Whenever I go out on the bike, it is a serious matter and I dress up in the right gear. Helmet obviously but also always in cycling top- cycling shorts and if coolish- an over top of some description. I had to go to a friends house tonight so the new bike got another outing. Helmet and glasses and rather than put on the Lycra shorts- Just put a pair of ordinary shorts on. Didn't bother with the spd's but the pedals on it have a large cage around the clips.

What an odd sensation. I kept feeling something rubbing on the inside of my thighs. Looked at that area when pedalling and could not find a loose cable or bit of the frame that I was touching, but it was an irritating feeling. Then I twigged what it was. Every time my thigh passed the seat post- Static was pulling the hairs on my thighs. Whenever I do ride- It is either fully togged up for a ride- Or I am in long trousers and the situation does not occur.

From now on I will have to take longer rides- After all, it does not take long to put on a pair of lycra shorts that extend down the thighs- except I only have Bib shorts- and they take longer. The other thing that shocked me was how cool it was. Just a "T" on and they do not keep out the draft from cycling. Wish I had taken an extra 30 seconds and got properly dressed for the 2 mile ride. Then I might have felt like going for a further 20 to see how the bike rides.

You are soooo funny, stapfam! Thanks for the chuckles!

Which bike did you ride Stap? The new road bike?

Recently I've been thinking about similar things. I always ride in full gear, however, I've been feeling guilty about driving the car on errands that I could use one of the bikes for. My biggest reservation is the clothing thing. I just don't want to ride without the cycling specific clothes, and I think it's overkill to get dressed in full gear for a short trip. I know it's a psychological thing, but one I'm not sure how to get past.

I don't have any cycling gear, of course, so it's a moot point for me. That said, get a beach cruiser for errands and you won't want to put on spandex!

How about taking off spandex???

I rode 27 miles today on my "utility" road bike fixed with a rack and pannier and toe clips and a very typical "hard" road bike saddle.

I wore

Big Dog shorts - right out of the catalog
Undies (yes I did)
A t shirt
Tennis shoes with white socks
helmet, doo-rag and gloves

I rode to church, and on the way did an extra trail for 6 miles, plus the 5 to church for 11 miles.

I practiced with my singing group

Then I decided to ride along a real road up a pretty good hill and returned, having lunch along the way, and got in a total of 27 miles.

My body is whole, I have no chafing, I was perfectly comfortable. I survived JUST FINE!

I do this all of the time. I rarely get all spandexed and lycra'd up. Tomorrow, I will once again ride to church at 6:00 am wearing a similar outfit with a light jacket. And I will go for another 20-30 mile ride afterwards,

All in NON-cyling-specific gear.

I do think we make too much out of our supposed need for spandex and cushioned/padded shorts.]

Well, I can agree with a lot of what Dnvr said, because I've just gotten in 2,500 miles and i have no padded shorts, no spandex, and no lycra. And no problems, either.

I can assure all of you there IS
a meaningful bicyle riding life
after Spandex and padded shorts.

I have never worn that stuff in
my 55 yrs. and am doing fine.

Shorts, T-shirt and Sports Shoes
work just fine for me.

I ride to work daily wearing dockers, button down shirt, dress shoes, on a road bike with a rear rack mounted bag. It does bring a few stares, but I don't feel it necessary to "kit up" for 2 miles each way. As for wearing cycling shorts, if I am only going 15 or 20 miles, it's no big deal(sunday rides with the kids or girlfriend) but if I am on a club ride 35-40 miles, I find the padded shorts make a big difference in my comfort level. If you don't like the look maybe wear cargo shorts over the top. If you haven't tried padded shorts on longer (25 mile+) rides, you should.

The funny thing is that I misread the thread title. I thought it said "errant cycling".

Oh well.

I only fully gear up for long rides, be it on or off road.

Commuting to the office, I wear non-paddy shorts and a tank most often, then change at the office...
(cuz they don't make fully enclosed phone booths anymore )

If I'm pedaling to the store it'll be whatever I had on prior to my needing to go to the store... on my bike with flat pedals, likely non-paddy shorts and a tank or capri type pants, occasionally jeans and I'll roll up the right leg to avoid chainring tat on my pants....
I might grab gloves

Though, since being bitten by the bike bug (only a coupla years now), I've noticed my clothing purchases reflect my inclination to hop on the bike to do errands... I really like those capri type pants, some with a cargo pocket in the leg and often have a tie at the bottom of the leg and tank tops that have a pocket in back to stash my cell phone, a tube and co2

I ride on both sides of the cultural divide, depending on the trip. There's a grocery store a mile from home, so no need to get all kitted up for that trip. BTW, if you want to be retro-cool (or totally nerdy in the most geeky possible way, depending on your view), here is some gear that you can wear on or off the bike. I've never bought any myself. Check out the seersucker shirts!:

https://www.rivendellbicycles.com/webalog/clothing/

I live five blocks from grocery store, four blocks from Super Walmart, and ten blocks from work. I figure if I put a set of these on my touring bike then I'll never want to get in spandex or clipless shoes to go to the store. Somehow it just wouldn't seem right.

".........and then the wheels came off".

today, like all days, will be doing my 30 mile commute in shorts, running shoes, a golf shirt, and no helmet

When I do serious rides (say longer than 30 minutes up to 3 hours), I always wear riding shorts (or bibs), a cycling shirt, helmet, gloves and glasses. Cotton anything will just NOT work. It gets heavy, stays wet (and usually too cold) and I have to peel it off. I also try to ride to work 2 or 3 days a week (6 miles, 40% of it is uphill). Even though it is 25 to 35 minutes one way, I always wear cycling clothes. Taiwan in the summer is often 97F and high humidity. You're going to have to change clothes anyway, so why wear street clothes? Also, they are dry well before 5pm. Cotton stuff wouldn't have a chance.

If I am just going out to dinner or to see friends, I would wear regular shorts but with padded underwear, helmet, gloves and glasses. A regular cut T-shirt is fine as long as it is a wicking synthetic material. The glasses have interchangeable lenses (dark for sun and yellow for night). There is also a clear set, but I never use them.