It's the early mornings I can't deal with.

supertwisted

I've done a few commutes to work on the bike. On the whole, it's an enjoyable experience. The foul weather doesn't bother me much, the close passing traffic is bearable and the burning lungs and aching legs are quite a cathartic experience.

But, getting up early enough in the morning, when opening my eyes is like seperating the slices of a cheese toastie and stumbling drowsily into my cycle gear is like getting dressed whilst drunk, before finally wobbling off on two wheels with a roiling early morning stomach, is torture.

Does it ever get any better?

Jamey

Hmmm, well if you're not a morning person then you're not a morning person and there's not a great deal you can do about it without looking at completely changing your sleeping habits and maybe other lifestyle things.

I was never one for mornings much but as I get older that seems to be changing. However I'm still fanatical about doing as much as humanly possible the night before so I only have the bare minimum to cope with in the morning.

I check the 24hr weather report in the evening to see what I'll need, then pack everything in my bag and make sure all my cycling clothes are laid out on the radiator (or two radiators at this time of year - colder means more clothes) so they're warm when I put them on.

iPete

My tip to get me going quicker; place all my layers on the radiator, nice and toastie to jump into!

supertwisted

I already put my clothes on the rads, cycling or not! Can't stand being cold in the mornings. The sheet ecstasy of putting on toastie socks fresh of the rad is not to be underestimated.

Yes to the getting prepped the night before though. On the occasions where I've had everything ready to go it's made the morning a little easier to cope with. Still feel like walking disease but at least I don't have to think.

BiggerBoat

+1 for iPete

I lay out everything I need the night before, like a fireman, for a quick getaway. Then I can get up and go before the pain of waking takes full effect. Then again, I leave at 6:30 in the morn, which is not too bad.

Stevo_666

Unless you have the self discipline to go to bed earlier, then Jameys suggestion of doing as much as you can the night before (including stuff like shaving) is the only other major thing you can do.

Oh, and try to have a bit of breakfast, it is a lot better than nothing - Weetabix & dried fruit works a treat for me and doesn't take long.

seataltea

I work shifts and if you think cycling to work at 6am is tough (which I do on earlies) try coming home at 3am when the last 1/2 mile is a real Pennine hill.

Kieran_Burns

Meh. Mornings are crap whether you cycle or not.

The beauty is:once you're ON the bike the cobwebs soon blow away and you're more awake, more quickly than you would be otherwise.

You want inspiration? Just think how good it feels 10 minutes into the ride when you're warned up, into your rhythm; compared to how crap you feel stuck in traffic 10 minutes after leaving home, knowing it's going to be like this ALL THE WAY IN.

Oh, and as above: preparation is the key. Get it all set up (clothes, gear, lights (CHARGED!) bike...all prepped)

ohlala!

Mornings are never a problem for me. But I think the biggest help for not feeling lazy in the morning is to get at least 8 hours sleep. I always make sure that I wake 2 hours before I have to leave the house. It gives me enough time to pray, eat breakfast, sit down and enjoy my coffee while watching the news, and then get ready.

Oh and don't forget to shower - it's a great refresher in the morning

hope this helps

Headhuunter

I love mornings. Admittedly they're not so pleasant when it's cold and rainy, but there's nothing like an early morning bike ride when the sun's just rising.

R_T_A

As you've got a young son, getting up early will be the norm.

I'm not sure if it gets easier, but if you don't ride in I'll guarantee you'll miss it. You're doing the hard months now, so when it starts to get sunny it will be a different ball game.

If you *have* to use alternative transport to go to work (e.g. bike broken, big meeting), you get annoyed.

salsarider79

Mornings are very difficult for me too. I used to work on the busses in Bath, and have, on occassions left the house at about 4am, and at other times have returned home at 1.30am...Okay, I love the moon, but....
Early mornings aren't so bad when spring arrives, there is something so invigrating about cycling along watching the sun rising. A cup of tea and a few minutes to sit down breath deeply...it's all very medative. Mind you it does help when you don't need to leave til 8.30am

Kieran_Burns

Headhuunter wrote:

I love mornings. blahblahblah.

