Commuting - How long does it take you to get ready to commute home?

When you commute home from work, how long does it take you to get ready? What do you have to do to get ready for the commute? Do you have to change clothes, put your helmet on, fill your water bottles?

It takes me about 15 to 20 min. Here is what I do to get ready to ride home. This is not in order: I have to change from my regular clothes to my bike clothes, put my Camel Bak Bladder in the bag behind my seat, put my seat bag on, pack my regular clothes in the saddle bags & secure them to the rack, put my Road ID around my neck, put my croakies eye glass retainer, my Sweat Gutr headband & helmet on, put my gloves on, put my bike shoes on, clip my video camera on the bracket & turn it on to record my ride home, turn on my external portable stereo speakers, turn on & que up the song I want to start with on my MP3 player & clip it to the chain that the Road ID is on. Then I roll the bike outside my office, take off the Kool Kovers & put them in my seat bag, start the video camera, get on the bike, clip the Camel Bak tube to my jersey, start the MP3 player, clip in & go.

I know, I know some of you are probably thinking, "man he does all that crap just to ride?" "Why not just get on your bike & ride?" Well, truth be told this helps me prepare for my ride & helps me wind down from a day at work. It is actually beneficial to me to do all of this to ride. It helps me think of my route & what I will do based on an educated guess of what the current traffic volume is based on the time of day it is. To me this is also part of the ride & it is what I have to do to help make it good & enjoyable. I hope that is easy to understand.

So how long does it take you & what do you do to prepare for your commute home?

About 10minutes.
As my day is winding down, if I can get some free time, I'll do some of this before I am actually off the clock... like while printers are still running and don't need me (work at a print shop).

1/2 hour before leaving, I fill my water bottle 1/2 way, and put it in the freezer.
Walk down to the other warehouse, and get my bike from it's safe keeping.
Clip on headlight/tail-light.
Change into jersery and shorts.
Pack wallet, phone, clothes, deodorant, etc in my bag.
Top off water bottle,
wheel the bike outside, and ride.

I listen to music on my normal rides, but not my commute at midnight.

less than 5 minutes - I go to my locker - get pannier/jacket - put jacket on. Go to bike, unlock, attach pannier, unlock bike, roll bike down stairs, ride.

If riding took too long I would drive - I ride to save time not lose it!

JK. But not by much - I'm not sure I would ride if it took a lot longer than driving (not that I have easy acess to a car or anything) but ease of use and speed is definitely one of the reasons for riding for me.

It takes me five to ten minutes to get ready. I change from my work clothes into my bike clothes, hang the work clothes behind my office door (I bring clothes in Monday and take them home Friday, so I don't have to lug the panniers back and forth all week), and bring my bike up to the front of the building from the warehouse toward the back. Then helmet, gloves, glasses, and I'm good to go.

It takes me longer on Fridays since I have to pack up that week's worth of work clothes and hang the panniers on the rack. If I've worked late it takes a couple of minutes longer to get back to the warehouse since all the doors to the back are locked. If I have to secure my hard drives and lock safes it's longer still, but I have to do that whether I'm on the bike or not so it doesn't really count.

Occasionally I'm running late in the morning, and I'll just rush in and slip my work pants over my cycling shorts, switch my jersey for a work shirt, and go. Those days it's really quick to get ready to ride home, since I just have to slip out of my jeans and change shirts. Changing shoes takes longer than everything else put together, so on days when I just wear them around the office it saves me a bunch of time. They're MTB shoes that are really comfortable to walk in, but I usually don't want to put all the wear and tear on them unless I'm getting some miles on the bike out of the deal. :D

0. I ride in my work clothes. I just grab my bag and hop on my bike and I'm gone.

I wear cycling specific clothes such as lycra shorts and jerseys. I think after 32 years I have dressing myself down pat.
Perhaps 5 minutes. Maybe a couple more in winter but now that I have to use sunscreen maybe 5 min 30 sec. :p

0. I ride in my work clothes. I just grab my bag and hop on my bike and I'm gone.

Ditto. Well, it takes 15 seconds to find my keys. But then my commute is only 3km.

5 minutes. Change clothes. Wash undercarriage. Attach iPod. Unlock bike. Go.

My commute's 10k and I bring nothing with me (no tools, pump, lights, clothes, water.. nothing)


I know, I know some of you are probably thinking, "man he does all that crap just to ride?" "Why not just get on your bike & ride?" Well, truth be told this helps me prepare for my ride & helps me wind down from a day at work. It is actually beneficial to me to do all of this to ride.
Yes, yes I was thinking that. But hey, fair enough. I find washing dishes to be therapeutic. If it works for you, then go for it.

