Getting up in the morning!

Azhar

Good Morning folks,

On the previous post i created about commuting 16.4 miles to work (thats one way) i mentioned that I could now do the distance, even though there were a few scary hills. But what i do have trouble with at the moment is waking up for 5 am getting ready and getting out the door for 0520-0530 and getting to work for about 7ish and starting half an hour later. It just seems so easy to have that extra lie in and then use the car to get to work in. Is there anything anyone does to motivate them selves at that time to get out on their bike to get to work? rather than using car? no matter what kind of weather might be outside?

corshamjim

I got rid of my car!

(don't get me wrong, we still have one car, but my wife Claire uses it the most during the week now).

craker

So you're working on a 2 1/2 hour bed to desk schedule? I think that would sap my enthusiasm too. For example I try and get out of the house at 6-50 for a 15 mile commute and an 8 o'clock start (50-55 minutes of cycling), and I can do bed to shed in ten minutes (desk breakfast).

The other thing is habit... it used to be once a week, then twice a week. Now its five days and I get right grumpy if I have to drive in. When the weather's bad or I'm feeling tired I shave 5 miles of the commute by driving the first bit - in practice it only saves 10 minutes overall but it really helps keep me on the bike.

Keep at it and learn to save time off the bike.

rubertoe

You think your having trouble now!

Wait until the depths of winter when it is minus whatever outside, then you'll struggle :shock:

You just get used to it, best thing i find is that get up when the alarm goes off, dont snooze.

bails87

After a couple of weeks you'll end up preferring the bike to a lie in and the car.

tonye_n

I would strongly suggest that you need to be getting up at least 1/2 hour earlier.
I have to leave my house at latest 4:40 am for the 12 mile commute to the Bristol train station.
I set the alarm on my phone for 4 o'clock. The alarm is left on the chest of drawers on the other end of the bedroom, forcing me to get up (otherwise I get a vicious kick from the missus).

I go straight into the shower when I get up, then get into cycling gear, down a bowl of oats, load pre-packed lunch and its away we go. Takes at least 30 minutes, but after the shower I am always fresh and kinda looking forward to the commute.

tonye_n

Honestly it does get more addictive as you do it for longer (commuting that is...)
I don't race, have never raced and I am not a MAMIL.

I have been commuting almost every day for about 2 years now.
I now only take the car when I have to go somewhere immediately after work, like a school event for the kids or somat.
The upcoming weather is the best time to start.
Sure it will rain often. But you will find that on average you will rarely get a good soaking on your commute, and by the time the winter kicks in you are much fitter and know the route so well that you are better able to cope with the winter conditions.

chiefinspector

Just think of all the people looking miserable stuck in traffic while you can keep moving on your bike. That puts a smile on my face .

I agree it is very easy to use the car (especially when it is raining) but it is much easier at this time of year with the lighter mornings. Another good motivator is to create a goal for how much miles you plan to commute throughout the year. I use a garmin edge 800 for this and log the miles on garmin connect (although you can log miles and set goals on various other devices & apps for phones). so far i have completed 53% of the years goal so am on target to beat it. Just up the stakes a bit for the following year.

Azhar

thanks for the replies. i've made a list of what will motivate me that will get me out of bed for sure. but i have this real nervous feeling on the ride back home. i finish at 5pm, in the height of rush hour, roads are kinda narrow so i feel like i'm holding up traffic and some traffic ligts are on roads that have slight incline so if i have to unclip then it will be difficult getting back on to it again and make a fool of myself. i think travelling back home on my bike is what i'm MOST nervous about. i dont want to get in the way of cars or not be able to clip in its slightly uphill which makes ti difficult. how do you guys cope with that! grr!!!

rubertoe

When coming to a set of lights, keep one foot clipped in, and put it in a really easy gear. You should be able to spin away with only one leg if you have to. You dont need to clip in straight away.

As for the cars, regardless of what you may have heard, been told, etc you have just as much right to be there as they do.

bails87

Azhar, read Cyclecraft by John Franklin, seriously! Hopefully that will explain how to deal with traffic, it certainly did with me.

CiB

Azhar why not just stick to driving? You've spent over a month just building up to doing a short bike ride, now you tell us you're not that keen on getting up early and don't fancy being in the way on the ride home.

