How long to get ready?

wheezee
wheezee Posts: 461
edited July 2012 in Road beginners
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?

Comments

  • Get it all ready the night before. :wink:
    B'TWIN Triban 5A
    Ridgeback MX6
  • simona75
    simona75 Posts: 336
    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
    roypsb Posts: 309
    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
    pst88 Posts: 621
    With all the faffing, procrastinating and psyching myself up about an hour.
    Bianchi Via Nirone Veloce/Centaur 2010
  • neeb
    neeb Posts: 4,467
    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... :wink:
  • danowat
    danowat Posts: 2,877
    Half and hour??? what the hell are you doing?

    about 5 mins for me...........
  • neeb
    neeb Posts: 4,467
    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
    slowbike Posts: 8,498
    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
    keef66 Posts: 13,123
    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 :D

    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
    g00se Posts: 2,221
    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.
  • 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
    Muffintop Posts: 296
    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
    FCN: Brompton: 12, Tourer: 7, Racer: 4

    http://www.60milestonod.blogspot.com
  • wheezee
    wheezee Posts: 461
    edited July 2012
    •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
  • 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.
    It doesn't get any easier, but I don't appear to be getting any faster.
  • wheezee
    wheezee Posts: 461
    •Shoes

    I forgot shoes. And I edited the list twice already.
  • ianbar
    ianbar Posts: 1,354
    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.
    enigma esprit
    cannondale caad8 tiagra 2012
  • Mikey23
    Mikey23 Posts: 5,306
    Yes I have noticed that it takes me a lot longer to get ready for cycling than it ever did for running
  • simon_masterson
    simon_masterson Posts: 2,740
    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
    itboffin Posts: 20,052
    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.
    Rule #5 // Harden The Feck Up.
    Rule #9 // If you are out riding in bad weather, it means you are a badass. Period.
    Rule #12 // The correct number of bikes to own is n+1.
    Rule #42 // A bike race shall never be preceded with a swim and/or followed by a run.
  • briantrumpet
    briantrumpet Posts: 17,687
    Stick head out of front door, put on appropriate clothes, fill bottles & pockets, go.
  • Defyand
    Defyand Posts: 49
    Doesn't anyone relieve themselves beforehand ?
  • redvee
    redvee Posts: 11,922
    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.
    I've added a signature to prove it is still possible.
  • wheezee
    wheezee Posts: 461
    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
    ThatBikeGuy Posts: 394
    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.
    Cannondale SS Evo Team
    Kona Jake CX
    Cervelo P5
  • wheezee
    wheezee Posts: 461
    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.