Work Commuters
 

anyone here work in an office and ride to work?

how do you go about it? I want to start riding to work but I wear a suit to work and i don't have shower access.

it's only about 5km away but it's better than taking the subway. I imagine all my sweat would probably be coming from my face only.

anyone do this or have tips? i don't want to be all sweaty when i get to the office.

i work at a vet hospital.

it's about 4.25 miles 1 way.

i do get sweaty since i don't ride in a relaxing pace.

i just towel dry when i get there and im fine. that said, im not the type to get BO so easily, so i get away with it.

also, i prefer to just ride with regular t-shirts and MTB shorts. it's a bonus to be able to walk around the workplace and everywhere else looking like a normal person. ^_^

You'll probably get alot better answers in the commuters forum. Lots of info over there.

You will be sweaty when you get to the office, but you will find that its not a problem.

1. Keep a few changes of clean clothes at work.
2. Start off clean. Get a shower in the morning before you leave.
3. When you get to work, take a few minutes to cool down and stop sweating. Drinking ice water helps me.
4. Towel off, maybe rinse off in the sink if you need to.
5. Put on clean clothes.

I've been doing this for a couple years now and was surprised at how much a non-issue the whole getting sweaty thing is when you do it this way.

If I took it easy, 5km wouldn't get me sweaty on the way, but then again my ride to work is mostly downhill these days. The suit does present an issue though... anywhere to store clothes at work? If you can at least keep a couple jackets and pairs of pants you may be able to get away with carrying some clothes in for the week on Monday, then ride in the rest of the week wearing whatever you want and changing when you arrive.

Oh, I completely missed the 5km part. You could ride that in your work clothes unless you work in a suit and tie. Just take it slow and wash your face when you get to work.

It's usually a matter of three or four things; The first being the most important, "Work Amenities".

If you have access to a locker or shower at work than everything else is easy. The other three are:

- distance
- intensity
- weather

If you can't shower and only have a bathroom to work with the best thing for your lower distance is to reduce the intensity and wear your work clothes. You can wipe down with some anti-bacterial wipes at work and its pretty much no problem.

If you are concern about sweat, wear a backpack full of clothes, ride in with some cycling friendly attire and change in the bathroom again after wiping with anti-bacterial wipes. If you find after a few commutes you sweat little, just wear the work clothes.

Easy, 5km is a nice leisure ride that you can take your time with.

Baby or other unscented wipes can help for cleaning up at work as well.

I used to commute on motorcycle all the time, and one thing I noticed was that a suit jacket would normally wrinkle a little (because of folding it) once I started hanging my jackets at work, I never had that problem.

but I agree with whats been said. for 5km, just ride in something comfortable, and change at work. towel or wipe down when you get cooled off... change and you are ready for a day in the office.

For that short of a commute, you can just ride a city bike with a full chain guard and pedal slowly to prevent sweating.

Drive to work every Monday morning. Take 4 dress shirts, ties, and suit jackets with you along with a wash cloth and deodorant. Tuesday thru Friday, bike to work in your suit's trousers and a T-shirt or windbreaker.

Get to work 1/2 hour earlier than your start time. Freshen up upon your arrival inside the washroom. Hang up your T-shirt and/or windbreaker. Put your dress shirt and tie on. Keep your suit coat hung over the back of your desk's chair.

Return home in your suit with the windbreaker tied across the handlebars. The T-shirt is just underwear!

A 3 mile leisurely ride should not make too much sweat....

PS.

Keep a nice quality bottle of cologne inside your desk at all times! :thumb:

I avoid jobs that require suits. You'll take a pay hit, but die happy.

Yes, Daily using my Cervelo "beater". I keep dress shirts and pants/khakis etc at work, and work has a dry cleaning service (Purpletie). I do have shower access at work though. One option is to shower before, and ride in easy and then ride harder home. BTW, check the commuter thread. There are alot of folks there who ride to places without shower. Alot of creative methods. ;)

amazing! tons of great replies here.

