Originally Posted by
burnthesheep
Also, no. You won't need to shower going over hardly any distance except in really hot temperatures if the power zone you commute in is sufficiently low.
I rode to/from work in France for 3 weeks. On the way there I rode in my work jeans and clothes and with a backpack just fine. Meaning, it ain't a walk in the park ride with their flavor of hills and terrain. But, I didn't show up nasty cause I kept it mellow.
FWIW, I put 350w for a threshold into a zone calculator to arrive at around 195w for top of Z1 and low end Z2.
I don't think that really covers many average joe commuters.
I just ride how I feel without worrying about zones. Going up hills I'm at threshold or above, on the flats I would mostly be in an endurance zone. I'd rather drive than ride slow enough not to sweat.
We have showers at work so it's not an issue for me and I usually wear wool tops which don't smell too bad.