Commuting - Commuting clothes

Hey guys! I'm going to be commuting 11 miles one way to college. I probably won't have time to change unless I get there really early, like at 6:30 AM, which would mean I would have to leave my house around 6-5:45 AM, which would mean I would have to get up around 5. That's not going to last. If I get a pair of cycling baggies, and a cycling t-shirt, will the chamois and the wicking material drive me crazy? I know my cycling jersey is really uncomfortable after a ride, and the chamois in my Lycra shorts doesn't allow comfortable walking. But regular shorts get a sweaty spot on the butt, and there is nothing worse than a cotton tee when you're sweating.
It is still hot here, and very humid, and no real chance of colling off until late September. What do you guys reccomend?

Baggy or regular walk shorts over cycling shorts works for me, with perhaps a bright-coloured T-shirt instead of a cycling jersey on top. Add comfortable, walkable cycle touring shoes, and you are in business.

(For years, I commuted to UCLA in street clothes, including tennis shoes, when only the hard-core "racer boys" wore proper cycling attire.)

I get up at 4:30 and when i get to work i change clothes, it really does not take a lot of effort to wash up and make yourself presentable.:)
Andre
PS- my commute is 17 miles one way

Originally posted by fubar5
Hey guys! I'm going to be commuting 11 miles one way to college. I probably won't have time to change unless I get there really early, like at 6:30 AM, which would mean I would have to leave my house around 6-5:45 AM, which would mean I would have to get up around 5. That's not going to last.

That's about the same as my commute. I go 11.5. I found a place to shower right next to work. I drive once a week so that I can bring in enough clothes for that week. Then I just bring a towel, shower stuff, and a pair of shorts and tshirt. After I shower, I wear the shorts and tshirt over to work. I just soft pedal or walk over to work so I don't get sweaty again. I try to get to the place I shower between 6:30 and 7:00. It's about a 50 min ride for me. I just get up, put on my biking clothes and go. So I get up between 5:30 and 6:00... depending on how many snooze's I hit.. hehe.

If you have to leave your house at 5:45... why do you have to get up at 5? Why not just shower there at college? That will save you time.

I spent three years at university riding that sort of distance in almost permanently hot weather, to be honest I just wore whatever clothes I felt like wearing that day. My biggest problem with that ride was that it never really gave me enough time to warm up properly.

Fubar, if it were me:

Carry (or have ready at your destination)--

--two sets of clean cycling attire: one for the ride in and one for the ride home.

--clean street clothes to change into.

--cornstarch, deodorant and spray-on "eau de toilette" (mild cologne.)

I don't shower, but when I get there I take 15 minutes to wash my face, apply cornstarch to my (self), put on good-smelling stuff and change everything, right down to your socks. It's amazing how cornstarch dries you up and prevents odors.

Be sure to wash your helmet, gloves and anything else that you perspire into regularly. In case it rains, carry your stuff in plastic bags and have fresh socks and shoes ready at work/school.

Originally posted by LittleBigMan
Be sure to wash your helmet, gloves and anything else that you perspire into regularly. In case it rains, carry your stuff in plastic bags and have fresh socks and shoes ready at work/school.

This I neglected to include in my original post. Thank you for correcting me LBM.

I'm very sorry everyone.

I have a 12.5 mile commute. Here is the routine:

5 AM - get up
5:15 - on the road
6:10 - arrive at work
7:00 - on duty.

I leave early, because I have to be at work at 7 am. If I am late then someone can't leave. I am a little paranoid about a flat, so I allow a lot of time. I could leave later, and if I had a problem, work would come and pick me up.

I do 20 miles, but after mile 11, I look like I just ran through a sprinkler. For me, there's no way I could not take a shower. I sweat a TON. And a shower cools me down; otherwise I'd be sweating long after I actually stopped.

But that's just me.