You're sick. :?

bannedbiker

ohlala! wrote:

Mornings are never a problem for me. But I think the biggest help for not feeling lazy in the morning is to get at least 8 hours sleep. I always make sure that I wake 2 hours before I have to leave the house. It gives me enough time to pray, eat breakfast, sit down and enjoy my coffee while watching the news, and then get ready.

Oh and don't forget to shower - it's a great refresher in the morning

hope this helps

Ha, I'm the exact oposite of you! If I get 6 hours sleep I've done well. Getting up 2 hours befor i leave would mean getting up at 04:00, for 8 hours sleep that would mean bed at 20:00 but thats when i get home from work...! (I work 12 hours a day with an hour commute each way). Even the thought of caffeine before riding in the mornin makes me feel ill!

My routine goes something like this:
The night before, check my pack has plenty of water, stick my wallet/keys/phone/etc in my pack. Get the bike out of the shed and put the charged battery on.check the rear lights have good batteries. leave the bike in the kitchen for ease in the morning! make tomorrows lunch and stick it in the fridge. get my jacket/shoes/lid/gloves layed out in the kitchen for ease in the mornin again! Get my shorts/undershorts/baselayer and leave them on my bed (i cant cope with having warm clothes from a radiator on when i hit the icy air).
In the mornin, get up and get dressed. stumble down to the kitchen, get some bread in the toaster and stick the radio on. move lunch from fridge to pack. at the same time as making and eating the toast, get jacket/shoes/lid/gloves/pack on. grab the bike and get gone, eating the last bit of toast as i ride out of my street.

rjsterry

Kieran_Burns wrote:

...10 minutes into the ride when you're warned up...

Excuse me?

Explain to me how you get warm in 10 minutes on a day like today. No, seriously, if you know the secret, then let us know.

Kieran_Burns

rjsterry wrote:

Kieran_Burns wrote:

...10 minutes into the ride when you're warned up...

Excuse me?

Explain to me how you get warm in 10 minutes on a day like today. No, seriously, if you know the secret, then let us know.

I'm a fat bast*rd. Natural cladding and lack of fitness makes for rapid warm ups :oops:

Well, that and wearing my winter kit :P

Bassjunkieuk

R_T_A wrote:

As you've got a young son, getting up early will be the norm.

Trust me, kids will help sort out your morning routine! I normally get up at 6:30 and ff I'm lucky I might get to have breakfast by myself and then it's upstairs to get washed. Once I'm done I then wake up the kids and help them get ready. Thankfully they can do their own breakfast, either themselves or one of the big sisters will do if for them. THen it's the usual yelling and shouting at them when they moan about not being able to find uniform, despite it all being the the same place as it is usually :-)

Generally (or should I say ideally) all my cycling gear is in one drawer in the bathroom so I just grab what I need from there and get changed. This routine can change depending on where I'm working, oddly the worst days are those where I need to drive to Woking as I leave the house at 7:15! Most days tho I'll be leaving around 8am so have an hour and a half to get myself ready and do a few chores (dishwasher at least) before I go.

supertwisted

Bassjunkieuk wrote:

R_T_A wrote:

As you've got a young son, getting up early will be the norm.

Trust me, kids will help sort out your morning routine!..

Yes, well spotted. His routine currently has me up and out of bed around 6:30ish, whereas prior to having him I was crawling out of bed around 8ish, so in that respect the hardest part (actually getting out of bed) he helps me do.

Now just need to discipline myself to get ready and on the bike by 7:30 instead of lazing around 'til 8:30 and taking the car!

kelsen

The thought of being at the mercy of the National Rail timetable and being crammed amongst the Metro reading herd is usually motivation enough for me. I suppose if your alternative is a car then it makes that choice a bit tougher, especially when it's freezing like today. Getting enough sleep definitely helps!

