The simple answer is decent bike lights... lots of decent bike lights
They have made the available riding time effectively infinite, or close enough for a punter like me.
2 pm January, Manchester.... Let's do Snowdon today. Tick
9:30 pm langdale.... Let's do little wrynose, wrynose, hardnott and back. Tick
Weather forecast shit till 6pm. Beinn a Bhuird no problem
Got to do a family ride up Morronne during the day.... Then tea. Set off at 5pm and you can still get 6 Munros done.
Want to do Lord of the Loops, but need a lie in beforehand so it's 11:20 before you set off..
Etc
I think bike lights are the single biggest advance in bike tech in the last 30 years. Fair enough, I often carry 4 front lights on a ride, but it takes so much stress away and allows you to extend the day enormously
Even being retired time a plenty but this Winter it’s been the weather. We are on course for double the average rainfall this Winter . My usual days out are Quantocks or Mendips , well you can forget the latter until about August 🙄 Qs will be running with water everywhere, I went last week and took the HT but had to choose my route wisely to avoid spending god knows how long cleaning everything up when I got home .
My riding from the door has been impacted by the weather as well , we have flooded roads that severely limit your choice of routes which are mostly green lanes , it’s like lockdown all over again 😞
By this time of the year it’s usually long past being frustrating but this Winter has been especially bad, I’m guessing because of El Niño and living in the SW we are in the firing line . Even our go to destinations like Ashton Court and Haldon have been affected.
I forgot to add being a teacher to my list earlier 😉
It's nice getting a week or two every so often where you can get 3 or 4 decent rides in a week (weather permitting!)
No doubt things will change as our daughter gets older ([s]dance classes[/s][b]kids mountain bike club[/b] etc)
FTFY
I aim for a decent length ride every Sunday, but it is an aim not a hard and fast rule. I think it is better to avoid stressing over fitting it in when life throws up obstacles. This morning I just did an hour on the turbo because my energy levels just seem to have crashed.
While I can get on some mountain bike trails virtually straight from my door, I think for a lot of people a gravel bike is also a good solution to covering ground quickly on the roads then getting out of traffic when possible rather than needing to drive to a place to get on the trails.
Prioritise riding and other things have to fit around it. Does help we both ride and have no kids. Mid week rides tend to be limited to the summer but otherwise we try and fit in some combination of climbing, badminton, gym in the week. Weekends: in general other things can wait. Shopping is done on a Sunday evening Sainsbury order to arrive Monday; house is kept tidy as default (cleaners do come in and do the bathrooms/hoovering); bikes/van are only washed when they really need it; other jobs are saved for the dark/bad weather days. I do like doing gardening so thats something I make time for, but the garden is only small so relatively easy to keep on top of. We do a reasonable number of gravel rides from the door.
All that said, we did end up doing some long awaited DIY due to being off the bikes following covid, so off bike time can be beneficial.
Does help we both ride and have no kids
yes I am sure that does help!!
my teenage son's always out on his bike but he's too fit for me to keep up with him these days... it was trying to do that back in the autumn that gave me an injury I am still trying to shake off 🙁
I ride every Saturday and also Wednesday nights, though it's more weather dependant that it used to be. We've lived just off the (reasonable) local trails for the best part of 18 years now, but I was happy commuting 30-45minutes to get to ride, as it got me out of the damned city I used to live in. My partner had a horse when we met, so she was aware of committing to doing your chosen sport/activity at least one full day a weekend (if not more with a horse), and it's still how I chose to continue. I do have some limitations in that I need to walk our dogs at the weekends, and be home to help cook at some point, so don't tend to travel more than an hour to ride.
PS: we have no kids..
I'm finding it difficult, too, but that's mostly due to dark nights and local trails that aren't very weather proof.
Now that the lighter nights and (hopefully) better weather is almost here, I'll be ding som 'long way home from work' rides, in order to maximise riding time. This also avoids the delays that inevitably happen between getting home and heading out again.
Get up and go out. Ride what you have. If it is pan flat, buy a gravel or road bike.
Apart from weekends away biking, I don't ride on the weekend, unless it's with the family (3 kids)
I generally ride weekday evenings only, all through the year. At least once, though aim for twice with the rare time I can manage three. Two things help massively
- riding with others - makes you get on with it as you don't want to miss it or let them down
- good lights. Easy to ride in the dark then
I generally ride from home but most of the people I ride with don't. Driving adds a bit more hassle but very mamageable
I’d second a road bike or a gravel bike if you’re really not into road riding. I only road ride these days and I’d never bother doing rides I couldn’t start from my front door except on special occasions of some sort.
Also I don’t want to sound too preachy but I’ve found that a weekly planner really helps- if you google “168 hour week” there’s a template spreadsheet with 7 days split into 15min increments and it really helps to see it in black and white if you mark down all your busy time and see what’s left- it’s usually quite surprising.