A lot less time than packing for the ride to work. :D Change clothes, grab stuff, run for the door.

About 5 minutes. Enough time to change clothes and shoes, thats about it. Why do you have a video camera on every commute?

Walk out of station, unlock bike, put locks in panniers. Done. 30 secs?

Fast, about 3 or 4 minutes.

1. After the school buses leave at 2:30, I grab helmet from behind my desk in which I have stuffed my gloves, shorts or tights, and modesty shorts.
2. Walk into an adjacent laundry room where I dress close the door (no lock) and stand behind an open cupboard door to avoid direct eye contact from any surprise entry (I work in a large, open classroom with 6 women). I think they've figured out what I'm doing in there ; ) For my 4 mile commute, I wear the same shirt, underwear and crosstrainer shoes that I work in.

3.Put my PI yellow Vagabond jacket over a lightweight jacket, sunglasses, helmet and gloves.
4. Say my "goodbyes" as I walk out the door.
5. Gone.

Place helmet on head. Done. :D

Just a few minutes, 5 maybe.
I take off my uniform and toss on my riding clothes. I use my waterbottle to drink water all night so when I get off in the morning it already has enough water in it. And I don't have to change into cycling shorts or special shoes/socks. I just drop trou, change pants and shirt, and away I go.

I like to stock my room between my last two clients as it helps get me out of work a bit faster. I'll often refill my bottles while stocking my room.

If itemizing getting ready to go, I guess I fill the bottles, change into bike stuff, put on music (or NPR), pack up my backpack, and load it all in the Xtra. I'll usually get a small pastry from $tarbuck$ next door, just to get me home without bonking.

5 mins if I'm not going slow...but I like to be social with my coworkers at the end of my day...so I end up chatting with them for a bit. 15 or so after being chatty.

I'm ready in a jiff, too. I change shirts, to put on my microfiber tee again (wore it in to work), put on my trunk bag and zip up and go.

Takes me 5 or even 10 minutes in the am, as I pack a lunch and other gear, check the weather, and just check things out more.

about 6 minutes. I wedge my crap into my bag, grab my kit, go to the bathroom and change, walk back to my cube, toss the clothes in the drawer, pick up my bag, walk to the bike, put the bag on the bike, put the helmet and gloves on, and ride.

In the morning I have to make breakfast. I check the weather the night before so I don't have to screw with the computer in the morning. Also I need to use the bathroom in the morning, and it's best if I give that some time before riding... Probably 20 minutes in the morning from waking up to rolling.

I don't bother with drinking while riding anymore. It's only 35 to 50 minutes (depending on conditions). I've found that once I got used to it, I have no problem just going without the whole ride then slugging down a liter of water when I get there. That's one less thing to do. I stopped carrying drinks two winters ago; it was so cold that even with Polar bottles and warm drinks, the drinks were frozen within about 15 minutes anyway (at least, the nozzle was frozen). I do still carry water if it's above about 95*F or so.


Why do you have a video camera on every commute?

Yeah, that's odd. Why not just mount the camera on days when you're going to have an accident? :rolleyes:

In theory I'm ready to leave in five minutes after changing. But...

1. I have yet to log off my computer at the end of the day without realizing there was something I forgot to do or check.

2. I have yet to put my work for home in my pannier without realizing that I put something in there that shouldn't leave the office.

3. I have yet to put my work for home in my pannier without realizing that I forgot to put something in there that needs to go home.

4. I have yet to leave my office without having to go back in to get something I forgot.

5. I have yet to get in the elevator without realizing I forgot something in the office or on the printer and had to go back

6. I have yet to leave the building without having to go back at least twice for things I left in my office.

Thankfully if I make it to my bike it is only minor emergencies from then on, so I don't bother back tracking at that point. Total elapsed time from the moment I decide to get ready to go is usually around a half hour. I'm a mess at the end of the day :o :o

5 minutes. Change clothes and go.

5 minutes. Is this a trick question?

About 10 minutes to change clothes or less in warmer weather.

About 10 minutes: I head down the hall, to the bathroom, hang my backpack on the hook and change into my riding clothes. I put my helmet and gloves on as I walk to the elevator, go up 2 floors, into the parking deck, unlock the bike and I'm on my way. I tried panniers but found them to be clumsey, really slowed me down.

about 6 minutes. I wedge my crap into my bag, grab my kit, go to the bathroom and change, walk back to my cube, toss the clothes in the drawer, pick up my bag, walk to the bike, put the bag on the bike, put the helmet and gloves on, and ride.