My ride is 8.5 to 10 miles each way. I use a Terry Cite or Liberator Gel saddle. With those I don't really need a chamois. I wear bike shorts in the summer because they are cooler. Once it cools down to 70's I ride in almost anything with a slight preference for supplex baggies or pants. When it really cools down or is rainy & cold I wear wind front "cafe pants". One advantage of going to school is that you can probably get a locker somewhere on campus that you can leave emergency clothes in as well as toiletries. Baby wipes work fine for a quick clean up, but I'll bet there are showers available somewhere on campus. I should add that I have a strong preference for coolmax tee's over cotton tee's, they let more air through. On the down side they get raunchy quicker. Merino wool is awesome, I contemplated cutting the sleeves on one of my $20 Costco sweaters for summer use.

It's actually a community college and there's no showers or lockers. If changing can be prevented I'd like to go with that. I was jsut wondering if baggies(with a chamois) and a tee made of wicking material are comfy enough to wear when not riding.

With a decent saddle you don't really need a chamois for a ride of less than an hour. Wear your street clothes.

Originally posted by Jean Beetham Smith
With a decent saddle you don't really need a chamois for a ride of less than an hour. Wear your street clothes.


Well the chamois prevents "sweaty butt syndrome" as I call it. I don't think walking to class with a big wet spot on my butt will make good impressions. I think I'm just going to pack some corn startch and a pair of cothes alongside my books. I'm determined to commute though. If push comes to shove, I'll use the bus in a pinch. But I'd much rather ride!

One of the things I've done is take a long a pair of shorts and pull them on over my bike shorts, the wet butt syndrom is taken care of, as well as the extra chamios padding hidden. Although you said walking is uncomfortable in the biking shorts. For a shirt I like the cool max for the wicking, it does get raunchy, so slipping it off and pulling on a t-shirt or the like works too.

I do have a place to change at work, and shower is available, so I take it when needed. I've found that a cool damp wash cloth and those Old Spice fresheners have done the trick too.

I think personal variations in perspiration levels will determine whether there's an answer to this.

For me, it would be impossible to commute in my work clothes. When I get to work I'm drenched, and it doesn't matter what time of year it is. I simply must allow sufficient time to cool down and make arrangements to change clothes. If I couldn't do this, I wouldn't be able to bike commute because my co-workers would start complaining. It's that simple.

I'm fortunate that I rarely have 9am committments. So I can arrive just before 9 and spend 20 minutes at my desk checking e-mail and answering voicemail while I stop sweating.

But when I do have an early meeting, I just leave half an hour earlier, and that's that.

So I commute in cycling clothes. It's worth it for the 100-120 minutes a day I spend on the trip.

RichC

Be sure to wash your helmet, gloves and anything else that you perspire into regularly. In case it rains, carry your stuff in plastic bags and have fresh socks and shoes ready at work/school.

How does one go about washing a helmet. I've wondered about this -- the spongy pads inside my helmet get very sweaty and I can't see how to wash them without destroying them.

thx

To wash your helmet, remove the spongy pads (they should be attached with velcro so they can be removed) and wash everything by hand in warm, soapy water.

Never use solvents or strong cleaning agents because some chemicals can attack and destroy the materials in your helmet, especially styrofoam.

:)

I guess we each have to look at our situation and figure what's going to work best. I have shower facilities where I work. Good thing, because skipping a shower is not even and option for me. I drive out to my office on a Sunday night and drop off a cache of dry clothes, shower stuff, and lunchables.

It works for me -- I enjoy up with an enjoyable ride, because I wear what's comfortable, and I'm not packmuling my stuff.

Fubar,

I would change clothes, it won't take but a few minutes. What you could do is change in the restroom stall and use a towel and some baby power to freshen up a bit. I would be concerned about getting a rash from sitting in the sweat all morning, plus the chicks will probably like the smell better. ;) ...but who knows phernomes, etc.???! :eek:

Originally posted by IowaParamedic
I have a 12.5 mile commute. Here is the routine:
5 AM - get up
5:15 - on the road
....


Out of bed to on the road in 15 minutes? How do you do that? I spend more time than that just eating!

Originally posted by Spire
Out of bed to on the road in 15 minutes? How do you do that? I spend more time than that just eating!
I spend more time than that just staring into space.