I normally get 3 rides a week some at 6.30am before work at 9am normally around 10 -15 miles weather pending and moral .
Or after work when I finish early again home for evening meal .. And a day through the weekend normally Saturday but this years been busy of a weekend and I think ive manages just one ride of a weekend over 20 miles. This needs to change asap!
With older teenage kids nowadays I'm finding it a lot easier to get riding windows, especially at the weekend, where most weekends I am lucky enough to be able to get at least a half day out riding.
It helps that I have great riding of all types from the door, and excellent riding a short distance in the car (<1h)
When the kids were younger and time was a lot tighter I use to make full use of
- extended cycle commutes
- night rides
- riding very, very early on a weekend in the summer (like up at 4.30, out at 5, drive 1 hr, ride 4 hrs, drive 1 hr, back by 11am)
That last one was totally worth it, but an absolute killer for the remainder of the day!
Oh and as above
- plan your week out so you aren't just drifting though the week. When are your free time windows? When are the good weather windows? - arrange other things to line up!
- have your bike ready and your gear ready. Don't burn riding time doing bike and kit prep. You could have done that beforehand! This is a huge one.
- Also you don't necessarily need to sort your gear out as soon as you get home. Although preferable & easier to sort it straight away....Even if you just dump it all in the garage (or wherever) it will be fine if just left for a day or so.
- MTB is of course best...but Gravel riding, Road riding, Running & even walking (...pump track/ jump bike/ BMX/ Street MTB??) are also all really good. Use each one appropriately!
If you wanted to ride properly every weekend then you'd have already moved to somewhere where you can ride from your doorstep.
Got divorced
OP – sounds to me like you need a road bike. A couple of hours in the early morning down some quiet lanes is a wonderful de-stresser. Might not get the blood rushing in quite the same way as an mtb can, but it is still great to get out (from the door) and work on your fitness a little.
I started looking for a gravel bike for this reason, didn't like it so got a rigid MTB with full mudguards. It's great for doorstep rides but those don't make proper rides.
Prioritising is also important. As a couple we fight hard to keep time / days / weekends free to actually look at the forecast and then make plans.
Also, the house is never 100% and there’s always jobs that don’t get done….but we’re ok with that 🙂
Prioritise riding and other things have to fit around it.
That's interesting. My mindset tends to be that things I want to do always come after things I have to and should be doing. So if I'm looking at my to do list towards the end of the week, I'm thinking ah should get on and do this stuff.
If you wanted to ride properly every weekend then you’d have already moved to somewhere where you can ride from your doorstep.
Quintessential STW middle class luxury there! Unfortunately like many I have constraints, mainly to do with work, money, and housing.
I don't!
Despite not having to worry about which day of the week it is I can't always motivate myself for a ride.
Was in Finale for apart three months and rode twice. Go figure.
To ride weekly I have to sacrifice. I rarely go out in the evening on weekends and if I do it’s difficult to get a ride in.
Also, it helps hugely to have more than one bike if you can justify it. Having multiple bikes, each dedicated to a discipline means you have more options to fit in cheeky rides as you can be spontaneous.
For me the key is to force myself to do chores after work to make the weekend free, even if I just want to vegitate instead. It makes a huge difference and often invigorates me more than being a couch potato. But maybe you're less lazy than me and already doing that...
The difficult bit for me is maintaining a bike in winter without a garage.
1 day, jeez that'd be a bloody luxury to only do one ride/day at weekends. 12 hour days both Sat and Sun most weekends lol
@bikesandboots how do you define a "proper ride"? A proper ride means different things to different people.
1 day, jeez that’d be a bloody luxury to only do one ride/day at weekends. 12 hour days both Sat and Sun most weekends lol
So how do you manage it? You must have some adult human responsibilities...
how do you define a “proper ride”? A proper ride means different things to different people
- 30km, 600m ascent
- on terrain mostly worthy of a FS trail bike and its tyres
Where are you based?
What are you doing with your time at weekends down to the minute that is stopping you riding?
Sure everyone here can come up with ideas or excuses to help you free time for a ride.
So how do you manage it? You must have some adult human responsibilities…
Not really. Mrs Weeksy takes care of house stuff and understands the situation regarding racing. So often we'll go out Friday at 3.30 and return Sunday evening.
It's great and bloody tough in equal measures
That’s interesting. My mindset tends to be that things I want to do always come after things I have to and should be doing. So if I’m looking at my to do list towards the end of the week, I’m thinking ah should get on and do this stuff.
Do you work to live or live to work?
As for having a full day of 'life admin' and tasks at a weekend, you need to both move them to evenings and/or learn to let things go or reduce the faff around them.
Genuinely it took years to really find our way of fighting for weekend day/days - they went on the calendar, and nothing can be booked over them.
