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

[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.

[Crankin]

There may have been a few days I washed my feet.
I rarely , but occasionally rode after work when I had the 6.5 mile commute one way. To me, 12 miles, with a hill, was a ride.
When I moved, it was just under 28 miles rt, with 2 big climbs, so I did not feel the need to ride after that! My commute was suburb to suburb, and no one around here looks twice at lycra. However, my experience on my bike errand days now, are the same as Murienn's. If I wear commuter shorts, or baggies/look like a city rider, even out here in the almost country, I am given more overall courtesy. I guess the pannier helps, too. I once had someone I met socially ask me if I was car-less, as she had seen me riding around town, shopping in the winter, during the years I was going to grad school.

[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.

[carlotta]

I have long hair and it gets reasonably sweaty/damp, but I usually just put it up for the rest of the day (hair in experiments=bad)-- I've also found that if I put it in a loose bun for an hour or so it dries out and I can put it down and it looks ok (but I am also blessed/cursed with really straight hair no matter what I do to it so it doesn't get wrinkled/crazy being up for a bit).

I'll sometimes extend my ride home by taking a longer loop, but other than the very occasional run to the grocery store (1 mile...) I don't think I've ever gone for an after-commute ride (but my round trip is 22 miles). If I know I'm going to ride on the weekends, I'll usually take a day off during the week (usually Friday), but honestly the vast majority of my miles are commute miles-- I like to sleep in on the weekends, plus my fiancee works evenings/nights so Sat/Sun mornings/lunch are some of our only reliable time together during the week and he doesn't ride much (we occasionally toodle around the neighborhood, but that's it), I suppose I could ride in the afternoons/evenings on the weekends, but I haven't found a group that does that and I can/do ride by myself everyday on the commute, so that idea doesn't seem all that exciting.

[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.

[Eden]

I'd say here it's probably a 50/50 mix of commuters who wear lycra and those who wear more casual clothes. I don't see to, to many people who commute in their actual office duds, just because it's hilly and you do sweat and our weather can be a bit unpredictable... I do see a few especially if the weather is nice. If they are young twenty somethings with white shirts and ties on, I usually think they are Mormon missionaries before I think officer worker though...

We also have a large number of racing teams and a lot of us also commute. I commute in my race kit. I'd have to be too restrained to not get to work sweaty and dirty... I do have a locker room, towels and showers available to me at work, so I don't have to worry about anything. If I'm doing really short errand running or towing my trailer I'll usually dress casual.

[GLC1968]

My commute is only 6 miles but I don't wear office clothes even though our office is fairly casual and our weather is mild. It's just too tough on the clothing and I frankly don't find it comfortable. I often wear a skort for my commute so I feel a little less exposed when walking around the building before I've changed. And I carry my lunch and my clothes in my panniers, so I don't have to 'plan ahead' at all. I keep extra underwear, shoes, toiletries and a towel at my desk so I don't have to carry that stuff.

Showering at home and driving to work costs me about the same amount of time as biking to work and then showering there...so it's a fairly even trade. I just hate that there are things I've committed to doing that keep me from biking to work a couple of days a week. I'd LOVE to get into a daily habit!