Originally Posted by
old's'cool
+1... Practice
When I'm coming off a week or more of non-bike-commuting I find myself back-tracking from the garage to the house or catching myself several times before I leave the house, for forgotten things, before I'm really ready to leave. When I'm commuting 4-5 days a week the departure routine becomes second nature and goes really smoothly.
The other thing is, just accept there is a minimum prep time, and don't try to cut it shorter than it realistically can be. Make it up by riding faster...
Yes, I think it's the mix on bike and non-bike commuting that interrupts the routine, especially with different bags. Doing it the night before should stop the back and forth between house & garage which is my usual morning panic when I ride the bike :-)
Originally Posted by
phughes
If you have a locker at home, I would pack a few more changes of clothes in the Eagle Creek packing envelope and keep them in your locker. Your dirty clothes can be stuffed in the panniers for the ride home. That way you won't have to pack new clothes each day you ride.
I assume you meant if I have a locker at work? The bike storage at work has its own change rooms & lockers, but these are for single-day use, so you have to empty the locker each evening. I do have a small locker in my office that might just about fit a few shirts. I tend to leave my laptop & computer bits in there overnight to avoid carrying them each day. However, I work in a large building and the office locker is a 5-6 minute walk from the change room, so leaving clean clothes in the office locker means an additional round trip of 12 minutes to pick them up. So it's probably easier to just take clean clothes with me each day.
Originally Posted by
Kedosto
Bike stuff gets mounted on the bike and stays on the bike. Personal stuff goes directly into the panniers. Get yourself a convertible backpack/pannier so you won't have to switch bags all the time. Practice makes perfect -- you'll get faster the more you do it, especially the riding part.
You're taking the most efficient route, yes?
-Kedosto
I have a smallish Topeak bag that goes on the top of the rack, so I could leave this for bike specific stuff (lights, lock, rain-jacket etc.) and then use the panniers for my work papers, clothes and lunch.
What could save me time is to have an inner bag that I can use on both the panniers and in my normal back-pack. That way I wouldn't have to unpack all of the pockets in my backpack and then have stuff loose in the pannier. The trick would be to reduce the amount I have to carry, period!
I've studied various routes and think I'm on the most efficient one that avoids major roads shared with traffic - just too dangerous in Sydney in my opinion!
Originally Posted by
f4rrest
Skip the shower at the office, reduces prep with towels and toiletries.
As your fitness improves, you may be able to avoid perspiring much by keeping your heart rate below 120 bpm.
Hmmm, I think I'd have be a lot fitter than I am to avoid sweating. It might work in winter if I dress in shorts & t-shirt and don't pedal too hard, but I'm riding mostly for the exercise, so not putting some effort into it defeats the purpose. My average heart rate is about 140bpm on my commute due to the hills.
Thanks for all the suggestions!
John