Commuting recommendations

[FlashUNC]

My work situation is changing a bit starting in a couple weeks. I'll be moving from working out of the house to working in a small office in downtown Charlotte with another co-worker.
Given that I'm living just a few minutes from downtown, I wanted to start commuting by bike at least a couple times a week before the weather turns too sour.
But I have to sheepishly admit I'm a bit befuddled by some of the mechanics of it. Riding there's easy enough, but do I bring over suits and dress shirts in advance to keep at the office to change into? Since I'm riding at peak commuting times, I'd wager lots of bright lights and highly reflective clothing might be in order.
Any tips from you experienced commuters?

[AngryScientist]

a lot depends on what facilities you have available at work, and how you need to dress for work.

based on what you said, probably a trip in with the car once a week to stock the office with dress clothes and such is probably in order.

yes, bright lights are key when traffic is involved.

[danjo]

I'm sure you'll get lots of great advice from other forum members. Here's my experience: When I used to commute more regularly, I would just store a week's worth of work clothes inconspicuously in my office (back of the door for the clothes that needed to hang, empty file drawer for the socks/undies). My weekly schedule was something like this:
Monday-- drive to work, refresh the work clothes
Tuesday-Thursday bike commute
Friday- Bike commute w/ empty backpack to shove all my dirty clothes in for the ride home.

Each day I would bring my lunch and wallet/etc. in a small lumbar pack (still to proud to call it a fanny pack) and on the way home after I ate my lunch it would give me a chance to bring home any small items (dirty socks, undies) that I didn't want sitting around the office.

The trickiest part was storing my clothes I rode in on. I had about a 12 mile commute each way so it was long enough to get a little sweaty. Usually my clothes weren't too sweaty so I typically just hung them on the back of the door to let them air out. I also tried to be very cold and uninviting to my colleagues so they wouldn't want to come into my office anyway. :D

I decided not to put panniers on my bike, but that certainly would have been another solution.

Hopefully this gives you some ideas!

[christian]

Danjo's plan is basically what I've used when riding longer commutes where I didn't want to use a commuting/touring bike. My current commute is 84 miles r/t, so I prefer the road bike (and I don't do it daily).

[jr59]

It's really not enough info from you. What is your dress code at work? Jeans and Tees, or suit and tie? How about a shower at work? Bike storage?

Lights and reflective gear is always a good idea.

Personaly I like the fenders, rack, and panniers, but there are more than a few ways to do it. ie...backpack, messenger bag, Caradice longflap, and a few more.

[CNY rider]

I work in the medical field.
I wear shirt and trousers but not suit and tie.
I have my own office where I keep a stash of my work clothes including shoes.
When I drive to work I take home dirty stuff and bring in a bunch of fresh clothes.
I live in upstate NY where the weather is cool and happen to ride mostly downhill to work so sweating isn't a big issue. I just change from my bike clothes to work clothes after a few minutes of naked cool down time (obviously this is where having my own office, without windows is key!).
When I'm riding and it's getting dark at commute times, as it is now, I have a fixed tail light and clip a blinker to my helmet. Planet Bike Superflash is cheap and highly effective.
I have a gen hub and lights on one bike; the other light I have is a DiNotte.

Try to find a way to carry your stuff that does not involve it hanging from your body, like a handlebar bag or pannier. You can always add a messenger bag or musette as I sometimes do but it's better in terms of sweatiness to have the bike carry your stuff.

[FlashUNC]

It's really not enough info from you. What is your dress code at work? Jeans and Tees, or suit and tie? How about a shower at work? Bike storage?

Lights and reflective gear is always a good idea.

Personaly I like the fenders, rack, and panniers, but there are more than a few ways to do it. ie...backpack, messenger bag, Caradice longflap, and a few more.


Dress code will be somewhat flexible, to be honest. It'll just be two of us in the office, and our mutual bosses are in NYC. I'd need the standard white collar uniform if I'm meeting folks outside the office, but if nothing's scheduled, I can probably get by on something a bit more casual.

You last two points are the big unknown right now. I don't start at the office till October 3, but was going to go scout out the situation over the next week or so. I do think there's a gym on site for a shower, and I figure I can butter the office suit secretary up enough to let a bike slide through. Though that's more of a hope than reality at this point.

Route shouldn't be more than 10-15 miles round trip, I'm projecting, though some of that would be on fairly busy roads. I can alleviate that somewhat by riding in and leaving at off-peak hours, I suppose.

