man, people here act like you'll immediately burn to death from the chafing while riding in jeans. Man, I ride everywhere in Jeans. My commute to and from school is 8 1/2 miles round trip, and I ride in jeans fine. Just make sure to cuff up your right pant leg and let all the nasty grease get stuck in there instead of on the side that shows. And get a messenger bag Backpacks suck ass for riding; they make your shoulders overkill. At least with a mess bag only one of them hurts. Plus messenger bags are all the rage these days, so you'll probably get compliments and the like with them.