What to wear for 4.5 mile commute? General commuting tips?

[carlotta]

Good advice above (especially about the food.....I already had to break into my stash this morning, had breakfast before I left, but inexplicably hungry already...).

I've had 2.5 mile and 11 mile one-way commutes and I think if I had the 4.5 miler, I'd wear shorts at least (not necessarily cycling, but maybe). On my short commute, I used to wear whatever (grad student, so no dress code) but it definitely contributed to weird wear on my jeans, and to them wearing out faster in places (inner thighs rubbed just enough on the saddle to wear the material, not enough to be uncomfortable), so just from that perspective, I'd save the wear and tear on your work pants.

I do the bathroom-stall cleanup-- change everything (may not be necessary w/ shorter commute) plus baby wipes. It's a rare, rare day that I wear any makeup, but on occasion I will just put that on in the bathroom as well- I have also shifted my work day to get in around 7 (and hypothetically leave around 4, but that's another story...). Makes for a nice empty bathroom, and no competition for the big handicapped stall. On days when I sleep in or otherwise come in late, I've gotten over feeling self-conscious coming upstairs in bike gear (but I also work in a research lab, so dress is quite casual and I'm probably not going to run into anybody important in the elevator).

I think one of the keys is figuring out how to dress for conditions, I've found that if I'm a little chilly leaving home, then I won't get sweaty by the time I get to work. Depends on riding speed/hills/etc, but I'd rather be cold for 5 minutes than too hot when I get to work. I have a much harder time doing this well in the winter, especially the first few weeks of cold weather, but it's fairly easy in the summer.

Hope you give it a shot and decide you love it-- my commutes are some of my favorite time of the day (I'm lucky to have nice trail for a good distance), and infinitely better than taking the train (or driving, but I've never attempted that on a week day)

[lph]

Way to go, ftc, you're all set! A bike can handle getting wet every now and then fine if you keep the chain well lubed and it can dry out properly afterwards, but doesn't like getting damp too often and for too long.

Oh and definitely - a bit too cold when leaving home in general means perfectly dressed for the rest.

[Brecca]

Haven't been around for awhile....life.....go figure.

My husband and I commute at least 4 days a week. 5.5 miles one way. The route in has one good hill climb with a nice down grade before you hit the hill. Reversed on the way home. The down hill grade becomes a steady uphill workout. We ride mostly recumbents with a DF thrown in for me and an occasional fixed gear for him. We are lucky in that we are self employed and have a room where we can store our bikes and office wear. Once a week I make a laundry run, bringing home clothes that need laundered and replacing them with clean. We try to limit our luggage to what we can carry in pockets and in the luggage areas of our faired trikes or bents. For me the biggest challenge has been something to carry my wallet, check book, etc...aka a purse, that I can detach from my bike and carry around with me while at work. I use a fanny pack or a small 'gadget' bag that I picked up at Cheaperthandirt that I can attach to the handle bars of my DF or stuff in a recumbent bag.

We average 1500 miles just on our commute. I also say ditto to the tip about food for the trip home. It doesn't take much, a power bar or a few peanut butter and crackers.

Congratulations on your decision to commute on your bike. You will never regret it and will reap the rewards of your efforts.

Ride safe.

[Melalvai]

I vote for changing into office clothes when you get there, at least the shirt. And unless you're terribly uncomfortable, I wouldn't bike in bike shorts, just regular shorts or pants. When I first got my bike shorts I felt terribly self conscious in them. I don't anymore, but I don't wear them for <1 hr rides.

One reason to wear different pants is that biking wears out the seat of the pants. (I guess that could be a reason for wearing bike shorts, since they should have extra reinforcement.) All my slacks & jeans have a shiny butt from biking. It's not glaring but it has been noticed.

I don't worry about parking my bike outside. If it's pretty wet, I try to remember to give it a wipe down and lube when I get home, or if I forget, then the next day when I notice it's rusty I have to clean it and lube it. Except I don't have time so I make a mental note to do it later, and repeat the next morning when I notice it's still rusty.

The advantage to taking care of it before the chain rusts is that the chain will last longer. The advantage to taking care of it before you've been riding around with a rusty chain for a while is that the cassette will last longer. The advantage to taking care of it at all ever is that your shifting will be rough until you get it done. It's not the end of the world if you don't ever do it, it just means you'll need to replace your chain & cassette sooner. When my bike was more sheltered I could get 4500 miles out of a cassette with proper care.

Smart thinking about having the extra underwear etc. That really comes in handy on a rainy day when you discover that you are wet all the way through!

Good luck with the commuting!

[mzone]

When I first started commuting (about 3.5 miles), I wore my work pants. A couple of unexpected wet mornings with a spray of water and dirt all over my butt changed that quick! Now I ride with fenders and bike clothes.

I change in the handicapped bathroom stall and keep a toiletry bag with deodorant, hair gel and spray and a small hairdryer in my desk. I take a my work clothes in my pannier. On the first ride of the week, I take a second pannier with my food for the week.

[shootingstar]

Yup cycling, can wear out seat of ordinary shorts/pants. There is no way, I will want to invest..yet more business (even casual business) clothing by cycling in them. Great that many Europeans do it (but they probably have less distance to cycle compared our frigging sprawly cities in North America.) maybe they don't have to run around trying to find size 0 or size 1 dress/business clothing that looks decent without paying lots of money.

I love starting work early..ie. 7:30 am ... Other employers it's been 8:00 am. That's the latest in work starts...for past 22 yrs. And I've worked for 7 different employers during this time period. It's a peaceful, wonderful ride into work. Yes, winter is cold/dark, but who wants to deal with cars if it may be slippery.