In the morning I have to make breakfast. I check the weather the night before so I don't have to screw with the computer in the morning. Also I need to use the bathroom in the morning, and it's best if I give that some time before riding... Probably 20 minutes in the morning from waking up to rolling.

I don't bother with drinking while riding anymore. It's only 35 to 50 minutes (depending on conditions). I've found that once I got used to it, I have no problem just going without the whole ride then slugging down a liter of water when I get there. That's one less thing to do. I stopped carrying drinks two winters ago; it was so cold that even with Polar bottles and warm drinks, the drinks were frozen within about 15 minutes anyway (at least, the nozzle was frozen). I do still carry water if it's above about 95*F or so.



Yeah, that's odd. Why not just mount the camera on days when you're going to have an accident? :rolleyes:

The camera is on the "T" shape piece in the front derailer mast, I ride a recumbent. I can not reach it unless I stop & get off the bike, so once I start it that is it until I am done riding.

Do you shower in the morning before you commute to work, or is there a shower at your place of employment?

Less than 5 minutes - and I shower once I get home since my return commute is pretty much completely up hill. It is probably more like 2 to 3 minutes.

The 15 to 20 min. it takes me is made up of the amount of time I use on my last break to get ready for my commute as well. I usually put my computer & camera on their brackets & put the Airzound on as well.

On days I commute, if I am not wearing an actual bike jersey & I'm using one of my Under Armour Heat Gear shirts I wear it to work. It is basically a synthetic moisture wicking material t-shirt. I work in a very casual dress work enviroment, I also wear the cycling socks I wear when I ride too. Depending on how close my last break is to the end of my day I sometimes change into the shorts I wear when riding. They are not bike shorts, like I said I ride a recumbent, don't need the padded shorts. I like the Under Armour Heat Gear "under" short with the Heat Gear "over" short.

The dress code here is such that as long as you are covered with out exposing a whole lot of something you should not expose & it does not have offensive language or gestures on it you can wear it & as long as you are not bare foot, you can can wear flip flops for shoes if you want. Like I said a very laid back dress code.

Ugh. Way too long.

Starting from my cube
-Fill water bottle
-throw on my cycling shoes (work shoes stay in my cube)
-gather all my gear and head to the bathroom
-Change into cycling/cold weather gear.
-lycra shorts
-change socks
-long underwear
-cold weather riding pants
-put cycling shoes back on
-neoprene shoe covers
-one or two cold weather jerseys (dependon on temps, 30s vs 20s)
-pack work clothes and misc stuff into trunk bag
-unlock bike
-attach computer, trunk bag, and water bottle
-relock u-lock (I leave it on the rack at work)
-put on hi-viz outer shell, balaclava, helmet, and gloves.

This takes probably 20 minutes. I can't wait till it warms up, the cold weather prep is what takes so long of course. If all I had to put on was a jersey and shorts I could probably be done in 5 minutes.

In the colder weather it takes me about 15/20 minutes, otherwise around 10. I take my time, wind down a bit too I guess.

I first change out of my work clothes back into my biking clothes. I leave whatever clothes I choose in my office drawer and then make sure my backpack is packed up and closed. Then I start getting the additional crap on my, like my hi-vis ankle bracelet things, my do-rag, safety glasses, helmet, re-fill my water bottle, reset my TRIP computer for the next ride, put my gloves on, turn on my rear lights if it's dark out and then I get going. Sometimes it's a little annoying, but that's usually only in the morning when I'm later than usual and the 10 minute change eats into my work day a bit more.

ditto ditto Wearing my work clothes, the time is 2 -3 minutes to don helmet, cycling glasses, put pants straps on legs & unlock bike/put lock into pannier.

about 10 seconds, strip down completely naked - and ride home.


j/k. LOL

Probably more like 10 minutes for me. I usually have already sneaked in a few minutes of prep during the afternoon before it is time to change and ride.

Change from work shirt to tshirt.
Unlock bike. Put locks in bag.
Put bag back on.
Roll up pant leg(s).
Put on helmet and gloves.
Lift-off!

Now: fill up water bottle, put on helmet and go.
summer: change into shorts and t shirt and put on helmet and go.

5-6 minutes tops.

Do you shower in the morning before you commute to work, or is there a shower at your place of employment?

Shower at work, shower at home. I typically take either 3 or about 6 minutes in the shower, depending on if I need to shave or not. Turn on water, get hair and body wet, turn off water, lather up hair, lather up body, turn on water, rinse, done. If a shave is needed, lather up the face, turn off water, shave, turn on water, rinse.

BTW, no lock. I don't even carry one anymore. Even when I go to stores, nobody's going to steal my bike. Around here even the kids don't want to be seen riding a bike. Sigh.

