Praxis

I have a 5.5 mile commute, and it's almost as fast as it's going to get (traffic lights...). But it still takes me almost 30 minutes getting ready in the morning before riding (dressing, packing, a fast snack), and about 15-20 minutes after riding, at work (shower, shave, dress, etc.).

I'm looking for tips to decrease either of those times. I can't prepack my clothes, as they'll wrinkle. I often bring a lunch, so I can't prepack that, either. I usually have all my stuff laid out to go the night before. It does seem like I spend a lot of time taking stuff out or putting stuff into my bag (currently a Mountainsmith lumbar pack, but I've used a backpack and a messenger bag).

What's the little things you do that save you time?

DataJunkie

1) I shower the night before
2) Make my lunch \ breakfast \ snacks
3) Organize my gear. Fairly easy since I have a closet with my cycling gear in it.
4) During the warmer months that I am using lights I put them on my bike the night before.

I do not shower or shave at work. This is done when getting ready in the morning.
I can get out the door in 15 minutes but tend to lounge around the house while drinking tea and eating my cereal. Getting ones morning activity out of the way helps avoid issues involving a port-a-poti while riding.

I find trying to get out the house as fast as possible in the morning a stressful way to start the day.

Mr_H

I tend to shower at work (university, have an athletic center). I try and pack everything I CAN pack the night before in my bags. If my clothing can not be packed, I have it all laid out so I can toss it in without searching for each and every tid bit. I also pack my lunch/breakfast, but I leave them in a bag in the fridge. That way I just have to , grab the bag, and toss it into my cycling bags.

I shave the night before, that tends to help. And the shower I take at work is simple and quick (I take a 'full' shower the night before, after I get home from work and am already sweaty).

Realistically, you can only get so prepared

aadhils

I start getting ready early. I take my time, and I usually end up one and a half hours earlier at work than I should, so I have plenty of time to clean up, have a cup of coffee, browse the internet etc...

dalmore

Try to "containerize" things. Then instead of say 15 items going into your bag, maybe you have now only 4 containers. Then try to find ways to keep those containers packed.

Like have a single lunch bag, box or whatever. Then prepare the lunch the night before and put the container in the fridge. In the morning, just pop the container in your lumbar/backpack/pannier/messengar bag.

For the clothes try these little folding things from Eagle Creek - they really work for me when I travel but I have the luxury of not having to carry clothes to work on my bike. I think you'll be able to fold your clothes the night before in one of those and pack it up all ready to go.

I have a set of keys for the office and the house that I ring clipped in my lumbar bag. They are dedicated to the bag which I commute with everyday.

Praxis

Interesting. Do other people pack clothes the night before? Seems like they'd be wrinkled, in my flying experience--but I've never tried it biking.

My commute's short, but hilly so I don't wear street clothes and definitely need a shower afterward. Unfortunately, if I shaved the night before I'd be pretty stubbly by the day's end.

I do seem to spend lots of time with little items such as cell phone, wallet, badge, keys (gotta lock up the bike), etc. I've been thinking about a little bag to consolidate these but it seems the most time is spent getting these into the pockets. Keep 'em coming!

muteseh

Those Eagle Creek folders are quite nice.

mtnwalker

I prepack all my clothes, dress slack, polo shirt, socks, etc. It gets a little wrinkled but not that bad. What seems to help is by placing them in a plastic bag the night before and squeeze out all the air as much as I can before placing them in my back pack. I also prepare everything else the night before: breakfast(boiled eggs), lunch, drinks, air up the tires, install the lights, helmet on the handle bars, all the little things like keys, phone, wallet, etc in the back-pack. I also lay out my cycling clothes the night before and try to place them all on one hanger with the socks on a small baggie attached to the hanger so all I have to do is grab the hanger and change.