It works. As a family we've amazing memories and experiences which have shaped us and our kids. I wouldn't swap it for more money or a better mown grass for anything.
It’s all about priorities 🙂
Yes. Sorry I didn't mean to sound dismissive, I was a bit defensive about your suggestion that I haven't moved because I don't actually want to do a proper ride every week enough. The obvious thing to deprioritise would be work, and while not feasible to spend fewer days doing it (good luck finding a 4 day job), I could perhaps do it somewhere out of the city for less money so I can live closer to good riding. Not sure if that really works nowadays though with the WFH people on city salaries living in rural towns and villages.
Where are you based?
North, in a city. My current job would allow moving out, but the next one might not so it'd be risky to move much away from a well-served rail station.
For me the key is to force myself to do chores after work to make the weekend free
As for having a full day of ‘life admin’ and tasks at a weekend, you need to both move them to evenings and/or learn to let things go or reduce the faff around them.
I need to do this. Part of the problem is it bothers me to have things not "right", or to rush jobs and not do them properly - many of the things in that "how broken is your house" thread a while back would give me shivers.
What are you doing with your time at weekends down to the minute that is stopping you riding?
I have time, just it isn't in the 7 hour long contiguous blocks to match my level of ambition. Granted, I could probably make more effort but everything seems to need a lot of effort nowadays.
Do you work to live or live to work?
Probably the latter tbh. I mostly live for the 5 weeks and bank holidays a year I get off work, but if you count the days and consider life choices, they're optimised for work.
North as in above Manchester or in Scotland or above Aviemore in Scotland?
I'm guessing some people were going to be offering a few bike rides but can't without a slightly better location - the city would do...
As others have said it's about priorities.
I've 2 kids under 10, oh and I work full time. I spend 5 hours a week coaching football as well. I'm out all Tuesday, Thursday evening, Sat pm riding, oh at the gym Monday, Wednesday evening, sat am.
What isn't in the list is alcohol, friends, watching TV for any length of time. It's either work, things with the kids, riding or housework. There's really nothing else.
My new bike is cursed, I used to have Thursday nights for riding with the boys. Since I got the new bike i've not been out.
Monday, Middle kid, swimming and cubs where i'm now a leader.
Tuesday, Youngest at footballuntil 6:30, middle one has his tutoring and wife has pilates at 8:30 or something
Wednesday, Kids at tennis and it's one of my days in the office, at least i get to ride in and home! Wife and eldest probably horse riding
Thursday, This used to be my riding night, now youngest has swimming followed by beavers
Friday, who know, i'm knackered by this point, rock climbing with the eldest as it's the only thing she'll leave the house for
Saurday, BMX with the middle one, I learned to fly this week and cleared the big tabletop so i can't really complain, but it's a cheeky stolen hour as i'd just be stood at the side of that coaching session watching if i wasn't riding!
Sunday, "Family time" we'll normally end up doing something that needs to be done because there's no sodding time the rest of the week.
Throw in the fact that i'm on call a bit for work as well which resulted in my Sunday morning dawn raid being cancelled and i've been a very grumpy version of myself.
Sanity has been rescued, nay, salvaged by doing some Yoga/pilates stuff at home. It's definitely made me better and stronger on a bmx
Kids (or other family commitments) are definitely one of the biggest barriers to a weekly ride. But a 7-hour riding trip every week would be tough to swing in a lot of household situations - kids, dogs, other half etc.
For me what worked pre kids was booking it in mentally earlier in the week - so by about Tuesday I'd know that I was going riding and which day (Saturday/ Sunday). So Thursday/ Friday night are spent getting the bike and gear ready, making sure I know what I'm taking, kitwise and for weather etc. And any other plans are made around it too, so there's no clashes.
Definitely getting everything ready the night before, including all kit out and packed, everything ready to go in the car first thing, food/ drink all packed etc. And making sure the household faff stuff is under control or can wait until after the ride. Setting out first thing on the day, too - out by 8 or 9am, cause otherwise by the time I get up, have breakfast etc I might not actually get out.
Finally, I'd say being realistic about how much time you have spare. 7 hours is most of a full day, especially if you're a bit knackered when you get back; and can't be done every weekend. But a 4 or 5-hour riding session (1 hour driving each way, 2-3 hours riding?) is easier to fit in; and maybe do 1x 7-hour session a month?
This has varied through the different stages of my life.
In my mid 20s to 30, (when we had our first nipper), I had loads of time and loads of energy. I'd head out once a weekend for a BIG day ride. Evening rides throughout the summer pretty much at will because I could recover in a day. Lights extended my range into winter.
I took a year off riding when nipper 1 was born. After that, day rides became early (07:00 on the trail), local half day rides and night riding after baby and mummy bedtime twice a week.
