Commuting - hard cycling in the morning

Is it just me, but i find it really difficult to start riding in the morning. Specially when its cold. I just hate it, it takes me a while to warm up. But this is perhaps one of the reasons i wanted to get an electric bicycle, so i could get some speed going in the morning.

Electric bike + Cold weather = long warm-up

Dude... you'll never get warmed up if the bike is doing the work!

Wear a lot of clothing? O_o You'll be burning.

Pop a thermos of coffee or, better yet, black tea in your cage and start out slow, sipping your tea, and enjoying the morning. It's a GREAT way to greet the day.

What part of the country and how far is your commute? The electric bike is not likely helping.

Check it. 48 degrees. Sure, I needed a long-sleeve t-shirt, and I like my ears covered when it's under 50 so I wore a headband. I wore cargo pants over my cycling shorts, and some cheapo, thin gloves. For me, that setup worked perfectly for my 15-mile ride to work. You'll have to experiment with dress.

But then, I saw someone roll up on a scooter, bundled up like crazy: Leg leathers, big coat, ski gloves, neck gaiter and even biker goggles, and the guy STILL looked like he was freezing with all that gear on.

Do the math, then do some work. It'll keep you warm. I promise.

I agree, cold weather riding makes it harder to get started. The best way to get over it that I have found is to get up a little earlier, skip the coffee at home and make a pit stop at a coffee shop a short ride down the road. Bring a little reading material and by the time I have had a cup or two I am ready for the rest of my ride.

good to know im not the only one that has been feeling stiff in the mornings

The only time I don't look forward to my commute in the morning is when my legs are tired from the day before or I am getting sick. I find that after a year of experimenting with clothes combinations, it is not too bad at all. It is one of the many reasons I have fallen in love with my panniers; it gives me a chance to store some clothes if I get too warm or put on more if I get too cold.

No problems here when it's cold. I get started or I get cold. I love the winter because I get to ride in the dark.
No way would I ride an eBike in the winter, I'd never get warm.

The only part that is hard is right when I walk outside. After several winters commuting I have a defined clothing strategy for every temperture but the outcome is the same. Until I've ridden the first two miles, I'm underdressed.

If you ever walk out of the house on a cold morning and you are not cold, you will be stopping shortly to pull some layers off.

if you ever walk out of the house on a cold morning and you are not cold, you will be stopping shortly to pull some layers off.

+1

COLD is just incentive to RIDE!

I make sure I am not cold when I start the ride.

I find it hard to go fast when it's cold to, so i don't. I just dress warm and relax on the way in, it's actually quite nice.

I tend to shift into an easy gear and just spin it out for a while. After about 2 minutes I'm good to go. I love riding in the cool weather, it beats the hell out of showing up to work all sweaty.

Anything under 45 degrees and I put on a sweater for my morning commute. Other than that I where a t-shirt, and still get to work all sweaty with only a 3 mile one-way commute. Its cold, but if I ride hard and hit 1 long light when its green I can make it in 9 minutes, which is probably why I am sweaty every morning. Not sure how I would dress on a longer commute. Its going to start getting colder in the mornings here in Portland but I wear thermals under my jeans so I think I will be fine on my rides. Im just worried about the icy mornings, the slickness of the rain scares me enough already.

good to know im not the only one that has been feeling stiff in the mornings

:lol:

I for one hate the morning ride. I'm just so tired and sleepy and I have a big hill to climb right off the bat. Anyhow, I might try the tea idea..but that means riding with one hand while I sip. Not enthusiastic about that one

I hate going out starting my car up scrape the windshield while Im freezing my butt off. Then I think I rather be riding. Experiment with clothing and youll be fine. Take care

The motivation is the hard part for me. Crawl out of bed, which depending on whether or not the wind was blowing may or may not be freezing itself (danged old house with a shoddy boiler and windows that leak :p), and then throw on cycling gear that won't leave me wringing my clothes out in the morning, and step outside and get a good cold blast of air. To circumvent the cold feelings, I'm going to be getting a handlebar bottle cage mount for my shiny coffee mug, and I'll set the coffee maker to grind and make me some fresh brewed coffee (or, skip the grind and make tea) that I can sip while cruising in. That means an adjustment too - because I usually crank my brains out to get in. But come winter I'll be taking things a little slower and enjoying the ride more.

But, that motivation part is still the hardest. Its so easy to climb into the car, turn the heat up and just let the accelerator take control. But, once I get myself in the mindset of cycling, I'm set for it.

I love riding in the cool weather, it beats the hell out of showing up to work all sweaty.

I've never had it get cold enough that I don't sweat. I've gotten to work sweaty when it's 25 below zero. It doesn't matter how I dress; if I dress thinly enough, I'll show up with my skin totally frigid and numb, but my core temp is still up and I'm still sweating.

I tend to shift into an easy gear and just spin it out for a while. After about 2 minutes I'm good to go. I love riding in the cool weather, it beats the hell out of showing up to work all sweaty.
Agree... I love the cooler weather!

Scorch - you need to Cowboy/Cowgirl up, wear layers and enjoy the ride!

Is it just me, but i find it really difficult to start riding in the morning. Specially when its cold. I just hate it, it takes me a while to warm up. But this is perhaps one of the reasons i wanted to get an electric bicycle, so i could get some speed going in the morning.

I got an electric bike just for that reason. I'm fine with the afternoon ride, but it is very, very hard for me to get going in the morning. :( Of course, that's true no matter what season it is.