Burleybob

I'm not a morning person but there was so much good advice in this thread that I couldn't ignore it. As it was my first commute (13 miles each way) this year I knew I'd have to take it in stages. So I checked the weather report, bundled my kit up the night before (thanks Jamey!), checked my lights and put the bike in the back of the car. It made the working day a lot more pleasurable knowing I was going to be riding home.
But it was soooo scary riding home on unlit country roads. Especially scary when I hit a pothole on a downhill stretch and my Halford front light decided to switch itself off.
Getting up the next day was made easier knowing I had no choice but to bike in. Having my kit waiting for me all nice and toasty was a plus and it wasn't so bad commuting in as the sun rose. But I'm definitely having second thoughts about commuting in the dark. Country road + traffic + potholes = bad combination

Eau Rouge

Kieran_Burns wrote:

You want inspiration? Just think how good it feels 10 minutes into the ride when you're warned up, into your rhythm;

Thats all well and good but even on a slow day it only takes me 9 minutes to get into work.

supertwisted

Burleybob wrote:

I'm not a morning person but there was so much good advice in this thread that I couldn't ignore it. As it was my first commute (13 miles each way) this year I knew I'd have to take it in stages. So I checked the weather report, bundled my kit up the night before (thanks Jamey!), checked my lights and put the bike in the back of the car. It made the working day a lot more pleasurable knowing I was going to be riding home.
But it was soooo scary riding home on unlit country roads. Especially scary when I hit a pothole on a downhill stretch and my Halford front light decided to switch itself off.
Getting up the next day was made easier knowing I had no choice but to bike in. Having my kit waiting for me all nice and toasty was a plus and it wasn't so bad commuting in as the sun rose. But I'm definitely having second thoughts about commuting in the dark. Country road + traffic + potholes = bad combination

My commute is much the same in terms of distance and roads. Before my son came along I was pretty fit so the 25 mile round trip was a breeze, but I've taken a bit of a dive since then so it's harder now.

I have a mix of busy, unlit, rural b-roads on my route . It's the safest route I can find, but it's pretty hairy at times, especially in the dark. The worst stage is narrow, poorly surfaced and bestowed with several blind corners. I try to make myself look as big as possible so ppl leave me space as they pass.

cjcp

Kieran_Burns wrote:

rjsterry wrote:

Kieran_Burns wrote:

...10 minutes into the ride when you're warned up...

Excuse me?

Explain to me how you get warm in 10 minutes on a day like today. No, seriously, if you know the secret, then let us know.

I'm a fat bast*rd. Natural cladding and lack of fitness makes for rapid warm ups :oops:

Well, that and wearing my winter kit :P

I've got a hill that starts 0.6 miles from home. That warms me up!

@OP - if mornings aren't great, they won't be any better on public transport . I'm not very nimble for the first 20 minutes of the morning. Three cheers for coffee!

Bassjunkieuk

cjcp wrote:

I've got a hill that starts 0.6 miles from home. That warms me up!

That's always a good way to warm up! If I'm heading out via Dulwich then it's practically straight up South Norwood Hill as soon as I get to the end of my road :-)

supertwisted

cjcp wrote:

Kieran_Burns wrote:

rjsterry wrote:

Kieran_Burns wrote:

...10 minutes into the ride when you're warned up...

Excuse me?

Explain to me how you get warm in 10 minutes on a day like today. No, seriously, if you know the secret, then let us know.

I'm a fat bast*rd. Natural cladding and lack of fitness makes for rapid warm ups :oops:

Well, that and wearing my winter kit :P

I've got a hill that starts 0.6 miles from home. That warms me up!

@OP - if mornings aren't great, they won't be any better on public transport . I'm not very nimble for the first 20 minutes of the morning. Three cheers for coffee!

As it happens I've also got quite a monstrous (to me) climb about 5 mins into my ride. Be the time I've reached the top, I feel absolutely terrible!

Spend the next 10 mins of my commute recovering.

No to public transport for me in every respect. I'm out in the sticks. There may be a bus service that gets within 5 miles of my workplace, but I'd wager it costs more than driving and takes 5 times as long.

Norky

supertwisted wrote:

But, getting up early enough in the morning, when opening my eyes is like seperating the slices of a cheese toastie and stumbling drowsily into my cycle gear is like getting dressed whilst drunk, before finally wobbling off on two wheels with a roiling early morning stomach, is torture.

