Commuting - Laundry

Ok, now for the exciting part: laundry.

Oh, yes, this is the real world! What do you do about your cycling/working clothes?

I am perhaps a bit lazy and unpractical; I bring a change of clothes to work every day, change out of my wet cycling clothes (they are wet whether it rains or not), and go for it. Then, at break-time, I wash my cycling clothes (except for tee-shirt, I use a fresh, spare one on the ride home) in the bathroom sink. Then,
I dry them by wringing them out and placing them each on a separate "drying towel." I lay a wet piece flat on the clean towel, then slowly and tightly roll the towel up on the table with the wet garment inside, pressing hard as I roll. This dry-towel procedure can save me a lot of "air drying" time. After unrolling them, I hang each piece using a giant heavy-duty "paper clip" and a giant, properly bent regular paper clip. They hang behind some big Xerox printers over some floor vents (which blow air up constantly) until dry, maybe two hours.

Voila! Clean gear for the Cycle-Geek! ;)

Wow!

I know you ride a lot farther than I. I only go 5 miles, so it's no big deal.

I wear my work shirt and a pair of shorts (currently jean shorts). I wear ankle socks all the time, anyway. I throw my pants (jeans in this building) into my rear basket.

When I get to work, I wipe my brow with a paper towel, set up my laptop. Before 8am, I carry my jeans into the restroom, and change.

In the afternoon, I put my shorts back on, and go home.

Jonathan

I guess I'm lazy in a different way.
You may recall from a previous post that I must park my bike in the warehouse where I work. There are no bike racks and I don't have an office.
I "quick dry" the cycling shorts and T-shirt I wear to work in my towel after I clean up. Then I fold or roll them in the towel and pack that in one of my panniers. I don't zip it closed so it can air dry a little, but the warehouse isn't air-conditioned so they don't really dry that much.
I carry another pair of cycling shorts and a cycling jersey (no team names or colors, just plain yellow) for the ride home.

I've found that a T-shirt is ok in the morning since the air is cooler and sometimes the humidity is lower.
In the afternoon/evening the temperature is much higher (can't imagine why ;) ) and a T-shirt literally sticks to me after a few miles. A jersey doesn't stick. The fabric does a good job of wicking away the moisture (this sounds like a commercial) and the ride is much more comfortable.

I don't buy expensive jerseys or shorts for commuting. I look for bargains at REI, Nashbar, Performance, etc.
I have enough shorts and jerseys so I can ride a couple of days before it's "laundry time".

Ron

Originally posted by RonH
A jersey doesn't stick. The fabric does a good job of wicking away the moisture (this sounds like a commercial) and the ride is much more comfortable.


Funny, when I got to that part of your post, music started up and there was a video of you cycling and waving at the camera in your yellow jersey--I think I saw the "Nashbar" logo somewhere there, too...:D

What I carry? I always carry a full change of clothes for work. Yes undies an all. When I get to work I'm usually pretty hot an sweaty. Not that far to work but its a bit rugged so that's enough to create pits and the patch of sweat under the pack on my back.

I usually put in another T-shirt for the ride home too. Can't really handle puttin on that sweaty one again after it's been fermenting in my pack for 8 hours.

I haven't gotten round to buyin any synthetic shirts or jerseys yet so I'm still dealin with the sweat soaking cotton shirts for now.

Great feelin though, gettin a nice little workout before clockin in, plus it's a great feeling of freedom knowin that I don't need to deal with any traffic on the way home. Turns the ride home (usually in the dark) into a nice little adventure.

I'll just toss this in: I recently made the giant leap from wearing cotton t-shirts while cycling to wearing cycling specific jerseys made of some sort of funky polyester. I resisted this for more than ten years thinking that they looked rather stupid and that it was silly to pay money for clothing to work-out in when I have a drawer full of old t-shirts.

I must say I'm glad I made the leap. Not only do the synthetics vent better when you are riding, but they dry out really fast. So I wear one to work, and just wear the same one home and its usually dry after hanging out for 8 hours at work. If its not completely dry when I put it on in the afternoon, it becomes dry after 5 minutes of riding thanks to the breezes. This is probably kind of offensive, but I just accept that commuting requires certain indignities....

Originally posted by Ellen
This is probably kind of offensive, but I just accept that commuting requires certain indignities....

Life requires many, daily indignities. We don't have to wallow in them, but we shouldn't have to pretend they don't exist.

For cycling to work, you deserve respect for any collateral indignities.

:)

Jonathan

Besides, the modern American notion of "offensive" could stand a little adjustment. A little honest sweat is considered offensive, while gratuitous violence and bloodshed in movies, or lack of health insurance for 45,000,000 people isn't. Something is really wrong here.

Originally posted by JonR
Besides, the modern American notion of "offensive" could stand a little adjustment. A little honest sweat is considered offensive, while gratuitous violence and bloodshed in movies, or lack of health insurance for 45,000,000 people isn't. Something is really wrong here.

Man! Jon, I like the way you said it way better.

Jonathan

Thanks for this thread guys. At the moment I don't need to wear spanky clothes for either my job or university, but that will change with my new job next year. I can't see how anyone could be offended by a little bit of sweat. Sweat is beautiful (and at least we're not talking about spam). ;)

Chris

Originally posted by JonR
Besides, the modern American notion of "offensive" could stand a little adjustment. A little honest sweat is considered offensive, while gratuitous violence and bloodshed in movies, or lack of health insurance for 45,000,000 people isn't. Something is really wrong here.

No, Jon, it isn't.

I mean, if I want to blow someone away, I want to be "dressed to kill" and smell great, too.

Originally posted by Pete Clark



...if I want to blow someone away, I want to be "dressed to kill" and smell great, too.
Hmm, yes, I see your point. I guess maybe I just had one of those little un-American moments there. Sorry...

Originally posted by Pete Clark
...Oh, yes, this is the real world! What do you do about your cycling/working clothes?


Where I work has showers & lockers. Since I don't ride every day (yet), I bring fresh street and ride-home clothes in on driving days, and take the soiled items home that day. A quick shower after I arrive & I'm ready to go.

Should I graduate to riding daily, well I've got a rack & panniers for the bike that are large enough to carry what I need back & forth.

SteveF
Classic Lugged Steel Rider