Are you a morning or an afternoon person

[ColinJ]

Colin, to be fair, I do not do any warming up before going out on a morning ride, which is something I can try.

It takes me a significant time to really feel ready to make a big effort. That can be a pain because a lot of my rides start off up the A6033, Keighley Road - a 4.5 mile climb straight out of Hebden Bridge. Literally - see below!

On forum rides, we just take it very easy up that first hill. If I am going to try for a good time on a solo ride, I'll warm up for 15-30 minutes on my gym bike before leaving the house.

 

[Trevrev]

I'm a morning person, when i do my Saturday morning 10 mile run, i'm up at 6am, have a quick cup of decaff green tea. A little warm up then i'm off out the door. No food or water, just get on. I feel good.
Yet when i do my work lunch time 3.5 mile or an evening run i feel sluggish.
Same when i do my commute, my ride in is so much easier than my ride home.

 

[RWright]

My morning rides, when I do them, seem to not be as difficult but I still prefer riding in the evenings just before sunset. I guess that might be because the sun is lower. I am not a morning person. I am a grouch until about 10 am. I am fine before then, as long as no one speaks to me.

 

[Garz]

I used to be a late morning - early afternoon rider. Even night times were preferable. Since having my son though, who is 1 year old in a week,i have very much been a morning person. I can let them have a long lie and get out there for good hours. I was up this morning at 6:30am just so i could fit in a 100k. Get a decent breakfast and out the door for 8am. Back for 11am and it's hard for the good lady to complain with that efficiency!!

Good stuff! My girl is 10 months now and I found it hard getting out altogether especially being the freezing winter months. Had my first outing today in weeks, will have to adopt this early rising or organise commuting to get the miles in.

 

[Pedrosanchezo]

Good stuff! My girl is 10 months now and I found it hard getting out altogether especially being the freezing winter months. Had my first outing today in weeks, will have to adopt this early rising or organise commuting to get the miles in.

It's hard but i do a kind of exchange! Let me get an hour or 90 mins in and i'll look after the wee man for the same time. She then gets to have her free time. My relaxation time is hard work!!

Then i aim for a really early start at the weekends to get decent miles in. Through the week, this past winter, was mostly turbo training. Did me the world of good in terms of power and the ability to clear lactate.

My social life is pretty dire just now so i focus on my fitness and cycling. Less hangovers too.

​

 

[Garz]

My social life is pretty dire just now so i focus on my fitness and cycling. Less hangovers too.

Sounds like you hard work is paying off Pedro, I done the same not last year - the year before dropping lots of weight and felt good for it in the sportives I entered. Entertaining the little baba takes it's toll, especially as we have little family around to help out. On a positive note though I am making an effort to get back on track and wouldn't be without my daughter - she's fab!

 

[derrick]

I work better in the mornings, good breakfast nice cup of tea and i am ready to go, find it hard to get motivated for an afternoon ride, but that is mainly because the roads are so busy, normally get to bed 12-30 a bit later weekends, i think i have always been a morning person, but the other half is an owl, she is mrs grumpy in the mornings, works out well for me i get my best rides in early, get home and she is mrs normal, ( if that's possible for a woman)

 

[Pedrosanchezo]

Sounds like you hard work is paying off Pedro, I done the same not last year - the year before dropping lots of weight and felt good for it in the sportives I entered. Entertaining the little baba takes it's toll, especially as we have little family around to help out. On a positive note though I am making an effort to get back on track and wouldn't be without my daughter - she's fab!

I am the same. Family first. The wee one is hard work but totally worth it.
FWIW my family is a distance away also. We moved to a new town in the sticks, 30 miles away. Not great for getting a sitter but for starting a family it is amazing. Not bad cycling either. Not that that was a factor in the move.

 

[400bhp]

I used to be a late morning - early afternoon rider. Even night times were preferable. Since having my son though, who is 1 year old in a week,i have very much been a morning person. I can let them have a long lie and get out there for good hours. I was up this morning at 6:30am just so i could fit in a 100k. Get a decent breakfast and out the door for 8am. Back for 11am and it's hard for the good lady to complain with that efficiency!!

^^this^^ for me, albeit I'll often get up at 6 ish and head out 7ish..

70 miles on Sat and home at 12:30 including 40 odd minutes cafe stop. That included the other lads getting lost 2 miles before the cafe stop too.

 

[edindave]

I'm not a morning/evening/night/day person - I'm just a person, but I like to start any ride as early as possible. I have noticed that early in the morning after getting up I feel less 'primed' than when I start a ride later in the day. The body needs to warm up to activity. Mine's always going to be grumpy if I shock it into effort just after waking and it does feel harder to begin with than starting a ride later in the day. I suspect a lot of this perception is caused by the body's hormones that can cause jetlag etc.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

can go wither way. If I am up early enough then I am a morning person and don't struggle, but if I don't get up before 6am, then forget it (used to have either a 3:45am or a 5:45am alarm for years), I'm an afternoon person - I can cycle in the morning (like today) I will just be slower and take longer to warm up properly. I also find I don't have to worry about pacing myself as much in the afternoon if I start a ride then, but that has more to do with my asthma, after the 2nd dose of medication I am much improved.

 

[Hont]

Sleep deprives the liver of glycogen, so having less energy for morning rides is normal. That's why pros try and breakfast three hours before a race start.

Morning exercise = best for burning fat
Afternoon exercise = best for maximum performance
Evening exercise = best for building muscle

All that is assuming you sleep at night of course

I personally prefer to ride in the morning, as sometimes (winter) it feels like a chore and like all chores it's best to get it out of the way. I go best in the afternoons, though.

 

[Boyfrom64]

Pedro and Garz, make the most of your children whilst they are young because believe me them grow up all to quickly and cycling will always be there.

i am at the other end of the spectrum with my two daughters and now I am regularly one of these and of course this as well!!

 

[Typhon]

I hate morning rides and I perform badly on them too. My ideal riding time is going out about 2-3pm, having eaten lunch at 1 and breakfast at 10. When the clocks go forward and the nights start to draw out I will probably go out even later though. Nothing like riding around in the sunshine at 8pm.

 

[4F]

With 3 kids I am a mornings person. During the week I am at the gym for 7 and will often cycle there and onwards to work. If I go for a ride Sunday mornings then I like to be out by 6 - 6:30 am and I will often be back at home before the 2 eldest ones have got up.