I took another year off when nipper 2 was born and reverted to very early (05:00 on the trail!) local rides that finished late morning. The demands of 2 squirts meant that my night riding dropped to once a week. I'd often return at midnight from those.
Once the mini officers were both in school, I could supplement with even more local woods riding from the house in the summer for a 2nd evening ride in the week, or more, depending on my energy levels.
It's stayed like that until this year, where no.1 has gone to uni, and no.2 is finishing their A levels.
I'm now back to a '3/4 day' weekend ride and slowly going further afield again, after effectively only riding in the SW for 20 years (with the odd lakes, North wales, and Spain trips thrown in over the years).
This has only been sustainable for me because I can ride to the local woods from my house, the Mendips (my true local) and Ashton Court in Bristol are 20 minutes drive, the Quantocks and Cwmcarn are 45 minutes drive, so I have decent access to a range of venues withing an hour of driving. Even then, when the kids were little, its only the 20 minutes and under venues that saw all almost all of the riding.
Since having covid in 2022 I've struggled to recover well from exercise in good time to be able to ride at will, so despite having a bit more time recently, I have to be much more measured and plan further ahead.
I'm pretty sure that my advancing years (I'm now 50) are slightly perceivable in my exercise capacity and recovery compared to an earlier version of myself too.
At the end of last year I introduced an SL eeb, both to help with recovery, or extra riding when not recovered from prior rides, but also to give me the ability to do more during my rides for maximum enjoyment.
I'm perfectly content with that schedule at the moment, although when spring kicks, I'm sure I will become restless for more riding, as I nearly always do as the weather improves.
This year will be the first year when I will have some more opportunities to ride, so its going to be interesting to see how an uplift in riding will be tolerated by 50 yo me i stead of any previous version!
Yeah its totally subjective of course but personally I'd consider a 4 hr ride a pretty long one- I reckon I only did a few 4hrs rides last summer and I doubt I did any over 5hrs.
I do fit-in about 7-8hrs of exercise a week (this is a mixture of road riding, running and workouts) and use the Trainerroad calendar to plan this time at the start of every week, so I know roughly how it will pan-out (in theory).
I don't have kids but I do study part-time on-top of my full time job so am a little time-pressured but am quite lucky with my WfH routine too if I'm honest.
I think if I was really determined to I could maybe carve-out a single 7hr session most weekends but I'd rather do several 2 or 3 hour sessions across the week but obviously everyone's different.
What else are weekends for? I had a wife and kid when I was doing more riding than any other time of my life.... Saturdays were for going out riding. I'm divorced now 😂
In summer I get out at 6 and sometimes 5:30 for a 5-6 hour ride. Winter drops to 3 hour rides from 8. Rest of the weekend is kids and family. No better feeling coming home before lunch with a 6 hour ride under the belt. Often everyone else is still in their PJ’s!
There was the '5am club' thread recently and I was impressed by people's commitment to get a ride in. MTB for me is a hobby so I just ride when it suits me.
general faff, overheads of things that need doing to keep on top of life and being responsible for a house. Then the other day provided I’m not tired, there’s no family/friend something on, etc
It's a matter of priorities. I forego other holidays so I can have more riding trips. I've skipped many an event i 'should' have been at and there's no chance I'm doing any DIY or gardening if the weather is good because I would much rather be riding.
CBA to read the whole thread but you sound like a pal.
We see him once a blue-moon on a ride as he just faffs at EVERYTHING he does.
As the OP pointed out, he uses a weekend day doing stuff he could no doubt do at some point midweek.
In the passed when the kids were young and I was working a heavy travel job (half the time overseas) I'd still get out for a proper MTB ride at least very week - often it was a night ride, but still got out.
But now the kids have grown and left I average 3 rides a week - enduro, XC, gravel or road - don't care which, just get out.
Ah yes. The car park faffers.
Turn up to the ride meet with a bike that needs basic maintenance tasks that should have already been completed at home. Has to beg water and food from the group, uses trail tools in the carpark borrowed from every one and discovers new problems just as you start the ride that were entirely avoidable if they had stayed on top of their prep.
In a life of little spare time, I edited these people out very quickly because they were stealing my time from me.
Yes I've said I need to try and do more chores on evenings.
I'm always prepared though and don't match the faffer description. Please don't assume that because I might be like your pal in one aspect then I am in others too.
Pretty much all covered above but if it helps, I try to get all the house running jobs done on weekday evenings instead of watching TV.
I’m always prepared though and don’t match the faffer description. Please don’t assume that because I might be like your pal in one aspect then I am in others too.
So the main issue is that you live a 3 hour round trip from decent riding? Tbf, if I lived that far from a decent ride then I wouldn't ride regularly either - I couldn't devote such a large part of the day to one thing every weekend. (I'm trying to think of anything I do regularly which involves that much travelling and nothing comes to mind.)