Alternatively - dons +ve hat - do like Bails says and read Cyclecraft (8 quid on Amazon). Seems to me a lot of hand-holding is going on here. Your best way would be to jump on your bike and do it a few times, then come back on here and tell us how easy it was and how even after just a couple of rides your road sense and confidence has increased enormously. It's not rocket science; a huge number of people do it without any fuss or drama. This has been going on too long though.

Enjoy it; good luck.

shouldbeinbed

CiB wrote:

Azhar why not just stick to driving? You've spent over a month just building up to doing a short bike ride, now you tell us you're not that keen on getting up early and don't fancy being in the way on the ride home.

Alternatively - dons +ve hat - do like Bails says and read Cyclecraft (8 quid on Amazon). Seems to me a lot of hand-holding is going on here. Your best way would be to jump on your bike and do it a few times, then come back on here and tell us how easy it was and how even after just a couple of rides your road sense and confidence has increased enormously. It's not rocket science; a huge number of people do it without any fuss or drama. This has been going on too long though.

Enjoy it; good luck.

Harsh but true & good advice.

I'd forget about the cars being there and focus on doing your own thing. 99.9% of drivers are fine regardless of the doom and gloom merchants that might try to tell you different. Be assertive, be obvservant with eyes and ears, signal your intentions clearly, don't 'get in the way' just for the sake of it, if it is safe to pull in a little to help cars past then fine do it, but don't live in the gutter, you have no less rights than anything else on the road.

Expect a clipless moment, everyone has one, its part of the game. You can mitigate against it by setting up your cleats properly, treating them as part of your routine weekly maintenance and having clip in and out practice in the local park or even your lounge.

Cycling is fun, stop overthinking it and get some miles in. Mornings are full of beautiful sights & sounds and think of the quieter roads at 6am

mtb-idle

I set myself a distance target to cycle for the year. I also have a 'calculator' that lets me know how far ahead (or behind) of schedule I am. This helps, especially if you tell people about the target or get mates to set a target too.

Current distance covered this year at bottom of post.

Calculator or Deficit Denier as i call it (on xl spreadsheet) goes something like this:

Today's date: 06/06/2012
Day in year 158
Annual Target 12,000 km
daily target 32.867km (12,000/365)
Target to date 5,195 km (32.867x158)
Actual distance covered 5,540 km
So I'm currently ahead of schedule by 345 km

(this all calculates automatically. All i do is enter my actual distance covered)

Azhar

CiB wrote:

Azhar why not just stick to driving? You've spent over a month just building up to doing a short bike ride, now you tell us you're not that keen on getting up early and don't fancy being in the way on the ride home.

Alternatively - dons +ve hat - do like Bails says and read Cyclecraft (8 quid on Amazon). Seems to me a lot of hand-holding is going on here. Your best way would be to jump on your bike and do it a few times, then come back on here and tell us how easy it was and how even after just a couple of rides your road sense and confidence has increased enormously. It's not rocket science; a huge number of people do it without any fuss or drama. This has been going on too long though.

Enjoy it; good luck.

agree with you. harsh but true. i suppose its just a confidence thing. i havent really ridden when its really busy, its either been early morning or late on in the evening when its not really busy. BUT...i've just got everything ready for tomorrow. and ready to take up at 0430 tomorrow and get going for about 5ish so at least when i get there at about 0630 i've had a chance to cool down, get changed, have summat to eat and chill out for a little while before i start work. once agin thanks for eveyrones contribution. i suppose you're comment Mr CiB is just the kick up the a$$ i needed. i'll be posting back on this topic tomorrow when i get in

redderekthelampshade

just get on your bike and do it.. no one likes getting up early.

bails87

Good luck! Take your time. And (something I see too few cyclists doing) check over your shoulder before your move out, it's called a 'lifesaver' for a reason.

Initialised

Keep it up and it becomes second nature. Start off with two days on the bike and build to the full five as you gain confidence, fitness and ability, then sell your car.

You are traffic, don't be afraid to take the lane, especially on pinch points roundabouts and right turns and especially when you are moving as fast as the cars. That way you'll train them to respond properly to bikes as the same people drive the same route and pass you in roughly the same stretch every day. The more we expose ourselves to motorists the better.

I'm planning to do an extra 15 or so miles tomorrow. One route looks like this:



Naughty 400ft in 2 mile urban climb to start off with, the stop-start nature of urban riding with the added bonus of climbing at 8-12mph in front of irate motorists makes it much more of a grind than a country climb. To the surprise of Mrs ini and others I do this not because I have to take the bike (Metro's are off so PT is almost out of the question) and accepting a lift would be 12mile less cycling.