5 minutes in a phone booth to change into my Super attire - sneakers, sweat pants or shorts and t-shirt with appropriate extra clothes as dictated by temperature.

Too long. Probably 15 minutes roughly. I change clothes, which is maybe half the time. But I'm not satisfied with my current rack trunk, it takes longer than I like to get everything packed in it (keys/wallet/phone in a side pocket which isn't really convenient to open/close, lunch bag doesn't fit so it has to be bungeed on separate, etc). And it velcros onto the bike, which works ok, but it's not very quick to attach/detach (4 separate straps).

I want more of a "drop crap in, close top" type bag. That would probably cut my getting ready time by 1/3 to 1/2.

5 minutes, change and go. I've been commuting for years now and I have habits and systems in place. Messing around with stuff does not relax me, it only makes me feel like I'm wasting time I that I could be using to ride.

I wanna be on the bike not standing around fiddling with things at work.

(edit - I checked - this is the longest post I've ever made. O_o )

Crikey, I take forever compared to you guys - 20 minutes if I'm moving briskly. On the other hand it's a 90 minute, 20 mile ride home and I don't have the option of calling someone to come get me if I have mechanical problems, so I'm not exactly traveling light.
*While still at the desk:*
Change into my cycling shoes. (The work shoes stay at the desk.)
Disconnect the charger from my SLA battery and put it in my desk.
Put the SLA battery in my equipment pannier.
Put my lunch bag in my equipment pannier.
Pull my biking shorts off of the Godzilla toy where they've been drying/airing out for the day and shove them in my clothing pannier.
Take my cycling jacket off of my cube wall (I wear it sometimes during the day - I sit right next to 4 air conditioning vents) and shove it in my clothing pannier.
Grab the panniers and handlebar bag, leave the building and go over to the parking structure/fitness center.
*In the locker room*
Open the locker where I put the cool weather cycling gear and my helmet. (Stuff doesn't air out well in those lockers.)
Empty the clothing pannier completely.
Shove the still-sweaty jersey, socks, poly workout pants and towel in the bottom.
Take off work clothes and shove those in the pannier.
Put toiletries and cycling jacket in the top of the pannier.
Hit the loo.
Throw on some baby powder and the aired-out bike shorts.
Throw on a fresh jersey, socks and bike shoes.
Get the active lighting belt, helmet light and reflective ankle straps out of the locker and shove them in the equipment pannier.
Get the heart monitor chest strap out of the handlebar bag and put it on.
Get the heart monitor watch out of the handlebar bag and put it on.
Get the Take-a-Look mirror out of the locker and put it on my glasses.
Get the gloves out of the locker and put them on.
Put my helmet on (without fastening the chin strap.)
Grab my handlebar bag and panniers and walk out to where my bike is locked to the rack in the parking structure.
*At the bike*
Click the handlebar bag into place. (<3 Ortlieb)
Get the keys out of the handlebar bag.
Unlock and remove the cable lock securing my rear rack and wheel to the frame.
Hang the coiled up cable lock temporarily off of the nose of the saddle.
Put the keys in the U-Lock securing my front wheel and frame to the rack (but leave it on for the moment since it makes the bike more stable.)
Clip the panniers on the rear rack.
Get the water bottles out of the pouches on my panniers and put them in the holders on the frame.
Close the pouches on my panniers.
Get the Superflash out of the handlebar bag, click it in place on my back rack and turn it on. (I don't like taking chances regarding visibility.)
Get the Cyclocomputer out of the handlebar bag, verify it's been reset and click it into place.
Take off the U-Lock.
Thread the U-Lock through the cable lock and hang the entire thing off of my seat rails.
Put the keys back in my handlebar bag and close up the handlebar bag.
Take off my helmet and turn on the Superflash on the back.
Put my helmet back on and fasten the chin strap.
Pull the bike off of the rack.
Pinch-check the tires. (I really should do it earlier, but I always seem to forget until this point.)
Fire up the heart monitor.
Get on the bike and go (finally!)

I'd leave more stuff on the bike, but I've been told they don't actually monitor the bike racks in the parking structure, and it's an easy hop over a short wall to get to them as it is. And the Phoenix metropolitan area has a lot of bike thieves.

I'd leave more stuff at work, but they adamantly refuse to let people leave locks on the lockers overnight (even for bike commuters) and it's a major time-waster going back and forth from the parking structure to my desk and back.

About 5-10 minutes depending on the weather. Sometimes my hands are sore from a day at the computer and it takes me a bit longer to braid my hair.

About 10 minutes... a little longer if I use the restroom first.

