Commuting - Any blue collar commuters out there?

Seems that most commuters I know ride to their office, take a shower, change clothes, put in their hours and take a well deserved ride home. I'm a cabinet maker and most of the time I commute to my workshop. I have a shower so I can get out of my sweaty clothes and all. But inevitably I have to install my work which means that I can spend a week or more at a jobsite/construction zone. Most of jobsites are closer than the 15 mile commute to the workshop so I'm going to try to ride my bike.

So do any of you guys ride to a construction site? Any insights would be helpful.

THanks.

Never to a construction site. But if you can shower at work, you're better off than most people. Do you have to bring many tools or supplies with you? What are your concerns with the commute?

Platform pedals are your friend. I'm a construction worker and I take off my eggbeaters when I commute to construction site so I don't have 2 pairs of shoes to mess with. I roll up one leg on my overalls and I'm all set. If you're able to leave your tools in a jobox or locker thats even better. I can't say you'd be that out of place, since every time I've been to Chicago I've seen tons of commuters who obviously had construction/industrial jobs. Where I live, commuters are a rarity, especially if you work with your hands!

Thanks for chiming in especialy since my post was so vague. I think I may of done that intentionally since this will be a new experience for me. I usually work out of my shop which is no problem so I go there by bike. On job sites I drive because I need to bring in materials and tools. If I'm organized enough though I should only have to use the vehicle for a day or two (I keep my tools in a lockbox) My concerns are, eventhough I come in on the tail end of the job things aren’t complete yet. The furnace may or may not be running, bathrooms are usually in a state of flux so no showers or changing clothes. I'm curious to hear how others in this kind of situation deal with it. Like Krispistoferson says, you basically wear what you will be working in, which is good advise.

Btw Chicago is a great place for commuting but I have noticed that since the temperature has dropped the crowds have thinned out a bit. Still I'm surprised at how many people are still out there doing it.

I work on movies and TV shows and ride to different locations nearly everyday. Sometimes location can be up to 18 miles away, but I usually have a truck full of camera gear to work off of. I can change in there- I bring a complete change. I am an impatient commuter so I ride at max heart rate normally, (read also- max sweat rate). In winter especially wicking shirts are worth the price. They pull moisture off you and dry in a few hours for the ride home. I don't have showers availible, would if I could but can't. I imagine we both do the roughly the same amount of physical work, (I hump alot of crap around ) so I sweat anyway. Also sets are normally rather hot with lights and soundproofing. No one has ever nailed me for being the stinky guy and I have asked. So my angle I am getting around to is, is anyone on a consruction site going to notice that you just rode 15 miles? Are you gonna care? Ride on!

I work at a locomotive depot in a rail yard so within a short space of time I smell of diesel !! We have showers at work so I have a good shower at work to get all the oil & other crap off before doing my ride home then just have a quick shower when I get home to wash off the sweat & road spray if the roads are wet.

I used to work at a refinery as an nondestructive testing inspector and I rode my bike 22 miles out there. Then change into nomex coveralls and work around hot refinery equipment and check welds. Best I could manage was shower in the morning and shower when I got home because in between I was going to sweat anyway even in winter.

I used to work at a refinery as an nondestructive testing inspector and I rode my bike 22 miles out there. Then change into nomex coveralls and work around hot refinery equipment and check welds. Best I could manage was shower in the morning and shower when I got home because in between I was going to sweat anyway even in winter.

I'm wearing a blue shirt today to work, I guess that makes me a BLUE COLLAR worker!

Corsaire

I’m a carpenter. I work in an office now but when I worked in the field I often rode my bike to the jobsites. I had a truck and would take my tools and boots in on the first day.
Sometimes also brought in overalls of coveralls too (kept them @ the jobsite). Locked my bike to the gangbox chain.

I forgot to mention. Be very careful about letting anyone on the jobsite see you in lycra.

I forgot to mention. Be very careful about letting anyone on the jobsite see you in lycra.


You know, I've been seaching high and low for some plaid lumberjack style lycra, cant find any though :D

I live in Southern California and most of the people who ride bikes to their jobs are blue collar. They are usually gardeners, construction guys, restaurant workers etc. I'm sure 15 minutes into a job like that you're pretty sweaty, so who's gonna care or notice if you're sweaty right from the start? And unless they have to wear a uniform at work, all of them wear their regular clothes.

I work in an office and I wear my regular clothes only because I don't want to fuss around with extra clothes. And also because I want people to see me as a bike commuter so that they consider it for themselves.

I'm wearing a blue shirt today to work, I guess that makes me a BLUE COLLAR worker!

Corsaire

Actually I'm a security guard now (lost refinery job after getting smacked down by garbage truck on commute) and my uniform shirt is blue so I guess I'm still a blue collar worker too. By the way, I notice that when I'm riding to work in my uniform I get a lot more respect on my bike since my uniform is designed along the lines of HPD uniforms (not to mention the occasional free fast food if I stop some place to eat on the way to work).

I forgot to mention. Be very careful about letting anyone on the jobsite see you in lycra.


Truck driver here, and damn, did my co-workers let me hear it the first time they saw my bicycle get-up...

On job sites I drive because I need to bring in materials and tools. If I'm organized enough though I should only have to use the vehicle for a day or two (I keep my tools in a lockbox)

Have you checked out the Xtracycle (http://www.xtracycle.com/html/home.php) or Bikes at Work (http://www.bikesatwork.com/)? The first one extends your bike with a heavy-duty back end, and the second one builds extra big bike trailers.