Thanks all. Bought some MEC Adanac water-repellant pants today, which I'll use in lieu of bib shorts at least until I get to know everyone better. Nothing like the new guy rolling up in spandex to make a first impression.

figure I will take the long route occasionally as time permits and try to get some real miles in.

If it's winter, I wear whatever I'm going to wear when I get there. Jeans or slacks.
If it's November or March, probably shorts (I favor hiking shorts), unless it's especially cold (below 50 F). Or if I'm going somewhere shorts would be weird.
If it's April-October, I wear shorts all the time anyway, except to work or formal occasions. For that, I'll bring pants along and change when I get there.

I live in Texas, can you tell?

I wear casual clothes for less than 4Km, and wear windproof pants in winter. In summer, I'd like to wear short sleeve shirts that wicks quickly, I will try to avoid cotton shirts in summer and get some lycra or polyster clothes instead.

interesting line (baleaf) and nice to see their stuff on Amazon too

In the UK, I usually wear some polyester/cotton no-name hiking pants. The ones I use have a fairly narrow cut so they are not too flappy and also have non-bellowed cargo pockets. I secure them with metal trouser clips.
Temp range is 0-24C, dry -damp. If it rains I add some waterproof over-pants or they dry out in 20 mins.
Above 24C I often wear shorts.
My current job is pretty casual dress so I commute, work and relax in the same clothes.

4 km is not far.

My current commute is 10 km one way; a bit longer than yours but still in the short-ish category. My previous commute was 4 km.

On dry snow-free days I just wear whatever pants I'm going to wear at work.

On rainy days that doesn't work. Legs get a lot wetter in the rain when biking as opposed to walking since a lot of the pant leg's surface area is exposed to rain in the middle of the pedal stroke. And even with fenders water and dirt splashes up. So on days with rain, slush, dirt, sleet, snow, road salt etc. I still wear whatever I'm going to wear for work with a pair of waterproof climbing pants over top. I tried cycling-specific waterproof pants and they never fit well. But the climbing ones are amazing: tough, fit loosely over any other pants, keep me completely dry and allow for great freedom of movement. They were something like almost $200 on sale when I'd bought them some 7-8 years ago, and I can't imagine my life without them. Should work very well for BC.

This is the best advice. Don’t fall victim to the marketing of the “kit.”

Well, as a lady, I don't need as much room for... equipment lol I wear compression leggings or just plain old athletic capris. In the winter, I layer up my compression leggings with thermal/fleece lined leggings. The coldest I've ridden in is roughly 20F, and that set-up worked for me.

My ride is roughly 5mi, but I ride pretty hard, so I like to change when I get to work.

For 2 miles, you could wear anything that was comfortable. If you do have a chafing or packaging issue, you could buy a pair of liner shorts and wear them under anything. That's what I do (Canari liner shorts)

I wear jeans at wor, so jeans for me. I do have some more stylish jeans that are on the tight side that don't offer stretch either, so I prefer not to wear those on my bike but if im running early and I don't need to push it hard I will wear them.

You really notice your muscles swell when your running late, pushing hard and your street clothes are moderately tight fitting- becoming more tight than normal.

I've decided I like the Levi's commuter enough that I'm going to buy more of them. Not just for bike riding, just for wearing everywhere. Between the slight stretch and the tougher-than-fashion-but-not-quite-work-pants construction they seem like a good bet.

What sort of work do you do? Is there a place to change? Frankly two miles is not even beyond walking distance so I would just wear my work cloths. My office is professional casual meaning kakis, Dockers, button up or polo shirts (with company logo are appreciated) and I keep a sport coat at work for going out at lunch if needed with a customer. And we can wear jeans on Fridays in the summer. They want leather shoes or at least not tennis shoes or sneakers.

The point being, if you wear a suit and tie you may have to change but if you can wear buisness casual just wear that. And if you can wear jeans them perhaps just do that. I do not know your, uh, circumference but I love the skinny jean fits or slim straight Levi type jeans and some have Lycra in them. The skinny fits do not get caught in the chain and roll up nicely also.

I do not get to bike commute but I keep a bike in my office for lunch time rides to nearby eateries and coffee shops etc. When I have commuted, such as during college years, I wore what I wore to class. My new office bike is a Raleigh Sports 3 speed I am overhauling.

Good luck, I would forgo the cycle specific MAMIL look for a two mile commute. Now, out for a sporting ride, by all means Lycra up .

For 4 miles each way in the Midwest, I wear my regular work clothes, which are supposed to be "business casual," but have been downgraded to "engineering casual." Darker fabric hides the marks from inevitable contact with a dirty bike.

I wear the same thing I'd wear for 60+ mile rides: whatever I happen to be wearing that day. Lately, that's mostly been these: New Italian Military Surplus Wool / Cotton Knickers - 636947, Pants at Sportsman's Guide Unfortunately, they've been sold out of my size for a while, and I'd really hoped to get more after getting a few pairs to start.

I work as a bike mechanic at a shop, though, so it's not like I'm in an office type environment....but these are great on the bike. Combined with some over-the-calf socks (sometimes with a second layer underneath), these have gotten me through this winter, and they're also reasonably comfortable on warmer days with the socks rolled down and cuff cinches open

My pants? My pants are awesome! Ok, my pants are jeans... now you know about my pants.