Early mornings, what motivates you?

[michelle_s]

I'm having so much trouble getting out of bed early mornings to go for a ride, but once I do I'm glad I did. More often than not though I hit the snooze..

So I'm looking for some ways to motivate myself!

What motivates you?

[moose85]

I work very long hours and have to drive 1.5 hrs each way so early mornings are my only option. I too have struggled with the motivation to get up and often hit the snooze.

For me the biggest motivator has been to think about not riding... riding has become my stress release so I just remember what is causing me stress and it gives me the kick to get up and ride.

An early night helps the night before too.

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[kb]

I find preparing as much as possible the night before is helpful. Reduces friction the next day.

[kb]

And meeting up with others.

[isabella24]

+1 to preparation the night before. I find that if I roll out of bed and only have to put on my gear and go, my brain doesn't have time to procrastinate!

[g-boaf]

I don't do early mornings.

I ride evenings and 8:00am in the morning.

But it's easier to have everything ready to go. Drink prepared, gear ready to go. If I have a late night the day before I always sleep in late.

[ACT SC600]

Having a young family, early mornings are the best for a roll... As stated previously preparing the night before is the key, bike, shoes, feeds, bottle, lights, garmin and clothes... Plus meeting mates, having a laugh... And most of all

Coffee!!

[Roub]

Definitely the young family makes the early morning option the best, and I also prepare everything the night before - bidons filled and in the fridge, kit laid out, bike prepped and just get-up get into the kit and roll out the door. On mornings I drive to work and take the bike for an early morning roll prior - I pack the car and bag with work clothes etc so again just drive straight out the door. I generally don't eat before a morning session either unless its a high stress ride or race. Just rely on stored glycogen and fat burning.

I don't need a lot of motivation to get going, once on the bike its all good

[Roub]

Oh unless its raining - I don't do Roadies in the rain, then its either trainer pain (less motivated for that!) or MTB roll

[ball bearing]

Early morning = no flies.

[skull]

Early morning also equals less traffic.

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[sminns]

Definitely the young family makes the early morning option the best, and I also prepare everything the night before - bidons filled and in the fridge, kit laid out, bike prepped and just get-up get into the kit and roll out the door.

+1 although cold mornings are hard

[westab]

Usually necessity as I need to be at a certain place by a certain time. Wednesday & Saturday mornings I ride early (due to swimming and little a's) so if I don't get going I am letting people down by either not finishing work on time and then watching my kids in the water on Wednesday or not setting up for little a's on Saturday. I agree with outers here that having everything ready to go helps with the early starts.

The other thing that motivates me is the "2013 ACF Commuting Challenge (AT) Endomondo" as the earlier I get going the more times I can go the long way to work or Little A's and give myself the best chance of finishing as high as possible.

[Tim]

Don't hit the snooze button.
Just get up and go.
After decades of early morning wake-ups for work and/or pleasure I find the longer I lie in bed thinking how nice and warm I feel and how cold and dark it is outside, the harder it is.
I don't give myself time to think.
Nearly robotic. The moment the alarm goes off I sit up and get out of bed. By the time I've properly woken, I'm either in the shower or already half dressed.
It's the most painless way for me. Most of the time I don't need an alarm. I just wake up anyway.

[Ignoto]

It's easy.

The further I ride, the more cake, ice cream and beer I get to eat! The only issue now is, the GF is in horror in the amount of food we're now going through.

[jules21]

i'm not a morning person so i struggle, but:
1. it's not meant to be easy. you have to want to get up and ride. there is no magic formula that will spring you out of bed.
2. as others said, prepare the night before. but as well as preparing your kit, also prepare mentally - visualise getting up early and your ride - where you'll be by 9am etc. mental rehearsal prepares you for it and helps mitigate the shock factor when your alarm goes off.
3. get enough sleep.
4. i often bargain with myself by saying - if i don't feel good, i'll turn around at X and have an easy one. 9/10 i feel good and continue the full distance. but it takes the pressure off.

[jasonc]

+1 to ignoto

I do group rides most mornings. having others there assists with motivations. we have a vote about pace when we get there. thankfully, most mornings "cruisy" is the pace decided on.

[Parker]

The sunshine, I don't feel like I'm ready to start they day unless I've been in the sun and gotten a dose of hapiness.

[Redbull]

Open your blinds and let the morning wake you. First light is about 4.30am now so its pretty easy to be up and going.

[winstonw]

habitual early nights are the number 1 key to feeling better early morning (8-830 seems early, but you feel so much better getting up by 5)
much less wind
much less traffic
less encounters with aggressive drivers before 630 i think...maybe aggros with bear heads don't get up til later.
can't sleep in when light is breaking before 5am (in Qld with no daylight saving)
interestingly, I find I don't go out as much to the cinema or restaurants as I used to, which saves a bit of money. Occasionally, I'll have a cooked breaky out after a ride.
lastly, people out and about earlier tend not to be as unfit, overweight, or obnoxious. this is esp true in local cafes on the weekends.

[pauls51]

Might sound stupid but the night before a ride after prepping everything, I pull out a TdF / La Vuelta DVD and watch my favourite parts for around half an hour.. The next morning when the alarm goes off im up and out of bed before I even switch it off!

[JC3]

Personally I found that getting a bicycle that makes you excited about riding made a big difference at the start. Once I got into the routine it made it a lot easier and now it's just second nature. In fact I feel strange and a bit regretful if I don't ride of a morning. YMMV.

[Hergest]

habitual early nights are the number 1 key to feeling better early morning (8-830 seems early, but you feel so much better getting up by 5)
much less wind
much less traffic
less encounters with aggressive drivers before 630 i think...maybe aggros with bear heads don't get up til later.
can't sleep in when light is breaking before 5am (in Qld with no daylight saving)
interestingly, I find I don't go out as much to the cinema or restaurants as I used to, which saves a bit of money. Occasionally, I'll have a cooked breaky out after a ride.
lastly, people out and about earlier tend not to be as unfit, overweight, or obnoxious. this is esp true in local cafes on the weekends.

This post strikes a chord with me especially the habitual early nights part. I've always been an early riser and early to bed person, if i sleep in it is until 6.30 at the latest and then i think i've missed an hour at the best part of the day.

[michelle_s]

Thanks guys this really helped. After reading a few of your replies I got the bike, clothes and everything else ready and it wasn't as hard to get out of bed as I thought. I did leave my blinds open and was awake at 4 30 as the light woke me up. Felt a whole lot better for it too

[RonK]

Remember what your mother told you - early to bed, early to rise...

No motivation necessary - get to bed early enough (for me around 9-10pm) and you will be wide awake at 5am.