What really helped me a lot is a list I created of what I need to do and pack for the commute. I laminated it and I religiously check it every night and double check it every morning. It took a few days to get used to trusting the list and getting rid of the "Did I forget something" syndrome. Once I got the hang of it, my morning routine has been pretty smooth.

ronjon10

Leave clothes at work if you can. Bring in a weeks worth of shirts/pants. They can be folded neatly in a filing cabinet or hung to avoid wrinkling. Then you don't have to worry about the packing time on those and you have less stuff to carry.

If you're in dress clothes that need dry cleaning, see if you can arrange for dry cleaning pickup / dropoff at work. Then you wouldn't even need to be worried about transporting those items back and forth. Plus, no one bats an eye when they see dry cleaned laundry hanging in an office where they might do a double take if they were just hanging there otherwise (not that it really matters)

fender1

+1 on the eagke creek folder. I got mine on e-bay for $15. I believe it was called a "pack it". I put my dress shirt, pants, socks ,tie ,belt, undershirt and underpants in it. I keep my shoes at work with my bathroom kit. Total dimensions on the pack it are 10' x 15" I think. I drop that into my Arkel Utility basket with my lunch ( made the night before) and thermos of coffee and out the door. I even fill my water bottles the night before and put them on the bike .

Mr_H

My wife recently watched a show on TV (I think Real Simple) that had a suggestion for folding clothes, or at least pants. Basically it was: Lay out your pants. Put your other clothes 'on/in' the pants, then fold the pants over them. It supposedly will make it easier on them, with less wrinkles (espically at the knee). I did that this morning and it did have an bit of a notable effect. Then again, I do wear wrinkle free pants :b

anastrophe

Do you have to carry that stuff in your pockets? Can you keep them in a separate (as you put it) "little bag" that you could then just throw in your panniers? That's what I do, I have one pannier that stays on the bike with tools/etc in it, and then a "go with me" bag that has a big pocket for lunch/clothes and a separate smaller pocket where I keep my keys/wallet/ phone. I don't take that stuff out unless I need it, and since it's a business pannier, I just take it into the office with me. That way, the only stuff that needs packing are lunch and clothes.

idcruiserman

I pack everything up the night before except for the cold food. It still takes me 30 minutes before leaving in the morning, which includes stretching and eating among other things.

noisebeam

Try shaving in the shower - even without mirror. Touch up work dry after you step out.
Also depending on your stubble tollerance you may be able to shave the evening before during you post ride shower.
If you drink coffee set it up the night before, even better if it has auto on.
Think about your routine in the morning, make sure every direction you walk is productive, that is you are carrying something between somewhere, no wasted trips. (for example I wake up and go to bathroom, then adjacent clothes closet, take clothes off hangar, walk to garage door (where bike bag is) put them in, pick up helmet and bike ride clothes, carry them to kitchen table, get coffee, put on clothes, eat snack, put on helmet, walk to garage door grab bike bag and leave. no wasted trips)

Al

O-Town

Try rolling your clothes rather than folding. Lay your stacks out on the bed, put your shirt on top and role them up. I do this the night before and there close to wrinkle free the next morning.

All of my shower stuff is in a bag I leave at work.

The phone, wallet, etc. get thrown in my bag the night before. It takes me a minute possibly two.

noisebeam

These items stay in my bike bag all the time. The only time they leave the bike bag is if I leave the house without bike, which is rare. As soon as I get back from a car trip, they get stored in bike bag.

Al

HardyWeinberg

I get up an hour before anyone else in the house, I can use that time to make coffee, shower, dress, mostly pack my panniers (among other morning putterings). I leave pants at work; I've taken to hanging my shirts in the laundry room (by where the panniers wind up, and where my bike clothes live). I would like to leave 45 min after that but in practice it takes me another hour, and during that time I eat breakfast, make lunch for myself (final pannier item) and my 5 yr old, pack up his bag for the day, get 2 yr old up, dressed, and either eating or self-entertaining, and get my wife up and coffee'd. During all that time I'm scoping out the weather to decide if I am going to wear rainjacket or not. If not, it's in the pannier 'cause well the weather changes.

thdave

I, too, take longer getting ready for my ride than I do when I drive in. I've thought about this a lot and kind of resign myself to getting in later. It might be strange to some, but I kind of enjoy getting ready for my ride.

