|
Pre-stage necessities in the same places the night before. Panniers packed the same way so I don't forget something. Location and repeated motions keep my wonderfully wandering mind on the necessities of the moment. Also uses least amount of time.
Blow a kiss to my sleeping wife as I leave.... I do smile when doing my initial, rolling, left foot mount followed by a strong right foot stroke! Gives me focus and internal fortitude for the ride and day :) |
Commuting rituals?
Originally Posted by crazyravr
(Post 21160805)
Wake up. Check the weather. Thats my ritual.
Originally Posted by Archwhorides
(Post 21161800)
The clothing/packing ritual around here is too complicated to feel like a ritual, it's a triumph if I can roll my pannier top once on any given day. …
Originally Posted by Jim from Boston
(Post 20985659)
As a cycle commuter with convenient Commuter Rail alternative, I check Weather.com forecasts starting five days prior.
On the day of a ride, if it looks questionable I check current Doppler to decide, and depending on the conditions if I ride in the rain I use my beater road bike.
Originally Posted by Jim from Boston
(Post 9071685)
…Just this year (2009) inspired by BF I have accepted riding in the rain. I used to consider it a game: if I rode and it rained, or I didn't ride and it didn't rain, I lost; if I rode with no rain or didn't ride and it rained, I won.
Now I win or lose depending if I ride with the appropriate bike: beater in the rain, road bike when dry.
Originally Posted by Jim from Boston
(Post 17346231)
The way I organize my winter dress is by levels (link), 1 to 6. (I got that scale from whitewater rafting, where difficulty of a river is rated from 1 to 6, and it works for me). The levels do not mean layers, but the combination of gear for temperature intervals, in increments of about 10 degrees F…
The level makes the job of selecting clothing very easy for that decision to be made on the morning of a commute, without going outside. Sometimes I may bring along a piece of apparel from a higher level just in case. The scheme is particularly useful at the change of seasons to remind me of what works. Also, I choose by ambient temperature and usually ignore the reported wind chill temp, because there always is a wind chill on the moving bike. I’ve shown this scheme to a few acquaintances at work, and when they ask “How (cold) was the ride?,” I can reply, for example “Level 3,” as happened just this morning. Finding a bathroom en route on my 14 mile one-way commute and accessing through a few layers is a hassle, especially because of cold weather diuresis:
Originally Posted by Jim from Boston
(Post 16257232)
I was gratified to read about this phenomenon a few years ago, called “cold diuresis.” A nice explanation is provided in Outside Magazine:
Originally Posted by Outside Magazine
What you’re experiencing is called cold diuresis, a phenomenon that occurs for reasons that are not entirely clear. One theory that remains popular—though it has been contested—explains how it works like this:
When your temperature starts to drop, your body will attempt to reduce heat loss by constricting blood vessels and reducing blood flow to the surface of the skin. When that happens, your blood pressure will rise, because the same volume of blood is flowing through less space in your body. In response, your kidneys will pull out excess fluid to reduce your blood pressure, making you have to pee. “A full bladder is a place for additional heat loss, so urinating will help conserve heat,” writes Rick Curtis, the director of Princeton University’s Outdoor Action Program…
Originally Posted by trekker pete
(Post 7750637)
I mentioned this topic the other day in my thread about getting motivated in the morning. There have been more than a few days where I have my gear on, ready to taxi out the door and all of a sudden.....damn it.
By the time I'm done, the launch window has past. Commute aborted. Where are those damn car keys. The worst case is when you just know the bomb bays are full, but you just can't the doors to open. So you have to sit around the hangar and wait. |
Commuting rituals...for me, it's more like a mad dash to get out of the house in one piece.
Coffee. Take dog out. Finish coffee. Take meds and turn on sink for cats (really). Check weather, choose and prepare appropriate bike. Get dressed. Pack bag: laptop, charger, lights/reflective gear for night, wallet, phone, work clothes, extra plastic bag. Keys. Once I'm on the road, it's a bit more relaxed!
Originally Posted by BobbyG
(Post 21169053)
cats will throw you under the bus...
|
Life has been a mixture of hurry up and wait for me for years, and getting out of the house in the morning is no exception. Even if I prepare the night before or not, I start out early and then end up late to leave, and then realize I'm on time in the long run. I figure the extra stress helps me get more exercise by pedaling faster to make up for thinking I'm late and it all works out in the end.
|
A couple people wanted to know how I placed the camera. I put the corner of my phone against a certain patch of lichen on a tree branch, then tried to center up the bend in the river. There was a lot of futzing with the photos in After Effects to get them sort of lined up!
|
Routines, but not Rituals...
