Hey guys been thinking about getting back into cycling. I was heavily into it while I was in college but as I got into my work life and had a family have been out of it for a few years. My question was I work from basically 7 in the morning to about 630 in the evening monday through friday and am off on weekends so I would have my weekend mornings for riding. For you guys with heavy schedules like this what do you typically do during the week, is it easier to get up extra early and ride in the pre-dawn hours or do evening rides during the week. Any thoughts or suggestions would be helpful as I said this is definitely something I want to get back into but was curious for feedback from people with heavy work schedules like my own.

Thanks.

There is nothing like the work grind. Depending on how much of a grind it is - I try to ride in the early morning when there is very little weekend traffic on the road. That said - if you're working hard you'll need time to recover some strength over the weekend ....for another heavy week of work. That said - naps are really helpful over the weekend.

I do 100% of my weekday rides on the trainer because of work hours similar to yours and a toddler to deal with after hours of whom I (not my wife) am the prime caretaker after work since she gets home later than I do.

I'm on the Carmichael "Time-Crunched" Cyclist plan. It's actually not as Time-Crunched as he makes it out to be - he still calls for 2 longer rides on the weekends from 90mins - 3hrs in length each, which to me, is a full cycling load. However, he does scale back the weekdays to 2, and rarely 3 workouts per week, all of which are under 90 mins and closer to 50-75mins. Seems to work - while I wouldn't say I'm as improving anywhere as fast as I could if I were cycling a lot more, I've been happy with my gradual improvement despite the limited time riding.

Group rides for me have gone nearly completely out the window, as I can't leave the house for more than 3 hrs at a time. Still, you can really crank legit workouts in <3hrs on the weekend.

Make good friends with your trainer if you're interested in staying fast as efficiently as possible. With Carmichael's hi-intensity interval sets, it's actually never boring for me - ever, as it's hard enough that I'm constantly targeting the power needed for the interval in question. That hour goes by very quickly, even without music or DVD. (Without the plan, I can't last more than 20 minutes on the trainer due to boredom.)

Im on the road at 0415 or so 3-4 weekdays a week. Seems to work for me. Makes the day at work long though. I do the kid pickup so after work is out.

Can you commute?

Earlier this summer I was doing 30-45 minute rides early in the morning before work, starting as early as 5:45, plus a few longer rides in the evening after work on alternating days, combined with much longer rides on the weekend. Then when the days started getting really short, I moved all my riding to evenings and weekends. Now that winter is around the corner, it's just weekends (not for much longer probably) and indoor training.

I leave for work at 7AM and get back at 7:30PM. Riding in the morning is impossible because my husband actually leaves before me and I have 2 young children at home. Therefore, my rides are now only on weekend mornings. Every now and then, I get home early on a Friday so I am able to squeeze in a brief ride on a Friday afternoon. I bought rollers so that I can try to get some riding in during the week but so far, I haven't quite gotten the hang of them so I'm not riding as much as I'd like. I can't wait until the warmer months when it starts getting light again and I can actually squeeze in an hour after work.

another vote for early mornings. By the end of your 11hr day, I don't think you'll be feeling like riding so much.

If you have to leave for work at 7:00 a.m., you could try squeezing in an hour, a few times a week, from 5:30 a.m. to 6:30 a.m. And then go for a longer ride on the weekend.

Hey guys thanks for the replies a commute won't work for me since my position is customer service and there would be no way for me to get cleaned up. I prefer after work rides because my work is not labor intensive and will probably invest in a trainer for the winter months. Plus evening rides are a good way to clear my head since I deal with people all day.

Monday through Friday get on the trainer for 1 hour as often as you can. Either morning or evening will work. I hate to see people riding on the road in the dark. In my book it is just to dangerous. Saturday and Sunday get on the bike and hit the road.

I do evenings right after work. You really want a trainer. Riding in the dark + rush hour sucks. Doing one alone is ok, but both combined is no fun whatsoever and is also not good for structured training due to all the car interruptions.

Make sure you also have a rear wheel speed /cadence sensor to get your speed as well - not to compare to outdoor speeds, but just to keep track of how hard you're going relative to prior rides. Without any feedback whatsover on the trainer (since you don't even get the sensation of speed), it gets frustrating quickly. I think most people who bemoan their trainers as being mindless and dull are doing it this way - without any workout feedback.

When you start training with power (speed as a surrogate for power), things stay pretty interesting, even for those 60 minute rides - I'm never bored when I'm targeting those zones and working hard.

In general, I disagree. If you're out early, there's very little in the way of traffic, even in a relatively dense area. I'm out the door and on the way to work by 5, and get passed by exactly zero cars on most days.

The ones that do pass me give me a ridiculous margin; it's a little insulting, actually.

I really do believe that with good lights, a cyclist is harder to miss in the dark. It's trickier at dawn/dusk, and on roads that are highly lit. We can speculate on the demographics and types of drivers who are out that early in the morning, but I am more at ease on the road in the early morning hours.

Mornings = ok for riding with lights.

Evening rush hour = bad for riding with lights.

