Why do short fun rides start so early?

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eileithyia
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Re: Why do short fun rides start so early?

Post by eileithyia »

As others have said, partly tradition, partly organisers preference.....
Back in the 80s, Cov CTC during the summer months ran some Sunday afternoon rides, these went out to meet the main ride at the tea stop and all rode back together.... it was great for several reasons;
Local radio had a what's on feature earlier in the morning... we could advertise the ride on there and picked up some new members.
I often raced Sunday morning or was working either an overnight Saturday night or an early shift, I could either have a few hours sleep and make the 2pm start or could get back from the race to do the same, or ride out from work and hook up with the club run.

Obviously this was in the days when we had decent cafes that didn't shut at between 3pm and 4pm and stayed open until at least 5pm or Little Chefs were an option for tea.

With many cafes shutting mid afternoon, an earlier start can make sense.....
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Bmblbzzz
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Re: Why do short fun rides start so early?

Post by Bmblbzzz »

There is, posited at least, an evolutional reason why some people are more active and alert at some times, and others at other times. Large, ground-sleeping, physically fairly weak, humans make tempting prey for nocturnal predators such as big cats. Therefore it's helpful in terms of survival to have at least one or two people reasonably alert at any time to detect threats.
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Re: Why do short fun rides start so early?

Post by peetee »

Bmblbzzz wrote: 4 Sep 2021, 11:37am There is, posited at least, an evolutional reason why some people are more active and alert at some times, and others at other times. Large, ground-sleeping, physically fairly weak, humans make tempting prey for nocturnal predators such as big cats. Therefore it's helpful in terms of survival to have at least one or two people reasonably alert at any time to detect threats.
A good point made there, especially if you intend to ride anywhere near Bodmin.
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Re: Why do short fun rides start so early?

Post by Bmblbzzz »

:lol:
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RickH
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Re: Why do short fun rides start so early?

Post by RickH »

Chester CTC run regular short Wednesday evening rides over the summer starting at 7pm. The final one was this week but now the nights are drawing in you did need lights by the end.
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Bmblbzzz
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Re: Why do short fun rides start so early?

Post by Bmblbzzz »

A Wednesday (Thursday, whatever day) evening ride is a common fixture and rather different the question of what time a morning or day ride should (or might, or does) start. There are also regular rides which start at midnight.
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mattsccm
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Re: Why do short fun rides start so early?

Post by mattsccm »

Simonhill on p5 has it surely. You get a good ride in and are home for Sunday lunch, often a minor celebration. Family etc. Best use of hours of the day. Why it is 9am for so many groups I don't know. 7 would be better. .
mattheus
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Re: Why do short fun rides start so early?

Post by mattheus »

mattsccm wrote: 5 Sep 2021, 5:48pm Simonhill on p5 has it surely. You get a good ride in and are home for Sunday lunch, often a minor celebration. Family etc. Best use of hours of the day. Why it is 9am for so many groups I don't know. 7 would be better. .
This is purely anecdotal, but:

I've seen a lot of 7ish rides start up in recent years. They tend to being shorter than the 9am rides, no stop vs typically 1 cafe-stop for the "trad" 9am rides.

It's most visibly a thing in areas like Kingston-upon-Thames in summer - by 9am the cafes are full of smug sweaty riders who have already finished their ride.
simonhill
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Re: Why do short fun rides start so early?

Post by simonhill »

One thing that I don't think has been mentioned is temperature.

Early starts are often chillier than later ones. A nip in the air could require a bit of extra clothing that is later discarded.

A later start is often a warmer start. This is certainly a consideration for me.

Not to mention dew or damp on the road.
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Cowsham
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Re: Why do short fun rides start so early?

Post by Cowsham »

simonhill wrote: 7 Sep 2021, 8:17am One thing that I don't think has been mentioned is temperature.

Early starts are often chillier than later ones. A nip in the air could require a bit of extra clothing that is later discarded.

A later start is often a warmer start. This is certainly a consideration for me.

Not to mention dew or damp on the road.
6am start for my 15 mile commute to work -- nice in summer but a bit dire in winter. It's still dark when I arrive at work.
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tatanab
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Re: Why do short fun rides start so early?

Post by tatanab »

Cowsham wrote: 7 Sep 2021, 8:40am 6am start for my 15 mile commute to work -- nice in summer but a bit dire in winter. It's still dark when I arrive at work.
I used to do the same. Not nice in January, but a few weeks later it was so good riding into the rising dawn.

As for riding temperatures, I used to live in a hot country where club runs started at 7 a.m. in order to be over by about noon.
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Cowsham
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Re: Why do short fun rides start so early?

Post by Cowsham »

tatanab wrote: 7 Sep 2021, 8:47am
Cowsham wrote: 7 Sep 2021, 8:40am 6am start for my 15 mile commute to work -- nice in summer but a bit dire in winter. It's still dark when I arrive at work.
I used to do the same. Not nice in January, but a few weeks later it was so good riding into the rising dawn.

As for riding temperatures, I used to live in a hot country where club runs started at 7 a.m. in order to be over by about noon.
Used to think how nice it would be to live in a hot country but not so sure I could stick the continual heat now that I'm older.
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mattheus
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Re: Why do short fun rides start so early?

Post by mattheus »

simonhill wrote: 7 Sep 2021, 8:17am One thing that I don't think has been mentioned is temperature.

Early starts are often chillier than later ones. A nip in the air could require a bit of extra clothing that is later discarded.

A later start is often a warmer start. This is certainly a consideration for me.
It is a tragedy to have to take layers off during a ride.
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TrevA
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Re: Why do short fun rides start so early?

Post by TrevA »

simonhill wrote: 7 Sep 2021, 8:17am One thing that I don't think has been mentioned is temperature.

Early starts are often chillier than later ones. A nip in the air could require a bit of extra clothing that is later discarded.

A later start is often a warmer start. This is certainly a consideration for me.

Not to mention dew or damp on the road.
When it’s hot like it is now, I like an early start to get out and back before it gets too hot.

We do start our winter Sunday club rides half an hour later, as a concession to the cold and potential frost/ice, but it actually makes little difference. If it’s cold, it will be cold all day and a couple of hours only makes a couple of degrees difference. If it’s icy, it’s often still icy until after lunch and in mid-winter it’s getting dark at 3.30.
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Bmblbzzz
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Re: Why do short fun rides start so early?

Post by Bmblbzzz »

Some clubs or groups start rides earlier in winter to make more use of available light. It's all just a matter of finding different things that suit.
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