My extra time is from lots of things. I pay more attention to the weather report. I bring a coat or rain cape and rain pants, depending on it. I pack my lunch. I always bring an extra tee shirt and my dress shirt--but that doesn't take much. I consider bringing an extra long sleeve microfiber shirt. I fuss with my shades--changing lenses if needed. I attend to my helmet, depending on the conditions--do I wear a hat underneath, or do I snap on my rain cover? If it's near dawn, I put on my bright arm band. I bring gloves, but usually that's quick (have three kinds). If it's quite cold, I do more still--like putting on vaseline on my nose and cheeks.

Sometimes I bring in other supplies, so I pack that accordingly.

I save time by showering/shaving at home. I only change shirts when I wash up (just use sink) at work. I go 6.5 miles, and just have one big hill, so you can gauge for yourself how reasonable your 5.5 mile trip would be for you. I push it harder on the way home than I do on the way in, so I don't overheat.

Phantoj

You should at least try riding in in your work clothes. You might not be as sweaty as you think, and if you shower before you go, you won't stink.

oboeguy

What dalmore said. All excellent advice. I'd use one of those Eagle Creek things myself (have 'em for travel) if they fit in my fancy bike riding backpack. Anyhow I find the single best bit of planning is in laying-out bike clothes the night before heading out. I mean all of it, down to the socks, shoes, gloves, etc. Also, having a water bottle ready to go shaves time. There are other little things storing your bike in a way that takes minimal time to hit the road the next day (important in NYC apartments, heh).

MrCjolsen

I have 12-14 mile commute. I shower and shave in the morning before leaving. Dress in bike clothes instead of work clothes. If I don't have any last minute packing or bike maintenance, my morning routine takes no longer than driving.

I ride. I try to back off on the pace the last mile as to cool down a bit.

I get to work, put jeans or shorts (we're uber-casual) over my bike shorts, change my shoes and replace my jersey with a clean shirt and I'm good to go. Takes about 5 minutes.

After work, do the reverse as far as dressing fill water bottles (I have two, each generally lasts me one trip, so I fill them once a day) and do any bike maintenance.

It's very important to not overdress for the ride. On a cold day, if you are comfortable when you first start out, you are overdressed. You should feel cold for the first mile or so.

Lately, I've actually been far more rushed when I drive.

MrCjolsen

One more thing. I think we (bike commuters) obsess too much over how we smell at work. The fact is that human stink is more a result of not bathing rather than sweating. When men stink, it's most often the result of sitting one ones' ass all day without having bothered to shower in the morning rather than hard work or exercise. I would almost go as far as to say that driving makes me smell worse than riding my bike.

More on that later.

DataJunkie

I know the stress of driving 30 miles on our lovely highways has me stinking up to high heaven.

I can arrive at work soaked in sweat and not stink what so ever after a brief cleaning with a paper towel. My female coworkers have stated that I smell like the outdoors... whatever that smells like *shrugs*
Trust me.... they would have kicked my arse out the door if I ever came to work smelling like a locker room.

PaulH

I have an eight year old daughter to get ready for school. This ensures that I will do absolutely nothing to prepare for the ride, other than hop on the bike.

Paul

squeakywheel

I take forever getting my stuff together in the morning too. Only thing I do to mitigate this loss of time is to drink my coffee while I'm packing. I have one of those 14 or 16 ounce double walled coffee mugs with a lid that keeps the contents from sloshing out. I wake up. Make my coffee. Sit in the living room for the first few sips. Then wander around lazily packing my stuff for work. Go to the closet and pick out some clothes. Take a sip. Walk downstairs and put the clothes in the bag. Take a sip. Open the pantry and think about lunch. Take a sip. Etc. I'd take just as long without having to pack because I'm going to laze around and drink coffee anyway for a half an hour.