How long to get ready?

wheezee

It sometimes seems like I spend longer faffing around getting ready for a ride than actually riding. How quickly can people go from zero to being out on the bike, fully kitted up with everything you need shoved in your pockets/seat bag?

And if it's less than half an hour can you give me some tips?

♠ChumBucket♠

Get it all ready the night before.

simona75

When I go out on Sunday mornings I'm often required back by a certain time so every minute saved at home is another minute out on the bike. My tips are

1. Do all bike prep the night before (tyre pressures, chain lubicated etc)
2. Leave all my cycling clothes out ready
3. Make sure water bottles are all cleaned out and on the side ready
4. Use the same pockets each time on my jersey for my gear (right for food, middle for phone and money, left for tube, lever and pump) and have all these items out next to my clothes
5. Know exactly where my door keys are!

With this and a quick breakfast I can be out in 15-20 minutes

roypsb

Lube around the dangly bits.
Get dressed.
Cut some malt loaf and put in foil.
Fill drinks bottle and add tablet.
Put shoes on.
Put phone in seat pack.
Money - check.
Bike out of garage.
Gloves and helmet on.
I'm off.

10 mins max.

pst88

With all the faffing, procrastinating and psyching myself up about an hour.

neeb

I CAN do it pretty quickly if I have to (say under 10 mins if nothing has been prepared before), but if I haven't got a deadline I can waste ages faffing... What jersey to wear?, spend ages pulling and shifting the bibs around to get the chamois in just the right place, oh, the chain could do with a clean, rear brake isn't quite centred, one bottle or two? hmm, shade lenses could do with a wipe, maybe I should add another field to the main screen on the Garmin?, maybe I should start a post on Bike Radar about Garmin main screen setup? etc, etc...

danowat

Half and hour??? what the hell are you doing?

about 5 mins for me...........

neeb

pst88 wrote:

With all the faffing, procrastinating and psyching myself up about an hour.

Oh yes, I forgot about the procrastinating / psyching up. "I'm feeling a bit knackered, I could just have a rest day today and then go for a hard session tomorrow... No, go for it, the weather might be crap tomorrow. No, I really do need a rest day. Well, just go for a recovery ride and you can still manage a hard session tomorrow" (etc, etc).

slowbike

Last week I did Bed to on bike in 20 mins - including breakfast!!

How?
It's easy - the bike is ready to ride as is - tools & spares are in a saddlebag. Pump is on the frame. If theres any maintenance work to be done that prevents riding then it's done prior to needing the bike.
Clothes - again, easy - either long or short sleeve - done ... Shorts, Mids or Longs - (too hot for longs!) - so easy decision - made as I get up...
Phone & Money in pocket.
Snack sorted
Drinks bottle filled
Sunglasses & Helmet (kept on the bike) On
GPS fitted
Out of the door & Go ...

Apparently I had a rest day ride this morning - but I think I may have got a strava seg! and the rest of the ride was quite quick too!

keef66

Tyres and chain lube the night before, and water bottle in the fridge. Tools, pump etc permanently on the bike

Dressed in 3 minutes, breakfast another 3 minutes, phone, keys, nana & chewy bar in back pockets and out the door

Takes a bit longer in the winter; a lot more clothing to put on / take off / put on again, 10 mins to cook and eat porridge, 5 mins to check the weather forecast again etc etc.

g00se

A ride first thing in the morning - about an hour (this includes the dazed coffee drinking and porridge stirring).

In the evening, about half an hour from scratch (this includes checking the bike out, tyre kicking etc). I daresay it could be a lot faster but I finish work at six and the rides from my local leave thirty minutes later.

TheEnglishman

g00se wrote:

A ride first thing in the morning - about an hour (this includes the dazed coffee drinking and porridge stirring).

Good - it's not just me that takes forever to wake up in the morning!

Muffintop

I can faff for ages though if I'm unpsyched I tend not to put pressure on myself, just 'see how I feel', I tend to take out the same level of food for a small ride as I would for a large one - 20 miles isn't that long to be out but what if you feel better when you're out? Or buckle a wheel and no mobile signal? Up a tree after trying to have a sneaky pee and get ambushed by skabby ferral chickens? You might be up there a long time.

Mx

wheezee

•Wash
•Breakfast
•Contact Lenses
•Spandex
•Tools, Tube, Phone, Inhaler
•Banana, Flapjack
•Squash/Fruit Juice
•GPS Signal
•And Off
•Return For Bicycle
•Sunglasses, Helmet, Gloves, Money, Gilet
•And Off Again

•Ride Bicycle Swiftly and Stylishly

•Arrive Home – No Keys To Get Back In

StrangelyBrown

Always put your stuff - clothes, tools, food etc - in the same place.

Establish a 'getting ready' routine, and stick to it.

No thinking required, no faff, nothing forgotten.

wheezee

•Shoes

I forgot shoes. And I edited the list twice already.

ianbar

The thing that holds me up is if the bike isn't prepped enou before hand which is usually the case if I haven't been riding a lot so pays to go out more often! I can get my gear on in a few mins it's pumping up the tyres and then forgetting to turn thegarmin on etc that holds me up.

Mikey23

Yes I have noticed that it takes me a lot longer to get ready for cycling than it ever did for running

simon_masterson

Puncture kit and pump are (generally) on the bike, so all I have to do is put on kit, fill bottles with dextrose and water, and get some food together (if using), and having reset computer trip time/distance/average speed, go.

I keep my tyres up to pressure regularly and make sure that my chain is lubed - not that you should need to be doing the latter constantly unless you're continually riding through axle-deep floods - so my bike is always ready for action. I don't have a GPS to set up, many jerseys to choose from, and I don't take a lot of kit on the bike. I don't even take money if it's not a commute, and I will avoid taking keys if the wife is in. I've gone out a few times recently without puncture repair, even; since I've been using Gatorskins ( a few months) I haven't punctured once.

Some kind of routine is essential. You need to be making sure that your bottles are being cleaned, that your transmission is cleaned (properly) and lubed, that the rest of your bike is in good shape, and so on; once you're doing those things, it seems obvious to make sure that everything else is ready to go.

Breakfast-wise, I usually opt for 60-70g of oats in a glass or bowl of milk (glass being quickest) as soon as I get up, as it will be of little benefit to me unless there's some time (I aim for at least an hour) between eating and cycling.

itboffin

I'm much the same as most of you except that when I do eventually head outside I have to come back in and change for todays different season.

briantrumpet

Stick head out of front door, put on appropriate clothes, fill bottles & pockets, go.

Defyand

Doesn't anyone relieve themselves beforehand ?

redvee

Defyand wrote:

Doesn't anyone relieve themselves beforehand ?

Twice I go to the loo before I put the bib shorts on then as I walk out of the bedroom I pass the bathroom and I get the urge again, luckily I haven't got the straps over my shoulders yet as I still have to put the HRM strap on my chest.

wheezee

Defyand wrote:

Doesn't anyone relieve themselves beforehand ?

I wouldn't go that far, but I do give my massive leg muscles a sensuous massage.

ThatBikeGuy

I make it about 15-20 minutes if i don't have the gear out ready. My bike is always prepped for the next ride when i get back from the last one so that saves some faffing. Depends what your morning routine is whether you want to eat breakfast on the bike or at home.
I usually spend the longest looking for misplaced items like the shed/house keys and phone/wallet albeit i usually just keep some change in the saddle bag for emergencies.

wheezee

Yes, I think a permanently prepped saddle-bag could be a big help.

Maybe even doubling up on the few bits and pieces that have to get moved/misplaced from MTB to road bike for each outing.