I am mostly the first person at trail centres. Get there between 7 and 8 (depending on sunrise times). At that time the car parks are empty
I then ride for a couple of hours and can get home to the family by late morning.
It seems that car parks get very busy from about 10 onwards. Do most people stay away all day ?
Maybe its cause I ride EVERY weekend but I also want to get home and spend time with the kids
I start at 05:20 most days. 04:00 at weekends. But that works best with my work/family - home for 09:00 at weekends for breakfast with the kids. Maybe others like having a lie-in!
i start at 10am today 🙂
I start at 19.30 - sharp
05:20 start???? Freak!
I am not a morning person, hence why at 8:20 I am currently in bed vaguely considering getting up for work.
[i]05:20 start???? Freak![/i]
meh. in work, showered and coffeed for 07:00. Home for 16:30. Lovely.
Lol. In work for 9:30ish, home about 20:00.
Biking? I start whenever I get there. I just couldn't be bothered to get up and out early to go biking unless it's a huge journey and I'm meeting someone at a set time. I don't feel the need to fill my weekends, my weekends are there for relaxation - wake up, do a bit of browsing tinternet, make a bit of lunch, consider going for a ride, get back, shower, make some food, maybe go to cinema, head to bed. Lovely and relaxed.
depends how far you are from the trail centre. Many people will drive 2 or 3 hours to a trail centre. 4-6 hours driving means most people will want to squeeze in 4-6 hours of riding too. That makes a day away.
If I want a quick blast and then the rest of the day with the family I can ride from the back door.
Trips to the trail centres for something a bit more technical are full days (2x days sometimes) out with mates. The other day mate and I started the Marin before 8am. But we had stayed over night at Betws y coed. If we drove up from Malvern that morning, we'd be hard pressed to hit the trail before 11am - as we did at Coed Y brenin the day before.
i aggree yeti guy. But it's probably got more to do with the fact we have kids who wake us up at Dawn than anything else. Any how it's nice to have the trails to yourself- avoids holdups!
my normal work start is 7.45, finish at 16.15 and home by 16.25 🙂
can get a ride in most evenings if wanted... come weekend though, I've come to like recouping sleep and am in bed till the dizzy lateness of 8 or 8.30 !! wild eh!
no kids.
Weekends = long lie. I get up when I feel like it, unless have definite plans. Work hard through the week so enjoy my weekends. Can do plenty of biking in 2 or 3 hours so why not start at a convenient time?
Usually 7-8am in Winter - Summer it can be as early as 4am
that's insomnia for you 🙂
but, there's something very special about the countryside in Spring/Summer at first light
I've just woken up French Juan, as we're off for a ride on his home turf, these academic types don't know what morning is 😀
Edit: by telephone,before you lot start!
[i]I've just woken up French Juan, as we're off for a ride on his home turf, these academic types don't know what morning is [/i]
ahem. see my post above 😉
I'm lucky to be out of bed by 8am weekdays, 9am at WEs...
I'm a two hour drive from most of he 7 stanes. If we go as a group we'll meet at 8 near home, load up and head off meaning we get there 10-11. People work different patterns and have different commitments so starting at 6am unless it's a special ride just isn't goign to happen.
Riding solo I start whenever I'm ready. Sometimes that's 8am sometimes that's 11am.
I've never lived more than 1.5 hours from a trail centre fortunately, but if I did I'd probably not consider going to them unless I was camping over - can't be arsed with that sort of drive for half a days activity, and I love driving.
Its early morning rides for me and get the lights on for the evenings, does help a little having Cannock Chase through my back door. Its what 3 kids under five does to you
I also find I have the trails to myselft starting at 4 or 5pm int he summer, get a good couple of hours in still
Commute offroad - crank turning at 05.50 am and return home 20.00 pm
Ouch brack that is a looooonngggg day
Finding I've less tolerance for early starts the more life-experienced (i.e. older) I become, but don't mind an early start for leisure pursuits. Often find trail centre car parks pretty quiet when we get there (circa. 08.00) then overflowing when we get back down.