Now here's the weird part. Now that I have a motor that gives me more speed, I get myself all worked up in the morning. It becomes a challenge to go faster and faster. Even though the weather is cooling, I'm coming into work more sweaty than before. ...Then I end up riding home more slowly. :rolleyes:

I definitely do not regret getting that motor, though. It shortens the trip and makes it a lot more fun.

Anything under 45 degrees and I put on a sweater for my morning commute. Other than that I where a t-shirt, and still get to work all sweaty with only a 3 mile one-way commute.

:lol: at myself. 45 degrees is the point where I start wearing a lightweight parka. After about a mile of pedaling, I can take it off and keep warm with the sweatshirt underneath. ...That's been my experience without the motor. This year, I'll have to see.

...i'm glad i'm not the only one who isn't too excited about mornings. I've taken the bus a couple times when it's cold/foggy or whatnot lately. Then just about the time i get where i'm going i wish i had biked and miss the afternoon commute.

One of the reasons I think that an e-bike is a great idea for winter riding is that you're less likely to mind carrying heavy clothes along with you. The weight of a front basket or a pannier for your heavy winter coat won't bother you while you ride, if you've got a motor. You'll be able to climb steep hills while pedaling just as hard as you would on the flats, and therefore have a pretty steady body temperature. So you can dress warmer.

Saw a gal friday morning wearing those zip off pants remove the legs with out stopping LOL I was in awe. I would have fallen on my *****. seriously i have found that yes its hard toi get motovated to get out in the cold, but if you start cold and pedal harder you will soon be toasty warm and have that good all over feeling going on. mighty fine way to start the morning.

I started commuting last year, but, pussed out as soon as my morning ride turned dark which is late august early september.

This year I have 45 watts worth of nightsun halogen (makes a decent hand warmer). With my lighting issues solved I plan on riding right through the winter. Haven't ridden any really cold commutes yet. About 40 was the coldest. In that weather a pullover fleece was just about perfect, but, I am going to try a zip up one as it will give me the ability to cool off better on the uphill sections.

The problem with my commute is that it starts off with a short quick down hill, then about half a mile of flat, then another half mile plus downhill. So, if I dress properly for most of the ride, those first 2 downhills are a might bit chilly.

...i'm glad i'm not the only one who isn't too excited about mornings. I've taken the bus a couple times when it's cold/foggy or whatnot lately. Then just about the time i get where i'm going i wish i had biked and miss the afternoon commute.

Can you put your bike on the bus? Do they have racks?

One of the reasons I think that an e-bike is a great idea for winter riding is that you're less likely to mind carrying heavy clothes along with you.

What "heavy clothes?" Admittedly I've only ridden down to -25*F so far :rolleyes: but at that extreme, I had a pair of bike shorts, long underwear, wool socks, a compression top, a sweatshirt, a windbreaker layer on top, a balaclava and a pair of fleece lined mittens, and a helmet cover. The whole thing didn't weigh 4 pounds, and I wore almost the same stuff on the way home, when it had warmed up to -5*F.

I could put 3 times the number of clothes I wear into a pannier and never notice it was there. The only time the weight in the pannier is noticable is when I hit hills and I have something like an 8 pack of soda in the bag, or I'm carrying home a 50 pound bag of dog food or something like that. Even then, it's extra free traning, not an excuse to strap a motor on the bike.

HTFU and ride. The morning ride is the best ride of the day, no matter what the weather is.

...i'm glad i'm not the only one who isn't too excited about mornings. I've taken the bus a couple times when it's cold/foggy or whatnot lately. Then just about the time i get where i'm going i wish i had biked and miss the afternoon commute.

Yeah, i might consider the bus.

Whenever i get to work without my bike i always regret not cycling in.

I think those e-bikes are GREAT. They allow people whom are out of shape, elderly, disabled (or who might suffer from any number of other things that might otherwise prevent them) to ride a bike. By doing so they reduce the overall demand for foreign oil, reduce the amount of green house gases being produced, reduce the number of cars on the road taxing the infrastructure, and they even get fit at the same time. What's not to like?

What I did to combat the cold was to drink a cup of concrete and harden the f*** up.

only joking!

but yeah i use to have this problem.. but here in Australia its nearly summer! ahh soo nice...

newspaper under the shirt helps with the wind though.

HTFU and ride. The morning ride is the best ride of the day, no matter what the weather is.

finally someone with some common sense!

A chilly morning ride is the best way to start your day. You will be nice and refreshed when you get to your destination. All you need are arm and leg warmers and you should be all set, might have to break out tights as well if the warmers aren't doing their thing.




newspaper under the shirt helps with the wind though.

I really wish I got the news paper just for this reason...

I think those e-bikes are GREAT. They allow people whom are out of shape, elderly, disabled (or who might suffer from any number of other things that might otherwise prevent them) to ride a bike.

I agree, I know a couple of people who use an eBike for assist and they have gotten in much better shape and lot weight. They would not have been able to make their commute without assistance.

OTOH, I know a couple of guys who are in acceptable shape and live like < 3 miles from work over flat terrain and 90% MUPs, who bought eBikes. Sheesh, gimme a break. They're just in it for the gadgets.

I agree, I know a couple of people who use an eBike for assist and they have gotten in much better shape and lot weight. They would not have been able to make their commute without assistance.

OTOH, I know a couple of guys who are in acceptable shape and live like < 3 miles from work over flat terrain and 90% MUPs, who bought eBikes. Sheesh, gimme a break. They're just in it for the gadgets.

I've been reading the other forums here and the ebikes do seem interesting, as you said, they would be about gadgets for me. I am saving up to buy a recumbent. Now THAT"S gonna be a ride!
Ernest