+1

Once I'm on the bike, the actual riding, in whatever weather and temperature, is usually great, but for me, levering myself out of my pit on the cold mornings is a herculean act of willpower. I live ~22 miles from work, and it's mostly rural so it's a lot quicker by car (30-40 minutes compared to 1:20-1:30 on the bike, and that's not counting 'faff' time, shower, etc). The number of times I've got up too late and have had to drive just to make it in on time... Most days I drive 2/3 of the way, dump my car at relatives' place and ride the final 7 miles.

As others have said on this forum, prepare everything (even down to tea bag in the mug/pot and breakfast [I find porridge works quite well for warmth and energy] things on the table) the night before, so that you don't have to think about anything on the way out of the door in the morning. Put bikes clothes on the radiator in your bedroom. Just think of it as preparing for a reluctant grumpy child to give them no excuse for being late.

supertwisted

Norky wrote:

...a reluctant grumpy child....

Has my wife been telling you about me...

Norky

Burleybob wrote:

But it was soooo scary riding home on unlit country roads. Especially scary when I hit a pothole on a downhill stretch and my Halford front light decided to switch itself off.
Getting up the next day was made easier knowing I had no choice but to bike in. Having my kit waiting for me all nice and toasty was a plus and it wasn't so bad commuting in as the sun rose. But I'm definitely having second thoughts about commuting in the dark. Country road + traffic + potholes = bad combination

If you can bring yourself to spend over 200 quid on lights, then Exposure lights http://www.exposurelights.com/ are awesome. I have the Toro (700 lumen on max output) on the front (£230 from my LBS), and the Red-eye on the back (more reasonable at £35, takes power from the front light battery).

The front light does a great job of showing up the potholes and cr*p on the country lanes I ride on my way back home. Exposure do a commuting-specific light, with a more rectangular beam pattern and two LEDs, one flashing, one lighting the way - my brother has it but I'm finding mine is better when it's the only source of light. They're both very bright though: coming back together after dark when we first got the lights, we would occasionally be looking back over the shoulder for the car that was behind us, only to realise it was the light of the other rider. The Toro and their top end light (Maxx-D?) were designed for DH MTB racing I think, where being able to see every root and tree branch is critical.

I spent a bit of time adjusting mine so I could be sure it wasn't blinding the oncoming traffic and was pointing an appropriate distance in front of me. I've also got into the habit of switching the output from max to medium when there are cars coming the other way.

Since I've been using the rear red-eye on unlit roads, I've found cars waiting behind me for a while then passing with their RHS wheels up against/on the RHS verge - it's that bright I'm sure they don't know what exactly they're passing: scooter, bike, motorbike

I think there are a couple of other British manfacturers (Lumicycle for one) making pricey but well-built and very bright lights. See if you can give one a try.

Norky

supertwisted wrote:

Norky wrote:

...a reluctant grumpy child....

Has my wife been telling you about me...

Heh, sounds like we're pretty similar. Mine has just agreed that "reluctant and grumpy" describes me in the morning too. :roll:

cjcp

Norky wrote:

supertwisted wrote:

Norky wrote:

...a reluctant grumpy child....

Has my wife been telling you about me...

Heh, sounds like we're pretty similar. Mine has just agreed that "reluctant and grumpy" describes me in the morning too. :roll:

Another one here. My eldest says, "Daddy, you're so grumpy." The kids often have to pull my arms to get me out of bed.

R_T_A

Burleybob wrote:

...Especially scary when I hit a pothole on a downhill stretch and my Halford front light decided to switch itself off....
...But I'm definitely having second thoughts about commuting in the dark. Country road + traffic + potholes = bad combination

Burleybob - My route sounds very similar to yours (country roads used as a shortcuts for locals), and I'd be scared if I didn't have some seriously bright lights. You can get a decent front light for about £50, and it'll make a massive difference to your commute. I wouldn't drive at night with side lights on 8)

Mind you, I still hit the odd pot hole... :oops:

And getting up will always be the hardest part of my day.