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For those of you with dress codes...

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Old 07-05-07, 10:10 AM
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I don't generally follow the "dress code"

Jeans and t-shirts for me. I only dress up when I go to one of our clinics or hospitals. I will drive if I have to do that.
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Old 07-05-07, 10:23 AM
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Originally Posted by Inigo Montoya
How do you bring your clothes with you to work? I haven't started commuting yet, as I'm still hoping to purchase my first road bike by the end of this week. I need to wear at least a collared shirt, slacks, and dress shoes for my job. I plan to just pack everything into a backpack, and shower and get dressed at work. Thanks in advance for your advice!

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I had a similar dress code at one job. I left my at work shoes at work, and I put my shirt and pants in a plastic grocery bag that went in my backpack or on my rack. I changed in the bathroom and also did a sponge bath to cool down. I put my riding clothes in the bag. At the end of the day I changed out in the bathroom and rode home.

We were required to wear leather shoes at work, at least men were. But I didn't. I wore my black Vans lowtops. I got numberous compliments. I never got busted.
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Old 07-05-07, 10:30 AM
  #28  
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Drive once a week...you can use the rest. I wear a shirt and tie everyday - I also bought an iron and leave it in my desk - JUST IN CASE...
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Old 07-05-07, 10:32 AM
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Wow, thanks to all of your for your great suggestions! My office is in a different building from our gym/locker room, but keeping a set of clothes here never dawned on me, same with leaving my shoes here. Souns like great advice!
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Old 07-05-07, 10:35 AM
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Oh yeah, forgot to mention. My commute will be a little over 15 miles, with mini hills and one monster hill. So I will likely get VERY sweaty.
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Old 07-05-07, 11:07 AM
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Originally Posted by Inigo Montoya
Oh yeah, forgot to mention. My commute will be a little over 15 miles, with mini hills and one monster hill. So I will likely get VERY sweaty.
I find that no matter what my commute is to start, if I end my commute with 2-3 easy miles I'm ALOT less sweaty coming into work. I adjusted my route a few times and by extending it by just ~1.5 miles but taking a nice flat road at the end and consciously coasting as easy as I can... I find that my sweat factor rolling into work dropped by 43%!
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Old 07-05-07, 11:23 AM
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We don't have an official dress code where I work since it's a small company, however one generally wants to look/smell their best - not like a sweaty beast...
I generally have a change of clothes either in a pannier or backpack - but I'll strap the backpack to a rack over the back wheel instead of carrying it on my back. I keep a pair of shoes at work to change into. Lately I've been taking a few extra items in and leaving them at work to change into, and I rotate them out now and again for laundering, obviously. So, I reduce the number of times I have to carry a large load of stuff in on the bike to once a week.
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Old 07-05-07, 11:33 AM
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I'll also add this. Even if you bring your set of clothes to change into each day, it is still beneficial to keep at least one full set of clothes at work just in case. I learned this the hard way a couple weeks ago. I had packed my slacks and undershirt in my pannier, yup accidently forgot to grab an outershirt. Luckily dress code is slack here most days and people occasionally wear t-shirts to work. I ended up wearing an undershirt all day. Not my favorite thing to do.
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Old 07-05-07, 09:59 PM
  #34  
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Originally Posted by MyPC8MyBrain
I also have to wear collared shirts, here's what I do:

Buy "Wrinkle Free"
Lay pants flat from the side, lay shirt flat on top, lay undershirt on top of that.
Fold shirts into thirds lenghwise till they are as wide as the pants.
ROLL the whole mess together toward the top of the pants.
Stuff this in grocery bag and drop into pack[or panniers].
Tuesday and Thursday Recycle the pants I brought on Monday and Wednesday.
[Blue mon-tues, tan wed-thursday] Friday = dressdown so whatever.
Leave brown work shoes at work.

Rolling, not folding is the key for me... your mileage may vary
I do the same thing, but I iron my shirt with starch each morning. I also lay the whole stack on a towel (folded lengthwise) before I roll it up. I end up with a cylinder about 8in diameter and 14in long, just right to slide into my pannier.
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Old 07-05-07, 10:06 PM
  #35  
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There is no need to bring your cloths when you got an English 3-speed.
 
Old 07-05-07, 10:10 PM
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That's a big picture.
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Old 07-06-07, 06:17 AM
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I use one of these to keep my clothes fairly wrinkle free in my pannier. Also keep small water spray bottle at work so I can give the wrinkles that exist a quick shot.
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Old 07-06-07, 07:52 AM
  #38  
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You don't have to drive in a bunch of clothes. Take the bus or car pool. Or combo bus/bike. Maybe it's semantics, but I didn't see it mentioned.
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Old 07-06-07, 05:20 PM
  #39  
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Another thing I didn't see mentioned (although you said you don't have lockers available, but just in case anyone else is reading this thread!) is Downy Wrinkle Remover, or whatever it's called. It works incredibly well. I do transport my clothes with me and I roll them so they usually look pretty good, but I have a few light sweaters that look crumpled no matter how carefully I pack them to get them to work. I keep some of that spray in my locker for just those times.
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