just started a new shift pattern.
week of days., week of nights and then a week off
the night shift is horrendous, not been out on the bike all week cause im too tired during the day, not eating properly and generally feel like shi*
will i ever get used to it.....
No. I've worked shifts for over 20 years. Three nights for eight weeks then three days. 12 hours. Nights are crap.
The difficult thing is you are doing a week on then a week off. You would be far better off doing a week of each.
I worked nights for 15 years, to be honest I think it depends what time you finish as to how bad it is.
Look at it like this, if you are finishing at 6 or 7 why not go out for a ride then. It's light, and if you were working a 9-5 you wouldn't go straight to bed after work. If you are finishing more like 3/4 you might be better getting straight to bed and making the effort to get up at lunchtime.
The advantage of working nights is that if you make the effort you have alot of useable daylight hours. It's does require effort though, and may take a couple of months to get used to.
6 - 6. i see what your saying about going straight out after work in the morning but at the moment all i want to do is hit the sack. i supppose i should look for the positives and be thankful for a week off every fortnight to enjoy my bike time
Ah you are doing 12 hour shifts!
In that case it is going to be more difficult to get out when you are working, but the up side is the extra days off you get.
Trick there is no force yourself to get up at about 12 the first day you have off, it will help knock your body clock back the right way so you can make the most of your days off.
If you don't do it you'd best order yourself some torches as you'll be wide awake at 3am so you might as well get a ride in then 
i'm working 6pm to 7am. go straight to bed when i get home, then get up at 1.30pm, gives me a few hours to get out on the bike in daylight before heading back into work for 6pm.
not done so much midweek riding in a long time 
trouble is i cant seem to sleep for the first few hours when i get into bed. then 2 kids getting up and going mental round the house dont help either...
I'm currently working nights offshore, 6-6 as well. It's not so bad out here because you don't have the distractions of the real world, but I find the hard part is switching back over once you get home. I feel completely spaced out, lose all social skills and have no idea what time of day it is for about 3 days after getting home from a stretch of nights.
Your pattern sounds pretty crap in this respect, in that your days off are after your nightshifts. If you're anything like me the first couple of days will be a write-off.
I also find I sleep a lot more when working nightshift. When I knock off I'm always more tired than I would be on days. I sometimes force myself to stay up for a while and go to the gym or something but I am normally sleeping by about 8, which would be pretty early on day shift.
As for getting used to it, I've found the longer I've worked nights the longer it takes me to switch back over when I come off nights. I.e. my first few trips offshore were fine, but ever since then I've felt crap for longer when I get off nightshift.
Hope you manage okay, and look on the bright side. At least you have the OPTION of going out on your bike!
No. You just learn to live with the hatred. It's utter shit.
No social life: When others are relaxing/going out, you're waiting to go to work. This is the real killer.
No proper sleep: what sleep you do get is constantly interrupted. 1hr here, 2hr there, inbetween neighbours DIY, bin collections, heat etc, etc.
No daylight AT ALL in the winter, too much (i.e. when you're trying to sleep) in the summer.
No worthwhile riding: no-one around to ride with during the day, and forget properly beasting yourself should you manage to get out...you've got work later, remember...
No social life (pt2): should anything ever be arranged (say, a big night out, family gathering) then that will require you to take holiday.
And so it goes on. I've 22:00-06:00, five or six nights from seven, always spanning the weekend. About as anti-social and life-preventing hours as you can get, really!
I always used to stay up for the rest of the day when finishing a run of nights often going out drinking that night too. I found it really helped me get used to normal hours again. Probably couldnt do that now but it was fine when I was 19.
I do 12's, two days, two nights four off! Live right next to Thetford Forest and can often cycle to and from work through the forest ........... sorted! 
There are often a few MTB people around (here) during the week so maybe a little networking on the forums will bring others in your area out of the woodwork?
I do 4 a month. 4days off before hand, 4 days off afterwards. Yes I hate it but all the extra time off makes it worth while. I actually look at it as only 3 days wasted as after the last night I often just neck a redbull and go out riding. come home and a few beers then a decent nights sleep and back into normal life the next day.
I work night shifts and generally find I get plenty of sleep.
My advice - don't go straight to be when you get in - you wouldn't after a day shift - stay up a couple of hours then go to bed . Wear earplugs if noise annoys you.
YOu do have some rights under the working time directive including a health assessment - as some people just cannot adapt but most can
Conversely, when I'm on nights, the sooner I go to bed the better I sleep. If I wait, then I just can't get to sleep halfway through the morning. Everyone's different, so you have to find what works for you.
I've worked 7 nights every six weeks for the last ten years. I take nytol about half an hour before I go to bed which I find helps me to go back to sleep if I wake up too early during the day. I also always wear ear plugs.
I second ear plugs, get black out liners for your curtains or just thick heavy curtains and mostly importantly on your way home from work DO NOT LOOK AT THE SUN (apparently it triggers wake up routines in the brain/bodyclock system), wear sunnies and avoid looking at it.
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