[i]It seems that car parks get very busy from about 10 onwards. Do most people stay away all day ?[/i]
By the time you've decided:
which 'steed' to take out of your 'stable'
which tyres
which selection of snacks
baggies or lycra
flats or spds
etc, etc
it's pretty hard to get out the door much before 10-ish
my work is a 40 min commute by train away so morning rides are out of the question as i have to be in work for half 8 and finish around 5 so normally home for 6 ish, during summer this is fine get out for a nice evening run round the local trails, not so good in winter
weekend wise, get up around 8 eat breaky faf with bikes leave around 10 at trails for 11 (GT, Inners, AE and Mabie all about an hour away)ride for 4 hours bit of coffee and cake and home for 5ish in time for dinner and pub going
By the time you've decided:
which 'steed' to take out of your 'stable'
which tyres
which selection of snacks
baggies or lycra
flats or spds
etc, etc
it's pretty hard to get out the door much before 10-ish
Well.. that depends.. if there a lot of people online you can sometimes get a decision quite quickly 😀
I've never lived more than 1.5 hours from a trail centre fortunately, but if I did I'd probably not consider going to them unless I was camping over - can't be arsed with that sort of drive for half a days activity, and I love driving.
For once we agree on something. 🙂
Quite simply, myself and a very large number of the population are still rather intoxicated at that hour of the morning! 😛 We work hard all week, party all night, then need a little sleep in the morning before going for a ride to burn off that dirty kebab! lol.
Of course, if your in your more senour years and stay in on a friday night in you slippers and dressing gown, you get the pleasure of being up at 4am to ride the trails pretty much as you spent your evening, nice and quietly if not alone...
I like getting out early on natural trails, it's really the only time you can get the place to yourself.
We started a ride from just outside Ambleside once at 6.30am on an Easter weekend. Had a great ride, got back about 2pm and the town was HEAVING. No parking, the trails near the carparks were full of redsocks.
Yet we'd seen about 4 people throughout the entire ride. 🙂
When I lived up there and was off-shift I occasionally used to be out the house at 4am, riding by 5am on a summer weekday. Deserted and beautiful yet by 11am all the bloody tourists would be clogging up the roads.
I'm normally one of those late starters but I went out with someone off here a month or two ago and we were in Grizedale for 8 ish I think - was really nice actually and good to still have some of the day left when you get home.
in work, showered and coffeed for 07:00. Home for 16:30.
Asleep in front of Emmerdale by 19:00.
Aren't the trails absolutely pitch black at 5am?
Sunrise is currently not till 08:16.
Loving the idea of an 8:30 "lie in" too.
A weekend lie-in for me means not surfacing before noon.
bloody tourists would be clogging up the roads
Whatever next, they could even spend some money and fuel the local economy. 😉
a weekend for me usually means getting up whenever i wake up, and then riding, usually leaving between 10 and 12 and ride for as little/long as i want.
i think its different if you've got kids/family and need to be home to spend time with them - my other half rides and does stuff too so understands if i'm out all day on the bike.
occasionally i do an early start and home by lunchtime and its nice to have some time to do "life" stuff, but i don't like having to set the alarm at the weekend.
My ideal ride time is 11am, I can do 10 but any ealier is just wrong! 😉
As you tell I'm not a morning person, sitting here having my breakfast and checking emails, before heading off to work - I'm self employed btw. 🙂
I try and make it so I am pedalling by 9. I would love to go earlier but my ickle monster makes sure I need some sleep 😆
normally I got to bed about 2am, so I deeply resent having to get up before 8am!
[i]Aren't the trails absolutely pitch black at 5am?
Sunrise is currently not till 08:16.[/i]
I was talking about summer mornings!
Living in (well OK, near) the Lake District was fantastic, it's a stunning place but in mid-summer there are times when I won't even ride certain bridleways because they're so full of walkers. Get the ride done by 9am though and you get to ride more or less whatever trails you want and then have an enormous second breakfast just as the cafes open up. 🙂