When do you get in your rides?
 

When do you usually get in your rides? I work 6:30a - 5p, - 4 days a week, and usually get home around 5:30p and sometimes I just don't have the energy to ride for hours(at age 54). Maybe the title should have been 'how do you get motivated'?

The vast majority of my riding by any measurement--miles, hours or number of rides--is commuting. Kills the proverbial two birds with one stone. Now that we're in the nicer weather, I can easily extend my commute at either end, although I prefer to extend the ride in to work.

What helps is that rather than a beater, my commuter is a very nice ride that can still hold its own in fast group rides despite the lights, rack and fenders. I never feel like I've settled for second-rate when I'm on it.

Like you, I also work four-day weeks. With one weekend rest day, that still leaves two weekend days for club rides or long solo rides out in the hills of horse country--weather permitting.

I try to get a few rides in during the early AM before work, a little over an hour starting at 6AM. Then I commute to work very short. As summer comes one night a week I try to to a climb fest and then during the weekend I do the long rides. It all takes a lot of time.

Live on the bike path, which I use a lot for business, groceries, and just plain riding during the day. Additionally,
since I am retired, a typical schedule about 5 days per week is usually:

6-7 am - About 1 hour of physical therapy, weight lifting, stretching in my home gym, then:

depending on weather

8am - either swim for 45 minutes, then about a 20-30 mile ride or vice versa.

My riding is driven by two factors. Work travel and temperature. If I am home and it is 70 plus, I am out for a 40 mile ride. Week day rides are 20/hour ride. But lately I have been traveling during the week leaving Fri-Sun for riding. :(

Almost all my riding is commuting; some is shopping. I didn't ride at all until I decided that driving my car during rush hour was impractical. I was never a recreational cyclist.

The motivation is simple -- this area is the worst place on earth to drive a car. Parking is scarce and gridlock is common.


Paul

Commuting accounts for most of my weekday riding. I head out around 6:30 am and get back around 6:30 pm. Wouldn't get a lot of miles in mid-week if I didn't commute by bike to work.

After-work rides on Monday, Thursday, and Friday, weather and work load permitting. Saturday morning ride. Sunday afternoon ride.

I'm now working from my home office 3-4 days a week, so it makes getting a ride in either at lunchtime or right after work much easier.

Still working with an early start so my main ride is at the weekend. Now the lighter evenings are in- When I get home from work I will ride on Tuesday and Thursday (Depending on Rain) for 20 miles or so. One ride takes in a few hills and the other is taken with just a bit more speed than my usual weekend ride.

But a few years ago I had to stay fit in the winter so I bought some very good lights for the bike. I had to ride to keep fitness so all weathers and all temps and it was out on the Tandem for 30 miles offroad twice a week in the evenings and a 50 miler at the weekends. Luckily- I have come to my senses and the mid week rides are only done if the weather is suitable. And definitely not offroad in the dark.

Get home from work between 3:30 and 4 and ride 25-35 miles most evenings, I play golf on Saturday morning and ride afterward then Sundays early AM most the time. 57yo and find it easy to get motivated I just think how out of shape I was before I started riding.

right now its just 1 ride a week on the weekends (45 - 60 miles). lame I know, but I'm doing other stuff like swimming; running and weight training during the week, early in the morning before work.

I'm retired so almost all of my riding is between noon and 3pm, any day of the week I feel like riding. :beer:

Didn't you have a position with the Atlanta Bicycle Advocacy Organization, or something like that?

I commute, and the distance increases along with the temps; 60F & up means miles added in the morning AND evening! I'm off on Saturdays, so that is pretty much reserved for the kids. My day off during the week is MY time, so I can run errands, pay bills, or hit the MUP and/or side streets for a 2-3 hour experience.

Almost every day is a ride day, since I'm car-free.

Like others, commuting makes up the bulk of my miles--I add miles to the ride home. Motivation? For me having something to train for is helpful. A metric century, a century, a bike tour. Currently it's a 5 day 250 mile tour hitting parts of 4 US states in June. I need to have a goal :-)

I retired last May then went back to working the same position for three days a week. My hard weekday rides are Tue, Wed and Thur, the same days I work. On Mon and Fri my rides are usually easy spins that I do anytime its convenient. Weekends are for long rides and races.

I try to ride every day after work for my 18 mike work out ride. I start around five or a little after go for an hour and a half or a little less depending on traffic. On the weekends are my long ride days 30 to 50 miles each day, and sometime I will get a Friday long ride in if I can get out of work by noon. Just being out on the bike is motivation enough to get going. :)

For DH and I, most of our rides are utility rides - running errands and such. We try not to use the car for anything that can be done by bike. I think we're riding more now that we rely on bikes to get our groceries and such. So I guess we're getting our rides in whenever we need to leave the house for something.

Most of my riding is commuting to work and trips to the store as well. I'm starting to worry because I'm not sure I'll be able to handle 70- 80 miles on the Finger Lakes trip in June. All of my rides are under 30 miles so far and I play music every weekend so I'm just not ramping up like I hoped. I am getting stronger and faster on the commutes though, that's a good sign.

70 to 80 is not bad- Just get a couple of rides in beforehand of around 50 miles. It's not the body and fitness that will need training if you are doing 30 miles often enough- but the pacing and butt will need a bit of hardening up.

Every other Wednesday and each Saturday. Sometimes I'll through in a Friday as well. All rides are 75 miles minimum.

In addition I do an hour spinning class each Monday and Wednesday evening and a 90 minute spinning session each Thursday evening.

Sarge

I get most of my riding in after work. Start @ 0500 off by 1330 home by 1430. That gives me about 3-4 hours each day. With club rides on Sunday and a light ride with my wife on Saturday it makes a good week. How did we get so lucky that we have this great pastime that lets us be with good people, hills, views, and bugs in our teeth?

DH and I are massage therapist, we work 2 days a week, plus some massages we do in our home, so our schedule varies. We do moderate riding 30-45 miles per week, we usually try to do 2 weekday rides, and a long one on Sunday after church. As soon as our mornings get a bit warmer, we will start riding our bike to church (16 miles round trip) on Sunday, hopefully we can increase our mileage a bit then. We live in the country, very hilly, most of our riding is done on paved, rural roads. Had a great 20 mile ride today.

I ride after work, I try to get a quick twenty miles in the evenings. This evening I was able to do 20 and mow the lawn.