I’m curious if I’m the only one who takes forever to get out of the house in the morning for a ride. I’m looking for some tips to help speed up this process. Many traditional time-saving efforts, like setting things out the night before, don’t work for me due to my shift work. I often finish work, come home, and then get ready. It just seems like there are a ridiculous number of touchpoints and things to prepare, making it a 20-minute process ,closer to 30 or 40 if you include breakfast. I’m considering taking my breakfast to work and eating it prior to leaving so that I have one less thing to do when I get home.
Here’s a list of the steps to get out the door:
Eat breakfast
Bike prep:
Check tire pressure
Clip on computer
Clip on front and rear lights
Nutrition:
Mix bottles
Grab food for the ride
Clothing:
Shoes
Toe warmers (typically left on shoes)
Socks
Knee warmers
Bibs
Chamois cream
Base layer
Jersey/Jacket
Neck gaiter
Head beanie thing
Helmet
Gloves
Glasses
Heart Rate strap
Additional items:
Headphones
ID & bank card
When I write it out, it doesn’t seem like that much, but running around the house to gather it all takes more time than I’d like. Something I’ve done to save time is premixing a large batch of drink mix, so I can just pour it into the bottles versus mixing each one. It does take up a lot of fridge space. I ride most days of the week, so often it’s a factor of having to do laundry and gather various items from multiple locations throughout the house—pulling computers, lights, headphones off charges, and stuff like that.
Is this pretty typical, or do any of you have a process for getting out the door quicker?
Sorry, no help here. I take as long as you. And getting out first thing in the morning takes WAY LONGER. Because of your shift work, there is a major part of my morning routine that you have likely already taken care of …
I was surprised with the latex tube on the front wheel of the TT bike (Continental) it loses only about 2-3psi overnight, I expected it to be more. I tend to pump it up about 5psi more than I need the night before a TT and tape up the valve hole so Im ready to go on the day. Years ago I listened to a podcast with two US champions and the both reckoned that least you had to fuss about before the race and the more relaxed you were the better. It probably psychological but the best results I’ve had have been when I’m most relaxed.
Outdoor rides on the other hand are usually once a week until summer where I will do some after work rides. Long rides that start early in the morning (6 AM wheels down), I would eat in the car on the way to the start or if leaving from home, eat on the bike first thing (rice cake or muffin).
My tips are all around storage of outside bike stuff (I have separate inside kit that lives in my workout room)
I use those fabric boxes to store all my gear. The fabric boxes go into one of those fabric boxes storage unit things.
Outside ride essentials so I don’t have to go searching for them (shoes, helmet, glasses, pocket pump, gloves, head beanie, heartrate strap) all go in one bin.
I also store my kit in the fabric boxes (its in same storage thing), so socks has its own box, bibs its own bin, jerseys and base layers, vests/jackets and warmers in a box. Reduces time to search for stuff. Nothing makes me waste more time than looking for the lost arm warmer.
Last fabric bin has all my nutrition stock and candy purchases dumped in, I can just grab and go. Thou my kids know I store my candy in there, but I like that its easy to visually see and pick out what I want and go.
I have electric plugs for the lights and computer there as well, ideally it keep everything in one place.
Might work for some, but not for me. My use of that bike vs the number of actual events where I truly want the latex in don’t make it conducive for the greater amount of time it would take to swap between tube types.
To your point, I am further ahead timewise taking the time to pump vs the swap in/out per my use. Could be different for each rider and their needs. But I doubt I am alone in running latex like this, so inflation may matter more for some cases than others.
Why subject yourself to crappy ride quality for the overwhelming majority of your riding miles?
It takes less than 2 minutes to fill your tires (realistically less than 1)…I’ll gladly take that time for the added benefit of latex tubes (or tubeless).
I run tubeless, so checking the pressure is essential. I’m often down 10+ psi. This doesn’t happen in a single night but I don’t always ride the same bike every day. Maybe MTB one day road the next etc. Also my shifts at work are 24 hrs so I may ride Monday morning, work Tuesday, ride Wednesday morning etc.
Another pre ride routine I forgot to mention was coffee and…um, uh well I guess you could say taking care of business if you catch my drift.
Again due to shift work setting things up the night before just isn’t an option.
I switched back to butyl on the wheels I use for training just for this same reason. A ride with slightly worse ride feel is still better than no ride.
It’s not about the time it takes but about reducing the mental barrier or making the transition from whatever you’re doing to riding as smooth as possible. It’s harder on weekdays due to work and other stuff. It’s not an issue during weekends.
Some people are more organized and can do all that without a problem. I’m not, so I try to do whatever gets me riding.
I run tubeless also but checking the pressure constantly isn’t essential with a good setup. My old TLs would barely lose 5psi over a week. I have found the rear TR a bit more variable and it needs checked the night before a ride.
Word…sometimes just the smell of the coffee can start “the process” for me.
I’m not certain I understand the binary choice presented here, but if you are happy with riding butyl tubes and it gets you out the door, then that is all that matters.
You can’t really say that with any certainty for anything other than your own setup(s).
The massive number of tubeless tire, wheel & sealant combos possible practically guarantee a range of sealing results over time. Some stuff will last nearly forever while others will need more upkeep.
