how early in the morning do you start your commute?

[Jezza75]

I leave by 6:30am to be at my desk showered and caffinated by 8:30. I also include a 10 minute buffer for changing flats ALTHOUGH since changing to Schwalbe Ultremo DD's, I havent had any flats going to work..
TOUCH WOOD!

[Jezza75]

P.S I am most defineatly NOT a morning person!

[Livetoride]

06:45 and like Jezza am in, changed and caffinated by 08:15. Would like to get up and leave at 06:00 but, the bed and Mrs LTR are far too toasty to leave any earlier

[waramatt]

I have a flexible start time, but I try to be on the road at 6 for a 45 min 18k ride, shower and start by 7ish. I've got really good at ironing and folding shirts and packing them in my backpack so they don't come out a mess.

If it's raining and looks like it'll stop soon, I'll hang back for 30 mins. If still not stopped, on comes the rain jacket and off I go.......

[Crowella]

Mine depends on my Uni time table but for my normal 9am start I'll be on my bike at 6:30am to ride a short 3-4km to the station, sit on a train for an hour and a half and then ride the last 7km to uni. Reverse on the way back to be home around 6-7pm. If I want more km, I just have to get up earlier and do a separate ride.

When I feel more up to it and need practice for future events, I'll start commuting the entire 104km ride and catch the train the way back.

[ave a go]

Not too early. Usually between 7:30am - 7:50am depending on when I'm ready to leave. Great thing about riding is that the traffic doesn't have a great impact on total travel time. When I was riding the motor bike or if I drive I still have to leave at the same time.

If I want more km, I just have to get up earlier and do a separate ride.

Can you ride to a train station that is further from home but closer to uni??? That way you could increase the distance as you feel able to go that bit further.

Cheers,
Matt

[BarryTas]

either 6:30 or 7:30 depending if i have gone for a run before hand or not

[Crowella]

Can you ride to a train station that is further from home but closer to uni??? That way you could increase the distance as you feel able to go that bit further.

I can extend it to 15km on the first leg but with the amount of sweat I generate with clothes and a heavy backpack, I want to be kinder to people on a crowded 7am train. Not to say I wouldn't do it though since it's so pleasant riding along Gosford waterfront while the sun is coming up

[TailWind]

I leave at around 5am for a ~26km ride into the Melbourne CBD - usually at my desk at the client around 6:15am.
Morning commutes are in full darkness for almost 10 months of the year , but I get to see some daylight in the afternoons, as I try to head back at around 3:15pm.

[PathOfGrin]

I'm only about 4kms from work, but I ride about 20kms in the morning (scenic route ) for exercise and enjoyment so I leave about 6am as I start at 7am. As I get fitter that scenic route will expand so I will likely leave even earlier. I tend to wake up about 4am anyway so its no particular hardship to start early.

Path

[DavidTomic]

8AM starts for me, so I (thankfully) don't have to leave at ungodly hours of the morning.

My preferred route of late is around 20KM, and takes right around 40-45 minutes, meaning that I need to leave not much later than 7AM.

If I'm late and/or lazy I can take a shorter 10KM route which I can normally knock over in about 20 minutes.

[Blackrock]

0700hrs doors for me, then 16km in <30mins plus 15mins for shower, time in front of the fan, then dressed, for coffee (or water) at the desk at 0745hrs. A great way to start the day, but takes time for the 'wind-eyes' and helmet forehead to both stop being pink!!!

[Verdigriis]

Wow some of you are hardcore!

Anyway, I'm out at 6:30 am on days with an 8am start - 15km commute which on a good day takes me 50min and on a bad one 1hr 10min, with half an hour for a shower/clothing change at work (What can I say - standing under the hot water after the morning ride is fantastic). If I'm starting late (say 9:30) I'll leave around 7:50-8am, but I've found my earlier trip is much quicker. I ride down the upfield train line which crosses about a million roads so cross traffic makes a big difference to my commute time. If I line up with a train on the way in and race it to work everything gets a lot faster...

I kind of like the lack of traffic on Murray road early in the morning too - there's no bike lane for the part I have to ride, and two lanes of peak hour traffic can get fairly intimidating when you're on the road sitting in a lane. And early mornings (like rain and cold) mean less bikes, people and dogs on the paths so you can belt along. And I've found the lightless bike ninja don't come out until the evening generally. So when I make the effort to pry myself out of bed for the early ride it's generally worth it. Especially if I also catch the dawn part way and watch all the balloons over the Melbourne CBD - beautiful!