Plan is to use my cross bike for now, since that seems to be the best compromise (I can sling a rack on it if need be, has enough clearance for fenders, etc)

[jr59]

I would start checking thing out as soon as you can. It's doable, without doubt! But it will take some planing on your part.

[poguemahone]

Commutes really do vary, and you'll figure yours out soon enough.

On a dedicated city bike, I like a couple of things. I vastly prefer older style pedals with a toe clip, as they'll take more types of shoe. An MKS GR9 pedal is great, esp. with a half clip, as they allow you to ride in pretty much any shoe.

Watching the weather helps a lot. It lets me know if I want to take in a bike with fenders or just skip the whole thing.

Route selection is pretty key; take a good look at maps. There may be alternative routes that keep you away from the majority of traffic. Fastest route in a car does not equal fastest route on a bike, or vice versa.

If you're locking the bike up outside, messenger bags and backpacks are preferable to panniers and carradices. Opposite holds if you have secure inside storage, though I find the difference isn't really that great.

[tiretrax]

In summer, when I don't have to drop my children at school, I would ride 30 miles and then ride the 5 or 6 miles from my house to work. There is a gym in my office where I could shower, so I would bring at least a week's worth of clothes and towels on the weekend and store them in a lateral file cabinet. It was great until I was informed by the building manager that i could no longer bring my bicycle into the building. She told me that I could lock my bike to a new rack behind the parking lot attendant's booth. When I told her that I didn't want to leave my expensive bike on the rack, she told me to get a "beater bike". I haven't ridden to work since.

Another thing to consider is what will you do about lunch. I am downtown, so I can walk to many places for lunch. When I drive, I often go home and eat leftovers (someone has to). Eating downtown probably makes bicycle commuting more expensive for me.

So, 1. figure out where you're going to store your bike, 2. store your clothes, 3. take a shower, 4. what you're going to do for lunch.

[ergott]

Just a thought.

It's nice to have a fender bike with racks and bags. I find myself riding with just a backpack on my race bike as much as possible. I save the fender bike for when it's actually wet. Otherwise, the race bike (Spooky Skeletor) is so much more rewarding to ride. I go slow and easy on the way to work and I drill it most rides home.

[Ken Robb]

I don't think I see enough pluses to your situation for ME to want to bike commute. It's not really long enough for you to get much exercise and you would be riding on busy roads at rush hour unless you modify your hours.

The incremental cost of driving a car you already own on such a short commute is negligible so unless you would have to pay for parking there isn't a big saving of $$. What if you have to meet clients with short notice and you need a car to get there?

I like to shower then shave so besides needing a shower at work I would have shave there too and in some places showering is OK but shaving isn't.

How bad does the weather have to be for you to be unwilling to ride? Would you keep foul weather gear at home and the office for those days that start nice but turn ugly before you have to ride home?

Remember, I wrote that this was how I feel and you may be a lot more motivated to ride your bike to work than I would be. I would suggest that you drive to work for a while to see how things really work and imagine what changes would be required to commute by your bike. Do you have one that is good for commuting?

I would be a lot more pro-riding to work if the ride was over beautiful quiet roads that would lift my spirits rather than a stinky, stressful ride in traffic but I know lots of folks think ANY time on a bike is fun and you may be one of them. :beer:

[ergott]

Another point.

Don't navigate like a car. Look at the map and see what side roads you can take. My direct commute is 9 miles and a bit of traffic. I have another route with fewer cars that is 13 miles. It's not a big deal to take the longer route. It's safer as well.

Look for a route that takes you on smaller roads if possible.

[vsefiream]

I have been commuting to work on most Tues and Thursdays. I travel 17 miles each way. Usually I bring my laptop home on the weekends for field support so Mondays and Fridays are usually driven. I take that opportunity to transport my clothes, lunches, and laptop back and forth. Wednesday I drive and may bring additional clothes or food. I keep my clothes, shoes and stuff in my cubicle, I don't have a real office.
We have a shower here but it's currently used for storage :crap: I may have to work on that some time soon. When I come in I change in one of our dark rooms and use baby wipes to clean up. I am lucky our office is very easy going and I just hang my clothes in an out of the way part of our shop. My bike sits in the aisle just outside my office. It makes for a great conversation piece!
I would recommend planning your route now. Look for bike paths first, avoid traffic for two reasons, crash potential and pollutants abound. Secondly look for roads with nice clean wide shoulders, direct routes etc. Pack tools like a patch kit, spare tube, tire spoons, folding tool, spoke wrench, pressure gauge, and a pump. I have had to use every single one of those tools so far this year. Be lit, have front and rear lighting especially this time of year. Leave in plenty of time (plan for flats) and enjoy your ride be it at a recreational or training pace.
One pleasant thing I have found about commuting to work is that it's consistent. I know how long it takes within a few minutes and traffic is rarely an issue :hello:

