when is the best time to ride?

I ride when my body feels good and according to the weather. And I would be very suspect of anyone who professes that one time of day is better than the other, except that it should be a time when you can eat and drink before riding.

I like my riding to be as enjoyable as possible, so in the summer I often ride in the morning when it is cool. Fall and winter, midday will often be better. And evening are always fun if the weather is right.

gruppo said:

I ride when my body feels good and according to the weather. And I would be very suspect of anyone who professes that one time of day is better than the other, except that it should be a time when you can eat and drink before riding.

I like my riding to be as enjoyable as possible, so in the summer I often ride in the morning when it is cool. Fall and winter, midday will often be better. And evening are always fun if the weather is right.

I have no choice but ride whatever the weather, i rise at 3.45am eat breakfast, and a cup of coffee, then i'm off for my ride to work, i treat these rides to work like a short training session, i'll spin smaller gears, i'll grind big gears, i also practise rolling starts and sprints, mainly since there are no cars on the road that time of day. i do however approach traffic lights with a degree of caution however i don't always stop on red if its good to go.

then i repeat to a similar degree on my way home. plus longer rides on my days off, well unless the weather permits it. bit crappy getting soaked 5 days a week twice a day, then doing it again on your day off.
😄

However i do find it a little more difficult to ride that time of day, its almost like there is a lack of oxygen in the air. but it does seem to make riding in the daytime easier.

Same with sex...any time that you can. :p

Like many of you, I have family and work responsbilities that help determine my schedule. With that said, I ride in the early morning, and enjoy that more than any other time of day. It's nice and quiet, there's little to no traffic, and I see the sunrise everyday. I find it gives me energy for the rest of the day. In addition, sometimes factors come up later in the day that would get in the way of riding. At 4:30 AM, that isn't a concern. I also have to agree with other posters though, as any time is great.

rule62 said:

Same with sex...any time that you can. :p

Rephrase that for us married people to anytime we have permission.If you are referring to sex with someone else.

LOL...well I am married with a five year-old and at least that's the way that it works at my house. My sympathies for all those to whom my comment no longer applies. 😄

ghostpedal said:

Like many of you, I have family and work responsbilities that help determine my schedule. With that said, I ride in the early morning, and enjoy that more than any other time of day. It's nice and quiet, there's little to no traffic, and I see the sunrise everyday. I find it gives me energy for the rest of the day. In addition, sometimes factors come up later in the day that would get in the way of riding. At 4:30 AM, that isn't a concern. I also have to agree with other posters though, as any time is great.

do you find that riding so early in the day, when it comes to riding later in the afternoon that is alot easier then when you did early that morning.

i find that when i ride very early 4/4:30am, the air lacks oxygen and makes it a little harder to ride quite as hard, but when i ride in the afternoon, its like there is masses of oxygen and i can pedal hard for sometime longer, do you agree or is it all in my head 😕

andyanansu said:

Hi
I normally get up at around 6am, brush my teeths and go straight to riding.
I normally ride 1hr+ depends on the day, upto 2hr in the weekend.
I like morning because it's less car and better air especially in Sunday.
But I've heard it's better to ride in the afternoon because your body still havn't 'wake up' in the morning.
Can I have some advice on when is the best time to ride?
e.g. how many hours after you get up?
and when do you guys/gals normally ride?
Andy

For me, the best time is early in the morning, after the sun rises and if there is no fog. I usually start out around 7AM or so. I don't like to go too late in the AM because traffic gets nuts here.

I am not a morning person, I couldn't begin to fathom getting up one second earlier than 6, the only exception being a trip to the cottage.

On the weekend, I got up in time for a 9am bike ride and this was a major undertaking!

Anyway, I usually go after work during the week. I leave at five, and live so close to work I am riding by 5:30 or so, and do a lovely ride by the lake to look at the sunset (1.5-2 hrs). On the weekend I'll do a longer ride and start much earlier in the day....but definitely not at 3:45! *faint* 😉

I love my early rides...I leave the house at 6 am. Other than that, I like the other 23 hrs as well.

I don't find it any harder in the morning than in the afternoon, although it is different. I don't feel I'm working any harder in the morning than in the afternoon, but then again, I ride the vast majority of the time in the AM. Maybe I can do some sort of heart rate & distance comparison between the two times. Hey, I just wanna ride anytime.

ghostpedal said:

I don't find it any harder in the morning than in the afternoon, although it is different. I don't feel I'm working any harder in the morning than in the afternoon, but then again, I ride the vast majority of the time in the AM. Maybe I can do some sort of heart rate & distance comparison between the two times. Hey, I just wanna ride anytime.

