, and commute back in on Tuesday Morning. Easy way to get in miles. I just keep a big thing of baby wipes in my desk to clean up. So far no one has complained.

[bcm119]

I used to commute to and fro 4 days a week in SoCal 24 miles round trip. I loved it; its a great way to start a day, get in miles, and ride off any post-work frustration. I had no showers at work and I dealt with it okay.

Now I live 1 mile from my job, so I ride at lunch time. Usually 90 minutes at about 11:30 to 1 or so, sometimes I push it to 2 hours. I have a government contractor job so nobody really cares where I am. Again, I don't shower after my ride, I just change into loose fitting clothes and wash the salt off my face and neck. Today I did 28 miles in 94-degree heat, so I am covered in salt, but I don't interact with many people at my job.

Evenings are for sipping beer and cooking!

[BumbleBeeDave]

. . . I have a news meeting every day at 4:30 and can seldom get out before 5:45, unless I have my daughter that week. Then I leave earlier by kind permission of my boss, but obviously can’t ride.

I have taken the bike to work before and headed out straight from the office, since it’s right by the local bike trail and convenient to get out of town in about 20 minutes on the bike. But I haven’t done that this year. I got in 32 this evening starting at 6pm and that’s pretty good. Things have gotten easier the last couple of years as my daughter has gotten old enough to stay by herself and she is very understanding about Dad’s need to work off the stress.

I also bought a good light for my mountain bike last year and that’s very useful during the marginal spring/fall days. I’ve also decided to get an LED front light for my road bike to take advantage of that extra 30 minutes or so in the evening when it’s still light enough for me to see where I’m going, but I worry about the cars seeing me.

I just can’t get up and do it in the morning--guess I’m just not a morning person for excercise--well, with at least ONE exception (heh,heh!) ;)

BBDave

[Dekonick]

Thats not exercise...

Sheesh - BEE careful with that pollen... you never know where its BEEn...
I guess thats what the Buzz is all about...

Heh - I agree. Mornings suck but I plan on riding a quick 25 tomorrow (will take 2 or so hours because its hills:)

[MarinRider]

It's amazing how much riding you can do by waking up by 4:00 a.m. I frequently do 40 miles and 4000 feet before going to work. Need good headlights and here in California there really is no real summer/winter distinction so it's year around at 4:00 a.m. It's just the matter of how long to leave the lights on.