For me, it has to be routines. But they're mostly done the night before.
Check weather and determine riding gear for am and pm Select bike based on weather/Pump tires Charge lights Make/pack lunch Pack clothing needed at work Pack any sundry items needed to carry Lay out am riding clothes In the morning, coffee and muffin, ablutions, dress and ride in... |
Originally Posted by Digger Goreman
(Post 21170408)
Blow a kiss to my sleeping wife as I leave....
|
I'm a full time teleworker now. Before that I was a hard core year round bike commuter for 11 years. The main ritual was checking the weather the night before and the morning of my commute. One of my more memorable winter commutes was, as I called it, my boulder ride. https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...a1ff6513a7.jpg
|
Originally Posted by wipekitty
(Post 21170704)
Commuting rituals...for me, it's more like a mad dash to get out of the house in one piece.
Laundry didn't get put away. Where is it?! Got to pack lunch, add more to lunch bag. Will it fit? Where's my belt? No, no, the other one! Geez, the weather report sounds cold, winter wear's still stored, where's my warmers? Dang, shoes are still too wet. Wasn't planning on that. Oh, yeah, spare pair's in the closet. 15 minutes later than normal, I headed out the door. Maybe I DO have a routine, it's just so, routine, I never paid attention to it. Once I'm on the road, it's a bit more relaxed! |
^so I realize that this is mostly written in jest. And we all misplace something from time to time, right?
But what the heck have you been doing for the past month as colder weather approaches? Rotate your storage from warm weather to cool weather gear prominence? Take inventory? Mend worn items? What do you do 90 days before an important event? 60 days? A month? In the days prior? And what do you do after dinner the night before a ride? Planning is everything, the plan is nothing. - Dwight Eisenhower |
Commuting rituals?
Originally Posted by Phil_gretz
(Post 21177706)
^so I realize that this is mostly written in jest. And we all misplace something from time to time, right?
But what the heck have you been doing for the past month as colder weather approaches? Rotate your storage from warm weather to cool weather gear prominence? Take inventory? Mend worn items? What do you do 90 days before an important event? 60 days? A month? In the days prior? And what do you do after dinner the night before a ride? Planning is everything, the plan is nothing. - Dwight Eisenhower
Originally Posted by Jim from Boston
(Post 21154667)
"Winter is right around the corner"
On several threads, I have posted my slogan for winter riding, “Gear and Gumption,” obviously mostly clothing. For me, it takes a while to make the transition between warm and cold and vice versa…. As for the bicycle, the definitive transition to winter is mounting the studded tires, early in December, and removal signals winter is over, usually in late March.
Originally Posted by Jim from Boston
(Post 20985659)
As a cycle commuter with convenient Commuter Rail alternative, I check Weather.com forecasts starting five days prior.
On the day of a ride, if it looks questionable I check current Doppler to decide, and depending on the conditions if I ride in the rain I use my beater road bike.
Originally Posted by BluesDawg
(Post 17539887)
I am now registered. No idea yet where I'll stay, how I'll get there or whether my wife will be able to go, but I'm in.
Originally Posted by Jim from Boston
(Post 17540026)
As a veteran of four Fifty-Plus Annual Rides, I had made up this (updated) Preparation Schedule for myself as a working professional with a family:
Originally Posted by Jim from Boston
(Post 13386020)
|
˄˄˄˄
I don’t really have any special after dinner rituals, but I did post about this gathering after dinner the night before the Third Annual Fifty-Plus Ride in 2011.
Originally Posted by Jim from Boston
(Post 12909161)
…At the table shot, I'm in the striped collared shirt against the wall, and clockwise are Irwin against the wall, Freedomrider, John, and rtool.
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...c9725802cc.jpg Our pleasant waitress insisted on clearing the table but allowed me to finish my pasta plate down to the last millligam of carbs. We didn't have pie, because we weren't sure what kind would go with beer (just John, rtool, and me). :D
Originally Posted by Jim from Boston
(Post 12906899)
… I left off my last report as we were having a lively discussion about our cycling lifestyles at my motel on Friday night. Unfortunately everyone suddenly got very tired when I offered to show my mileage training graphs, so we dispersed for the night.
I found the downside to staying at a motel before a ride is watching movies until 12:30 AM. |
Originally Posted by Phil_gretz
(Post 21177706)
^so I realize that this is mostly written in jest. And we all misplace something from time to time, right?
|
| All times are GMT -6. The time now is 05:55 PM. |
Copyright © 2026 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.