[scirocco]

I leave home at 05:50 - 06:00 but I need to be at my desk at 07:00 after 15km commute and shower and cool down period. Side roads and bike paths are reasonably quiet in Perth at that time of day but particularly on Tues and Thurs I see lots of roadies out and about.

[Xplora]

Interesting how the big commuters are leaving well before sparrow's fart... I leave around 7:30-45 for a 8:50 start, 20 clicks in. Mainly to ensure I've got time for a rinse, I seem to get in within 50 minutes most days.

Was interested in your comment as you must assume all commuters work in offices ! 9-5 !
Geoff

Geoff, there is a limit to how far a person can reasonably expect to cycle commute. I'm definitely at the limit of what is reasonable for me.... I do this every day as well.

Interestingly, 3 months of riding later, my commute hasn't gotten quicker on average and I'm getting stronger.

[gabrielle260]

Here's how the maths works for me: I start officially at 9am but no one is fussed if it is anywhere between 8.30 to 9.30. The direct route is exactly 17km of mostly bike track which takes 37 to 45 mins depending on direction, choice of bike and energy level. I allow 30 mins for showering etc as I take ages to cool down. So, doing the sums, I can leave as late as 8.23 if I have to.
However I seldom leave later than 8 and recently I have left as early as 5.30 to get extra kms in. I live in Glen Iris and work in Docklands. The extra kms are done by taking a detour to Mordialloc and then riding into Port Melbourne before the traffic gets too heavy. Once in Port Melb. I do laps of 11kms or variations thereof around the industrial areas until time for work. As I mentioned in another thread my best so far is 90km before work.
My short term goal is to leave home around 5am and get 100km ridden and at my desk by 9am. The only thing stopping me is getting up that little bit earlier.
Finally - for 8 yrs I ran Spin classes 2 or 3 times a week at 6am and my mornings were centered on my alarm clock. Now I don't set it and I only do those extra kms if I wake naturally. I feel so much better as a consequence!
Andrew

[greeny23]

start uni at 9.. leave at 8am.

you people leaving at 4 are mad.

[Marty Moose]

On the bike at 5.30am I find this hard day in and day out.

Sent from my MB526 using Tapatalk

[KonaCommuter]

I’ve started leaving at 4am (ish) so I can get more riding in (18+ km each way)

[ruscook]

Just over 33km each way so leave between 620am and 640 try to get to work and showered by 8am most times and no later than 815 all up.

[simmo71]

I work straight and broken shifts that generally start between 04:30hrs & 07:30hrs. I am on the road 45mins before this to make it just in time often to the ammusement of my co-workers. They just dont understand cyclists. If I am on a broken i get to ride home mid-morning with the mums going shopping. Then back to work just as school gets out, wonderful! More Toorak tractors to avoid. Did Arvo shift yesterday, home by 01:00 hrs. Simmo

[lunar_c]

5:20am wake up .. shower, eat .. on bike by 6am to ride 12km into work, change and start at 7am ..

[Tornado]

I start at 545 on my morning shifts. So I kick off at 430 to get there with enough time to change and make a cuppa. Depending on conditions it takes me between 45-55 mins normally.

[giantguy]

Well after a month off of work due to annual leave I decided to start work at 6am like the rest of the guys I work with.

This means I need to leave home at 5:20 am with the ride taking 30 - 35 minutes to do the either 9 km or 11km route. I am still getting used to waking up, drink a quick coffee and off I ride into the dark.

I didn't think I would see any other cyclists at that time but have seen a few early riders around the Edgewater station area. I am also amazed at how many people walk the streets in the dark at that time of the morning.

[ColinOldnCranky]

At the moment I do two or three full-distance rides in the working week. For those days I leave at around 5:30 to 5:40. I see a fair smattering of riders at that time including more than I would expect riding AWAY from the CBD so I imagine that a fair few are not commuting. Most are dropped handlebar types.

The rest of the time I would mostly be leaving home a few minutes before 6.

After thirty or forty minutes having coffee I get to work around 8am, give of take. Cycling does NOT save me time, though I still wouldn't do without it.