- Change clothes
- Arrange cargo

Go to my locker, get the cycling cloths, find an empty stall in the mens' room, change, and go back to the locker. Stuff the dirty work clothes in one pannier, the two extra layers of clothes used in the ride to work in the other pannier, and walk 200 yards to the bike. Unlock, load the bike, and ease the bike out of the storage area. 15+ minutes. The gear I have to wear at work is way too hard to ride in.

Still riding to and from has kept me fit enough to out-work Gringo men half my age. I was paid the supreme compliment last year of being told I work as hard as a Mexican.

Of course that could just be genetics, My Dad went on a hiking tour in Nepal in his 80's and gave up Elk hunting about the same time because of the armed guards on the pot patches up in Humbolt County

Heh. A lot less than to get ready for a commute from home. I just throw all my stuff in a bag and get the **** outta there! :D I like going home.

All you lucky guys: I wear suits that I leave in the office as much as possible; it takes me 10 minutes on an easy day, 20 minutes on hard one.

Easy day:
1.Swap suit, tie, shirt and shoes for casual clothes.
2.Pack briefcase and put it and laptop in panniers.
4.Put on helmet, gloves, and pant leg straps in elevator.
5.Unlock bike.
6.Put on panniers, computer, lights if needed.
7.Ride
On a hard day, I put the clothes in a dry-cleaning bag, and once the bag's in my pannier, I only put it down if I can lay it somewhere clean. On a rainy day, I leave everything at work and promise myself I'll make up any lost time once it clears up.

It takes me about 5-10 minutes. I just change my clothes, put my work shirt, underwear and socks in my backpack along with my ID, wallet, keys and cell phone and I'm off. I only carry one water bottle with Cytomax or water and that easily lasts for a ride to work and home again. I only ride 20 miles round trip so it's not like I have to worry about having enough fluids unless it's over 90 degrees outside. Hell, half the time I will ride all the way in to work and realize I only took one drink off my bottle.

It takes me 15-20 minutes depending on my mood:
-grab water bottle and lunch container from fridge
-walk downstairs to the locker room
-change into cycling clothes: jersey, bib, socks, shoes, jacket
-stash pants and shoes into locker
-stash work shirt, undies, socks into backpack
-walk to bike locker, unlock and grab bike
-put water bottle in cage, don on gloves and helmet
-adjust backpack
-hop on and ride

I don't hurry up to get ready to go home. The way I see it preparing to go home is the time to relax after a hard day of work because once I get on the bike ITS HAMMER TIME!(sometimes);)

Used to be about 20 min to go to my locker at the health club and change. I'm starting a new job soon where I have my own private office where I will be able to change and store my bike. I'm hoping the number drops closer to 10 min. I stretch before every ride, so changing and getting ready in 5 min isn't feasible.

Like others, my routine leaving work is far faster than my routine for leaving home.

Work is (apologies to Infocom games)
(at desk)
initiate shutdown of PC
take cycling jacket, gloves, keycard and bagged lunch
east, north, east, north press button for elevator
enter elevator, press button for down
leave elevator, south, west, swipe card and enter locker room
remove work clothes
look at self in mirror. pose.
wear leggings, shorts, long-sleeve jersey, jacket
wear fleece socks and bike shoes.
pack work clothes in clothing pannier
put bagged lunch in clothing pannier
take clothing pannier, take gear pannier
leave locker room, east, north, press elevator call button
enter elevator, press button for up
south, west, south, west
take PC from docking station.
pack PC in laptop bag
put laptop bag in gear pannier
north, east, north, east, press elevator call button
enter elevator, press button for down
south, east, east, swipe card and enter server room
attach panniers to bike
wear balaclava. wear helmet. wear gloves
inventory
turn on generator headlight. turn on taillight
west, north, north, north, north. leave building
ride home.

> history
you have made 60 moves in 15 minutes.

the home version has a lot less walking around and a lot more uses of "inventory", "examine" and "search under ..."

5 minutes, plus the 10 extra to go back to my office to retrieve my keys, wallet, cell phone or whatever else I happened to forget that day.

Maybe 15 minutes


Walk to breakroom and fill camelbak

Go to bathroom and change into bike shorts/clothes

Put on cycling shoes

Do leg stretches

Unlock bike and put lights and computer back on

It takes a lot longer getting ready the night before I ride (check the weather, lay out clothes, grind coffee for the morning, etc.)

15 minutes usually. Walk from my building over to fitness center, change at my locker, stretch, and go.

I have a 1/4mi walk across parking lot, then quicky change into stuff. My ride time is 25min. From starting shutting down of PC to arriving at home I give myself 45min.
Al