I didn't realize there was a commuter forum, i usually just hone in on this forum.

so the advice i was given was great.

in a nutshell:

use a shower, if no shower, take a bird bath

5km so ride lightly and use your city bike (i planned on using my wal-mart 'mountain' bike)

ditch the suit job, become a hippy, and live poor but happy.

thanks :)

As mentioned shower before you ride. Eliminates almost all odor when you do sweat as there is less bacteria feeding on your sweat. When you do get to the office cool down and use wet wipes to help eliminate any more odor causing bacteria.

http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j3...h7/WetOnes.jpg

or make your own spray with witch hazel and some wintergreen alcohol.

i commute to work and have to look respectable. i dont wear a suit but its still a business casual environment. i live a similar distance away too. things i find helpful.
1) ditch the road shoes. using toeclips make it that much easier for stop and go riding and walking.
2) ditch all light colored cotton pants. khakis are a liability anyway, stick to gray or black.
3) embrace wool. it doesn't get wrinkly as easy and is easy to clean.
4) keep you nice shoes at work. then they will stay nice and you wont have to carry them.
5) get a bag that you can put your tools, maybe a towel, lunch in.

have fun.

Find a building nearby with shower access!

I'm a Database Admin and work 10 miles from home, and there is no longer a shower here, since the renovation of the building in 2007. I ride in about once or twice a week. My routine involves bringing a change of clothes in when I drive. I leave a couple pairs of shoes at my desk...a pair of dressy leather shoes, and a pair of sneakers for when I want to go for a walk. I don't want to wear my biking shoes with cleats around the office I have a package of wet wipes in my drawer (Kirkland brand), and also bring in a fresh washcloth to wipe down.

I usually don't get changed until I've been at work for about an hour. I sweat a lot, and I know that if I clean up and change right away, I'll continue to sweat in my business clothes. I just use my 15 minute morning break to freshen up.

Since i ride at lunch, i just go ahead and wear my bike shorts under my slacks all day.

Shower before you leave the house, and you won't have to worry about being stinky - since it's not your sweat, but the bacteria that stinks.

I have the Topeak MTX rack and bike trunk. Works perfect for commuting. My commuter is a 2012 Trek FX 7.5.

I commute to work and it's @ 11 miles round trip. Here's what I do...

1. Shower every morning - I don't sweat much but if you don't have showers at your work it's best to take a shower before you go.
2. My office environment is very casual so I can get away with wearing shorts all day but I always wear an under shirt and it's usually one of those Target Champion C9 wicking t-shirts (especially during the Summer).
3. I wear SPD/mountain bike shoes but I keep a pair of regular shoes in my office. Today I have just been wearing the SPD's around.

I have a separate bike I built for commuting with a rear rack and panniers. It helps a lot for carrying lunch, my tablet, odds & ends for work and light jacket or shirt if needed.

Just for good measure, here's a picture :)

http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/m...G0558_crop.jpg

They make garment panniers that minimize how much you have to fold up your clothes. I haven't tried them since I try and wear golf shirts on biking days (allowable at my work) and these fit in my Nashbar ATB panniers. A dress shirt will get a little wrinkly in these I've found. You could try that anti-wrinkle spray but YMMV.

I bike in athletic wear (wicking) and then change at the office. I bike slower in the morning than the ride home. I definitely recommend the baby wipes as mentioned above. This plus clean clothes and deodorant makes all the difference. I also Febreeze my ride clothes since I wear them home and I don't want to stink up my office or the changing bathroom when I'm getting ready to come home.

but you smell like a urinal cake. nobody likes to be around that ****.

Wet ones unscented smell like nothing. I use deoderant and that is all anyone can smell. I've done the smell test with some co-workers who are brutally honest.

Worry about being stinky has to be the #1 objection to bike commuting. Its certainly the one I hear most.

Its really not an issue if you start off clean. If you are worried about it, just try it on a weekend. I guaranteed you will be surprised.

on a weekend??

[img]http://justcomedies.com/wp-content/u...pace-boss1.jpg[/img]

+1
Unscented wet wipes, & bringing my deodorant helps too.
I have access to showers but don't need them, 5KMs is barely a warm-up.

What about shower opportunities close to the office? I have a Y about a half mile from my office. Since I like to bike hard (and sweat a lot) as part of a workout routine, I bike to the Y, shower and put on my office clothes there and then do the half mile to work at a leisurely pace so that I don't break out into another sweat. I also keep two pairs of shoes (one brown, one black) at the office so that I don't have to carry those.