HOW OFTEN DO YOU RIDE AT 4.30AM THOUGH???????? OR THROUGH THE NIGHT? THAT WOULD BE GOOD IF YOU COULD THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN RIDING THROUGH THE NIGHT OR AT NIGHT COMPARED TO RIDING IN THE DAY AFTERNOON.

I DO RIDE ANYTIME, I HAVE ABIKE FOR ALL WEATHERS, MTB FOR REALLY BAD WEATHER, RACER WITH DROP BARS FOR WINDIER DAYS, AND A TT/TRI BIKE FOR LIGHT BREEZE AND SUNNY DAYS, WHERE I OFTEN GO ABIT BESERK WITH MILES AND SPEED.

During summertime, I wake up around 6am, eat breakfast and ride around 8AM. But during the cold months, I usually start around 11AM-12NN. 😎

I ride 6 days a week at 4:30 AM. I get up ~ 4:15, slap my gear on, and hit the road. I ride for at least an hour or more depending on the day and my training goals. I get back to the house, eat quickly, get ready, and go to work. It's early, but it's what I have to do. It seems early, but like anything, you get used to it. I find that if I do wimp out and sleep in, I actually have less energy that day than if I would have gotten up and rode. Hey, the streets are mine at that time. It's an interesting and relaxing time. I also get to see deer, coyotes, raccoons, skunks, and other critters running around during that time. I wonder what they think of me? Keep riding!

ghostpedal said:

I ride 6 days a week at 4:30 AM. I get up ~ 4:15, slap my gear on, and hit the road. I ride for at least an hour or more depending on the day and my training goals. I get back to the house, eat quickly, get ready, and go to work. It's early, but it's what I have to do. It seems early, but like anything, you get used to it. I find that if I do wimp out and sleep in, I actually have less energy that day than if I would have gotten up and rode. Hey, the streets are mine at that time. It's an interesting and relaxing time. I also get to see deer, coyotes, raccoons, skunks, and other critters running around during that time. I wonder what they think of me? Keep riding!

i just ride to work, then ride home, then maybe out again in the afternoon depending upon how the weather is and what kind of day i have had.

somedays i am satisfied with the quality time and efford that i have put in on my ride to work, and i do understand what you mean about the lack of traffic on the road at that time, i haver certain parts of roads that i choose to ride on the white line, at full speed and try to balance on it.

pretty cool stuff that paint they use for markings, i just wish the government would offer wider strips of it, like a 2 foot strip on the edge of a cycle lane, then you can ride on that in good weather or the cycle paths in wet weather.
not something one could do whilst traffic was on the road you must agree. 😄

i ride best in the evening. i am so not a morning person.

I love morning rides especially when your out for base training...just enjoying the fresh air at a reasonable pace....

my question to all of you who ride early (i mean 4:30 am?) ....how much sleep you put in? I mean I personnally ride at least 10-12 hours a week and with school and work it's crazy to deal with....sleep just like miles and nutrition is a major priority!

I'm a 4:30 am rider. I usually go to sleep anywhere from 9-10 pm depending on the night. I sleep in on Sunday (till 7 or so), which is my only day off the bike. I really don't find it to be that hard. I really like riding at that time. The road is mine at that time. I feel I get in good training, and it's very beautiful outside at that time. Keep riding!

ghostpedal said:

I'm a 4:30 am rider. I usually go to sleep anywhere from 9-10 pm depending on the night. I sleep in on Sunday (till 7 or so), which is my only day off the bike. I really don't find it to be that hard. I really like riding at that time. The road is mine at that time. I feel I get in good training, and it's very beautiful outside at that time. Keep riding!

I go to sleep at around 12.00am i rise at 3.50am i hit the road for 4:30am i sleep again at 13.00pm for a further 2 or 3+ hours depending upon how much sleep my body requires. its usually pitch black here 4:30am, but after numerous occassions of being stopped by police, i have decided to invest in lights to prevent any further interuptions.

the other morning for instance i was stoppped by the police on my mtb, he seemed to think that at 21mph i was in a hurry, unfortunately i was taking my time 😄 thought that maybe i had seen his police van and was trying to get away without being noticed, since i was travelling at what he claimed to be at speed. Possibly a burglar since i fit the profile of a burglar, out on an mtb at 4:30 travelling at speed, possibly trying to go unoticed.. good job i wasn't doing my normal.... 30mph hey!