GirlAnachronism

I'm up at 5am and on the road from 5:30-7:30. It's lovely. I never used to consider myself a morning person, but today I was up at 4:55 without the alarm.

I have a hard time doing actual workouts in the evening. I have a pretty low-key desk job, but I still find that in the evening I am in the mood to chill out and cook dinner, not bust my ass on the bike.

noise boy

I ride in the morning on weekdays usually from 6:45-7:45 or so because it is the only time I will be able to get out for sure, despite the fact that I am definitely not a morning person. If it is a quiet day at work I will commute on the bike, but most days not so much. Weekends I sleep in, and ride later in the day.

Nachoman

For me, since I'm just getting out of bed, a good warm up is more important at this hour, just to loosen up my muscles.
To the OP, did you go to hard right out the gate?

NCMTBIKER

I ride with some buddies every sunday morn..we start at 7 am.I really enjoy it,i thought i wouldnt like getting up early on sunday's but i feel great afterwards

WestCoastDan

I WAS getting up @ 5:30 and hitting the road 'straight-out-of-bed' for a 25 mile ride EVERY day until the time change ruined my internal clock.
It's not so much that I like mornings, but early rides are ahead of the local traffic and it gave me time to either help or interfere with getting the kids off to school when I returned.
Since the time change I've only managed to make 1 "early" ride - I typically dislike riding in the dark so it looks like it will be another few weeks before I can see the road @ 5:30 again.

I think we should abandon the time change concept entirely, or at least switch it one more time by 30 minutes and THEN leave it alone.
+++

guadzilla

After a few minutes, yes. Was struggling into the wind, and got passed by a couple of guys. Jumped on their wheel and then got in the front to do a pull when my turn came. Was a hard pull, especially as I got the section where the wind was stronger.. but that was only for a short while.

I going again for a group ride tomorrow morning. 6:30 departure. Will try this early morning thing again to see if it works, cos it is the most convenient for me and a good way for me to ride with a friend.

I got reasonable amount of sleep the previous day - 7+ hours and more than ample sleep all of the week prior. So why am I SO exhausted and drained for the rest of the day? I did <40 miles and even had a recovery drink after the ride.

V.

San Rensho 

It gets easier the more you do it.

I used to never be able to ride in the mornings, but for several years now, I've been riding primarily in the mornings, starting from 6-730 AM. Now, when I occasionally switch and ride in the afternoons, I feel terrible, legs hurt, can't ride for sustained period.

Sanman023

just be consistent on the routine.

i ride at 5:30...get home around 7:30...wife and daughter get up around that time...have breakfast....ride some more around the neighborhood with the family...then go about our day....

MNX1024

If I don't have to wait for my friend to get to my house all the time, I would leave the house around 6:30-7:00AM. Heck, if I didn't have to wait for him during our rides, my rides would be about 1-2 hours shorter.

rumrunn6

used to commute 1 hr+ to work at 5:30 am for years. don't anymore and I have no idea how I did it.

dnuzzomueller

I prefer to get all my working out done in the morning that way I have the rest of the day for school work (at the moment). I envy those who can do super early mornings consistently. I know that for me if I get up for a reason I actually awake with a decent amount of energy, the real problem is not just falling back into a pattern of relaxing because i am a creature of comfort most definitely.

One early ride though was the Boston Marathon ghost ride. I got up at 5am for that one.

In general morning rides rev me up and substitute for my cup of tea. This morning I did a 7:30 - 8:30 trainer ride (Yeah I know trainer season is over but atleast when you have a 9am meeting you can still get a ride in and not worry about possible complications making you late). I certainly find that if you get going with a hard effort initially and really force your heart rate up to the red zone you warm up quicker, that might be a tip.

withsriracha

Was up at 5:20 this morning, on the road till 8. My job is pretty unpredictable in terms of how late I have to stay at night, so the morning is the only time I can be sure I'll get my workout in. Even when I had a standard 9-5, though, I still preferred to work out early and keep my evenings to myself.

I prefer to ride early-ish, though not as insanely early, on the weekends for two reasons: The roads are less crowded, plus it gives me most of the afternoon to spend on errands or with friends/SO.

kimconyc

7AM is when my weekday morning ride ends; 5AM departure.

10AM, day is almost half over.

VA_Esquire

so you dont work and have school...somewhat. Wish I was back in high school, so much free time.

skybono

May I know what time do you guys sleep?

kimconyc

When I am tired.

Try looking into taking a siesta, even if it is in the evening.

mikeyp.1

Living at the beach the only time the trails are uncrowded is early if you wait till 10 thousands of walkers,dogs kids etc.

Bob Ross

I got home from my morning ride at 7am today!

KoYak

Between 9-10. I've one of those weird people that need 6 - 7 hours of sleep. I think it is genetic. My Dad is the same way.

GirlAnachronism

I try to be in bed by 9, asleep by 10. I'm also boring and old. On my rest days I sleep 9-10 hours. During the season sometimes as much as 12.

kimconyc

Ride, eat, sleep--life is good!

cppb

Starting next week I am going to start a 40mile each way commute to work a couple of times a week. This means leaving my house at 4:15 am or so. I am aware that it is definately going to take some getting used to, but the few times I have tried to get up and ride early I either feel like crap the whole time and quit early, or I take an hour or more to "wake up" before I start.

What do you guys do in the morning between getting out of bed and getting on the bike? Do you stretch, actively limber up, drink strong coffee, etc?

rc32

Two words: Crazy drivers!

aham23

life, work, family, life, work....you ride when you have to if you want too. later.

GirlAnachronism

It helps to have everything all set out and ready the night before. You don't want to be fumbling around with setting up the coffee maker when you're rubbing sleep out of your eyes. I lay out all my clothes, prepare my food, fill my bottles, set up my lights or whatever else I need on the bike, pump up my tires etc.

I jump out of bed and straight into my bike clothes while my toast is toasting, eat quickly, then get out the door and on the bike. The less stuff I have to do the better, but then I find that if I've gotten enough sleep the night before I don't need a long time to get fully awake.