CiB

Azhar wrote:

CiB wrote:

stuff...

agree with you. harsh but true. <stuff...> i suppose you're comment Mr CiB is just the kick up the a$$ i needed. i'll be posting back on this topic tomorrow when i get in

Good lad. Have a go, and don't forget it's meant to be fun. And enjoy the moment when you complete your first ludicrous commute.

Azhar

I DID IT!!!!! I woke up at 0430. had a shower, had some weetabix and then by the time i got outside it was 0510. set off at that time and got in to work at 0634!! i'd post the strava link but work computers have put a block on that website for some reason. anyway the first ten miles are the hardest of my commute cos of the hils i tackle early on. however there was a hill, not sure how far in but i might have been just about half way, i got cramp in my right thigh. not the whole muscle but like an isolated area. took a break, stretched my thigh and carried on.

i was a little afraid to to put too much power going up the few more hills i had to come across but surprisingly when i took it easy up those hills i did alrite! so i must have been pushing myself a little too hard to begin with. but i was very glad i did it.

and also getting up at 0430 was ok. i was a little nervous last night and this morning setting off and tackling the scary hills but it were alrite. quiet roads. not a lot of trafffic. and the way home is a littl easier. there are some hills but not as many has i had to tackle this morning. ahh...now i'm working till 6pm.

redderekthelampshade

I think I speak for everyone when I say 'thank god for that'.

(well done, keep it up.)

rubertoe

I bet your looking forward to the journey home already.

jefflad

rubertoe wrote:

I bet your looking forward to the journey home already.

I bet he's wanting to go to sleep 8)

redderekthelampshade

It could be another month before he plucks up the courage to ride home :-)

Azhar

redderekthelampshade wrote:

It could be another month before he plucks up the courage to ride home :-)

you cheeky git! lol. i'm loving the quietness in the morning and at laest i set off early enough that i didnt feel i have to rush. its jst the way home. its raining at the moment, and i still got another 3 hours in work so i'll jst take my time getting back. but to be honest i am tireed!!!

rubertoe

Its pouring down here.

A freind of mine's bike is being repaired at the moment. He is having to get the Tube home, guess who is the least happiest.

Azhar

i was made up that i made it to work this morning. but when i was reading the posts during the day time, i wasnt actually yearning to get back on the bike. i was just so tired! However, on the way back i managed to get soaked. my socks are wet through. so sounds i need some overshoes for this. another thing i gotta buy . but i'm glad i finally went from doing small rides, getting my confidence up to where i am now. i think i'll be aiming for 3 times a week for a few weeks and then every day. i'm glad it rained on the way home today. at least i got the experience of how sort of hard and careful i need to be. thanks for everyone who egged me on and gave me the advice and the harsh comment given as well! its not holding hands. its just advice. some people need it more than others sometimes.

have a nice evening my friends

tarbot18

well in mate welcome to the addictive world of cycle commuting ,

tarbot18

well in mate welcome to the addictive world of cycle commuting .
i rode 6 miles into liverpool city centre tonight which was er interesting traffic wise then onto ferry over to wirral and a nice 12 mile ride round the coast to home .
i got thoroughly soaked and my work mates and mrs think im nuts especially when i have 1 car sitting in the drive but if i dont ride to work it ruins my day im consumed with guilt for some reason feel fat lazy etc , it gives me a buzz at the start of the day and to be honest its ab it of me time for a few hours a day away from the mayhem of work and the rugrats.
ps dont even start with strava i no longer have leisure rides i just prep for the next segment and compete with my own times and others doh........

i started like you ..............

king_jeffers

Prob already posted but I'm late for work and don't have time to read the whole thread...!

Put your stuff out the night before, make sure everything is packed and your commuting clothes laid out. That way you can at least guilt yourself into getting on the bike :-)

As for rush hour, I tend to leave around 1710/1715 and find this makes all the difference. Usually most of the traffic is out of the way by the time I hit key congestion points.

Seweryn

corshamjim wrote:

I got rid of my car!

(don't get me wrong, we still have one car, but my wife Claire uses it the most during the week now).

I have done the same and there is no excuse now, as for most of the time there is no option for me to take the only car that we share, as it is being used by my second half.

My route is 22km each way (if I take the shortest route) and for the last 7 months I only commute on the bike, except few occasions, where I needed to travel by car for work.