Ride the weekends. In the summer when the light is long you can ride after work as well. This time of year, thru April, ride the weekends and maybe spin at the gym.

I had the same schedule as you for years. I would get up at 3 AM 3-4/week and ride for 2 hr with lights brighter than my car. Found it safer than riding during the day actually. Nobody on the road at that time, coolest time of the day in summer, and the time with the least wind or rain during those times in my area too. No traffic, and if there is a car on the road you can see it coming from a mile away even from behind!

I tried riding after work, but I was so tired by them from the long day that I found every excuse under the sun not to. The key was to get enough sleep for me. That for me translated to 6 HR of sleep, so by 9 PM I was in bed, tucked in, and closing my eyes. Make it 9:10 PM and not even an act of congress was getting me up in the morning. Longer rides on sunday and usually either a slower mid length ride with a group on saturday or no ride at all most times. Worked great for me.

If you are going to do something similar, go to bed at the same times =/- 30 min the night before the days you don't plan on riding. Otherwise, you'll never get adjusted to the earlier times. That is most people's downfall.

There's no YMCA around where you could shower before work? What about getting in something heart rate intensive over the lunch hour?

5AM to 4PM is my typical workday, so the early-morning ride is pretty much out of the question for me as well (as is a commute to work)... I enjoy the after-dinner ride - usually not more than about an hour - and find it easier since me body is naturally stretched and ready for it after working a long day. Even though I am on my feet most of the day, and am under a fair amount of stress, I usually have enough energy left for the evening ride, and like the OP, find that is is really good for clearing the brain of the daily BS.

I use my two days off - usually not the Saturday-Sunday weekend - for the long rides. I am currently out of daylight for the evening rides, and have pulled the old Blackburn Mag Trainer out to supplement and survive until the daylight returns.

The only reason I have been able to do any of this is that the nest has become empty with a kid in college...

I worked in face-to-face sales and I commuted by bike daily, so don't rule it out. A few things that I did -

• One day a week, bring in all of your changes of clothing for the week.
• Don't ride too hard in the morning. In cool/cold weather, ride hard enough to stay warm. In warmer weather, just try not to sweat profusely - if you're out the door pretty early, it's not too hot on the morning commute, even in the summer when it pings 100F at mid-day.
• Wear the right clothing for the commute. I wear mostly merino wool when I ride, but anything that wicks well and don't promote bacteria growth will work. Remember, it's not sweat that stinks, it's the bacteria that feeds on sweat that stinks.
• Get to work early enough for a cool-down period. Personally, I like getting in and getting situated before everyone else, it helps to organize my day and provides a buffer for mechanicals/flats on the morning ride.
• Flog the hell out of your bike on the way home, releasing any tension from the day. Take the long way home or throw in some loops at a nearby park.

If my work schedule was this busy, I would go with trainer rides during the week. There is no way I am going to be able to get up at 4:30am to get a ride in. There is too much to do in the morning with kids, for me anyways. I sold my trainer because I would rather get outside, so I usually just throw my tennis shoes on and go for a 1hr run. I get to get outside and can really get a good workout in. I am off on Fridays, so I try to get 2-3 rides in on my 3 day weekend. As life stages change, I am sure ride frequency will increase and decrease depending on the stage.

Couldn't agree more although I suppose there will be regional variances. Commuters are hitting the roads in my neighborhood at 5-5:30. A lot of them take the country roads to bypass the crowded highways so they expect to make good time. I have seen some bad driving early and again in the evening rush. If I can't get out in daylight, I will use the trainer, mtb rides being the exception. The night rides in the trails are a lot of fun.

I take the attitude that whatever riding you do is good for you, even if it's only for half an hour or so. Rollers are good option for a quick ride close to home, even a few laps around the neighborhood. For family types and non-racers it's the frequency that matters rather than intensity and duration. I just want it to be fun and feel healthy. After our first child was born I pulled a ladies Schwinn Varsity out of a neighbor's garbage pile and rebuilt it with baby seat. My son and I had a lot of fun on it. You have a lot of options if you're willing to mix it up.

+1 This is probably the #1 reason people dont commute and most times its a non-issue. The key for me was getting a shower in the morning just before going to work. You sweat, but then if you cool off, do a little splash clean up in the bathroom and towel off, its really fine for most people.

I dont work in customer service, but I still want to be clean and feel fresh at work and I find for my 10mi commute, the sweat is not the issue I thought it would be.

Oh, and I get 100mi/week if I do nothing but go to work on my bike.

hybridized, if you can get in some trainer time, more power to you! (in both ways)

However I hate trainers.

Consider a good light setup and go out before work or after the kids are in bed.

Get in a good hard ride on Saturday and an easy recovery ride on Sunday.

If you start riding with a club, realize that you may not be as strong as those without family obligations.

In the end you need to spend more time with your family even if that means less time on the bike.

Eventually your kids will grow up and you will regret not spending enough time with them, and you will have plenty of time to ride then.

Weeknights on the trainer after the kids go to bed. Sad but true...