To be more on track... I also wouldn't sleep in bike clothes because I shower in the morning to avoid getting funky smelling during the day. I take another shower in the evening.

I'm okay with being "that car-free guy". I don't want to be "that stinky car-free guy".

Sleeping in bike clothes is a good idea...I often keep hitting the snooze button until I have enough time to get to work via car. Its a 20 min car ride vs 45 min bike ride.

Like today I got up, got showered and by the time I was out of the shower I was like "i want to take the bike!" but if I did I would have been late for work.

Keep at it and the motivation will return. It is natural to find it harder to get up and going when the mornings are colder and darker. However, I find that once I get past the "October slump" my motivation to ride gets even stronger. That's because my body gets acclimated to the colder temps and I get used to riding in the dark again, and it's also much harder to get exercise if I don't bike commute. Late fall/winter/early spring is actually my favorite time to commute in many respects. It's easier to dress for the cold than the heat, in my experience, and I feel safer because I wear neon yellow vest and jackets in cold weather. My water bottle stays cold, and my clothes don't get all sweaty. Drivers seem to give me a little more respect, particularly when my lights are blazing and when riding on really cold days.

I enjoy riding in the dark, but I have a pretty safe route. I find the darkness sharpens my mental acuity, and this focus in my mind turns inward and I dwell on my own thoughts and on the road immediately just ahead. I call this attitude "cocooning."

maybe it's because i live on the extreme eastern edge of a time zone, or maybe a lot of you guys just work stupidly early in the morning, but here in chicago, even in the darkest days of winter, sunrise is typically around 7:15am. considering i have a 14 mile ride and a start time at work of 8:30am, i typically leave around 7:30am, which means i never have to ride to work in the dark, even on the winter solstice.

going home is obviously a different story, after DST ends in early novemeber, i'm riding home in the dark everyday until it kicks back in in the spring, but riding home in the dark is different, because i already have made the choice to ride my bike into work, so i have no choice but to ride it to get home. i can see how permanent winter darkness could serve as a demotivator on the morning side of the question; i guess i'm just lucky i don't have to deal with that.

Figure out how to fix this. I think you've gotten to the root of your problem. You want to ride your bike, but you want to sleep more.

I am so glad that summer is over...Too damn hot ! I welcome the cooler temps. Love riding when it's cool out there.

Build off of why you want to ride the bike at all. For me its, fun, saves money, builds strength, keeps my mind sharp, and I don't want to be lazy and keeps me healthy. I enjoy watching the miles click up day after day on my spreadsheet.

I don't ride on ice and snow. And if it seems too cold. I would much rather ride to work than ride my trainer at home. So knowing if I don't ride I may have to ride the dreaded trainer.

this

and i relish the CHALLENGE, man!

i'm proud of the days atop the bridge, in the black, balls of ice forming on my eyelashes from my breath.

in my particular case, i have always been an unusually warm person. which apparently, cuts down on gear.

I also felt my life needed some added discipline, bike commuting gave my routine that element.

I'm up at 6, rubber hits road approx 6:15. Mostly for safeties sake. (I believe the first tip i read from the DOT regarding bike commuting was, "don't ride in rush hour".)

+1. I also graph my miles as they accumulate and the charts provide an effective visual motivator to ride and watch them accumulate. It's keeping me on track to fulfill my New Year's resolution to ride over 5000 miles.

This is my 41st year of commuting to work by bike. I've been doing it so long I think I've forgotten my motivation. Rain, shine, sleet, snow, I just do it.

Maybe my motivation to keep going year round is so that I'll still be biking and running up stairs while many of my peers are suffering from obesity and high blood pressure. Think of all the money we spend on health care and gyms and getting or staying slim and how simply riding a bike to work every day is the best investment you could make in your future.

Or you could just get fat and lazy like everybody else.