I always keep 1 business lined jacket for meetings in my workplace area.

[fallstoclimb]

Ooh I do like those relaxed fit shorts, although they're not quite in the budget right now. Today I wore an old pair of running shorts -- they rode up a bit, but I didn't look too spandexy for the ride/the workplace.

Mzone -- do you use the hair dryer just to help dry your hair from sweat? My hair got a little sweatier today than I anticipated. Luckily I have long hair so I just threw in a little corn starch and brushed it out, I don't think it's too noticeable, but I am the slightest bit worried about odor. I'm also the slightest bit worried about foot odor (not that my feet usually stink, but I wore a pair of keen sandals for the ride and am now wearing open toed shoes). I'm sure no one will notice either of these things but I'm just curious what you ladies do!

I would like to make my routine a little more efficient. I left the house around 7:20 and got to work at just about 8, which I was happy with, but then took a solid 20 minutes to lock up my bike/cool down outside, carry all my stuff up to my desk, and to clean up, change, and put on makeup in the bathroom. I guess even if I don't make that more efficient, biking in is worth it!

Do you all still ride after work on days you commute? I suspect I only will on days the weather is nice, although if we're being honest I pretty much already would only ride after work on nice days.

[lph]

Ooh I do like those relaxed fit shorts, although they're not quite in the budget right now. Today I wore an old pair of running shorts -- they rode up a bit, but I didn't look too spandexy for the ride/the workplace.

Mzone -- do you use the hair dryer just to help dry your hair from sweat? My hair got a little sweatier today than I anticipated. Luckily I have long hair so I just threw in a little corn starch and brushed it out, I don't think it's too noticeable, but I am the slightest bit worried about odor. I'm also the slightest bit worried about foot odor (not that my feet usually stink, but I wore a pair of keen sandals for the ride and am now wearing open toed shoes). I'm sure no one will notice either of these things but I'm just curious what you ladies do!

I would like to make my routine a little more efficient. I left the house around 7:20 and got to work at just about 8, which I was happy with, but then took a solid 20 minutes to lock up my bike/cool down outside, carry all my stuff up to my desk, and to clean up, change, and put on makeup in the bathroom. I guess even if I don't make that more efficient, biking in is worth it!

Do you all still ride after work on days you commute? I suspect I only will on days the weather is nice, although if we're being honest I pretty much already would only ride after work on nice days.

Congratulations! I would say you're pretty efficient already. It takes me 20 minutes from when I arrive until I'm showered, changed and at my desk, and I have it all lined up, and don't apply make-up.

Can't help you much, since I have the option of showering. But in my opinion fresh sweat is hardly noticeable, only clothes where bacteria have time to develop smell much.

[mzone]

Mzone -- do you use the hair dryer just to help dry your hair from sweat? My hair got a little sweatier today than I anticipated. Luckily I have long hair so I just threw in a little corn starch and brushed it out, I don't think it's too noticeable, but I am the slightest bit worried about odor. I'm also the slightest bit worried about foot odor (not that my feet usually stink, but I wore a pair of keen sandals for the ride and am now wearing open toed shoes). I'm sure no one will notice either of these things but I'm just curious what you ladies do!

.....

Do you all still ride after work on days you commute? I suspect I only will on days the weather is nice, although if we're being honest I pretty much already would only ride after work on nice days.

I have short, very fine hair that needs some gel and spray to do anything. I found if I style it before my ride, all shape is lost (or I get helmet vent head) by the time my helmet comes off. When I commute, I towel dry out of the shower and re-wet, apply gel, blow-dry and spray at work.

I find it harder to get the motivation to do another ride in the evening. I don't do a lot of serious training. I've kind of weighed the difference between the "feel good" boost I get from my morning commute that starts my work day vs. logging more miles on my road bike later in the day.

[soprano]

The reactions I get from pedestrians are much more positive when I'm wearing something that doesn't look like a racing kit.

Ditto. Drivers, too. I counted one morning, and I see +50 bike commuters every day. Maybe 2 or 3 are dressed in Lycra. Everyone else wears normal clothing. So what if the seat of my jeans wear out faster? The cuffs and other points wear at around the same rate and I have to replace them anyway. I'm usually long out of style before holes develop in any case.

What I do is wear normal clothing and change out selected bits when I reach my destination. So, I wear a sports bra and pack my regular bra. If it's hot out I'll wear (normal) shorts and a cami, and pack pants and a nice cardigan. I'll wear bike shorts under a dress and pack a slip. Shoes stay in my locker. No big deal. I think that someone who needs to look very professional, such as a lawyer headed to court, would need to pack a full change of clothing.

I currently have a 3.5 mile commute each way. In the past it's been 5.5 miles + hills, but I did the same thing that I do now. If I've already showered the night before then it's not enough distance to get stinky.

[Crankin]

In the city, (Boston, Cambridge) most people are commuting wearing regular clothes, or casual cycling clothes. Here, almost everyone is in lycra, I'd say 90%. And, there is a large number of commuters. I'd say some of this is because the commuters in the suburbs have a longer commute... some of them up to 20 miles, even if it's suburb to suburb.
Personally, I cannot stand the feeling of riding in any type of regular clothing. I sweat really easily. Even when I had my 6.5 mile commute, I'd be drenched when I arrived. So, showering before the commute was OK, but I would have to do a serious clean up when I got there. The thought of being in sweaty clothes all day, yuck.