Changing / Showering

[Tri Girl]

Breathe deeply... it'll be ok!

I don't have a shower at work (I teach in an elementary school). My shower is... the girl's bathroom down the hall. I change in there and "wash up" in the sink. I keep a container of wipes at school to take off any excess sweaty-ness in areas prone to odor.

The park and ride- I don't know about that. Is there a place to park your bike? Do you have a good lock? If you have a quick release seat post, then take it with you each day, but if it's the kind that you have to get out your tool- I don't know if that would be worth it. Maybe just put a cheapy on it like you said.

Riding the bus in your shorts- why not? If you'd rather, you could wear moisture wicking undies under your shorts, then when you get to work, rinse them out and let them dry for the day (or you could have a spare pair at work that you wear on the way home, then back the next day and switch with the ones you wore the day before- you know- rotating undies ).

It's hard to initially do it, but when you do- it's bliss. Now that it's light later I've not been commuting much. I need to just get my butt out there and do it and not be such a cold weenie.

In the case of world emergencies, I wouldn't fret. Just catch a ride somewhere with a co-worker. If it's that bad- you won't care about your bike being somewhere else- you'll just want to get the heck outta Dodge.

[uk elephant]

Don't work yourself up too much thinking of world disasters. But commuting is perfectly possible with or without showers and padded shorts.

One thing, if you are worried about your seat. On my previous bike (which unfortunately got stolen during shipping when I moved), the LBS put a lock on the seat. Basically a cable that attached the seat to the bike in a way where you would need to do some serious dismantling to get it off. Made me feel safer about leaving the bike on campus at least.

No shower? a quick was in the sink works fine. You don't get that stinky from a 10 mile bike ride in fresh air. As for the bike clothes on the bus/train, I would change to a dry top if you are sweaty to avoid getting cold but other than that I would just change once I got to where I was going. My experience here is nobody cares, and I'm rarely the only one in bike-gettup on the train. Lots of people commute by bike to/from the station. Or if there are restrooms at the park'n'ride, just change there...

[Crankin]

I'm not working now, but I commuted a lot last spring. I brought my clothes and lunches in on Monday and always left a spare pair of shoes, a jacket, and hygeine supplies in my classroom. I showered before leaving and I got there early and washed up in the staff bathroom. Since I commuted on my road bike, which can't hold a big bag, I carried my stuff in my Camelbak, with the bladder taken out. I didn't have to bring a lot, usually just a lighter weight jersey for the ride home. I could not have commuted in regular clothes; I have to wear bike shorts! It was about 14.5 miles each way. However, you can buy liner shorts you can wear under regular pants.

[spokewench]

As far as the saddle goes, if they do not have bike lockers and you leave your bike out locked to the racks, to to your LBS, have them take the quick release out and have them put bolts in where you saddle is. It is harder to change seat position then, but it is also harder for someone to steal your saddle. They need an allen wrench then. You probably know where you want your seat, so set it and bolt it. Also, be careful when you lock your bike that your wheels, if they have quick releases, are locked as well.

I don't have quick release on my rear hub, needs an allen wrench to loosen so I just lock my front wheel and bike. Don't worry about the rear. If you do this, you MUSt carry an allen wrench with you in case of flats! One time I forgot

[Fredwina]

Breathe deeply... it'll be ok!

I don't have a shower at work (I teach in an elementary school). My shower is... the girl's bathroom down the hall. I change in there and "wash up" in the sink. I keep a container of wipes at school to take off any excess sweaty-ness in areas prone to odor.

.

I also used the baby wipes trick when I used commutte (note to self: get job in nicer neighboorhood, without monster traffic)

[Voodoo Sally]

You can do it!

The biggest thing is just doing it once, for the first time. Give it a try one day.

If it works out OK, do it again, and again, and you'll figure out ways to make it better. Sometimes the inertia before doing something for the first time is the biggest obstacle.

I've been slowly bike commuting more and more over the years, and it has become a habit. It started with me not even riding when I lived 0.5 miles from work, no joke. Then I got the bright idea one day that I should ride. I did. Duh, I thought, that was easy. Well, now I live 8 miles from work. This year I've been riding to work more than ever, and overcoming one-by-one what were formerly "obstacles." For example, now I ride home at night, now I ride in the rain, now I run an errand or two from work mid-day on my bike, and I think I'll be trying out cold-weather commuting for the first time soon. Is snow commuting in my future? Never tried it, but who knows?