Good luck

[vsefiream]

I would be a lot more pro-riding to work if the ride was over beautiful quiet roads that would lift my spirits rather than a stinky, stressful ride in traffic but I know lots of folks think ANY time on a bike is fun and you may be one of them. :beer:

Understandable especially if the commute is as short as Flash's. IMHO I like being self sufficient on a bike and not having to fight with traffic which can be more stressful in a lot of cases :bike:

[Len J]

I drive in on Tuesday with change of clothes for 3 days.

Then I ride home Tuesday
Ride in Wed and home wed
In thurs and home Thurs
In Fri and then drive home Fri.

That way I have a car at work if I need it and I don't have to carry the stuff in by bike.

Len

[palincss]

My work situation is changing a bit starting in a couple weeks. I'll be moving from working out of the house to working in a small office in downtown Charlotte with another co-worker.
Given that I'm living just a few minutes from downtown, I wanted to start commuting by bike at least a couple times a week before the weather turns too sour.
But I have to sheepishly admit I'm a bit befuddled by some of the mechanics of it. Riding there's easy enough, but do I bring over suits and dress shirts in advance to keep at the office to change into? Since I'm riding at peak commuting times, I'd wager lots of bright lights and highly reflective clothing might be in order.


How far is "a few minutes from downtown"? If you're < 4 miles or so, consider doing it European style, riding an upright bike (something that looks like a roadster or a Dutch bike) and wearing your working clothes. Take your time, dial back the intensity, and there won't be any worries about arriving sweaty and needing a change of clothes. That's what transportation cycling means for most of the world that practices it, and for short distances, it works great.

The whole "bring your clothes and change at work" thing works when distances are longer. If you have an 8 mile commute, it's hard to do it wearing dress clothes and it takes long enough it feels like it makes sense to spend the time changing clothes, etc.

If you want to ride year round you definitely need lighting.

The route you'll ride may be very different from the route you'd plan if you were driving. You need to change the way you think about your route. Forget the major collectors, look for the side road alternatives. You'd do well to practice a bit on the route before you do it for real.

[ergott]

I just finished up a 5 day week commuting every day. I feel great and had a beer to celebrate.

:beer:

[netanimic]

If you ride more than 15 minutes you need a shower.

[palincss]

Not necessarily. I commuted for 28 years, 8 miles each way and I never arrived sweaty and in need of a shower. You do have to take it easy, pay attention to ventilation, and it helps if you don't have any big hills on the route. If you want to hammer, or turn it into a training opportunity, save that for the ride home.

[ergott]

Not necessarily. I commuted for 28 years, 8 miles each way and I never arrived sweaty and in need of a shower. You do have to take it easy, pay attention to ventilation, and it helps if you don't have any big hills on the route. If you want to hammer, or turn it into a training opportunity, save that for the ride home.

That's what I do. My commuting is mostly fall/winter/spring so staying cool on LI is pretty easy. I go easy on the way to work and drill it when I'm going home.

[John M]

Great suggestions across the board. Summary should be that everyone's situation differs and that you need to figure out what works for you.

Key thing is to ride. I've bike commuted since 1989 and would go insane without my daily ride.

For me, I have secure indoor bike parking so I ride nice road bike. 5-7 mile commute so I use a backpack--much longer I would use a rack/panniers. My ride is hilly and this is my only riding during the week so I like to ride it hard for the limited training benefit that it provides, which works up a sweat. I do have shower facilities, which makes that not a big deal. I don't need to wear a suit so I carry the work clothes each day. It is rainy in Seattle and I ride year round, so fenders are important, as is good rain gear and lights.

[etu]

Agree with above statement about upright bike
take it easy, use saddle bags or panniers
if you get out the mentality of biking = exercise and treat your bike as a form of transportation, there is more clarity on what your needs are
if you want a workout also than you'll have to make additional adjustments
the more complicated you make it, the harder it is to maintain

[slowpoke]

A lot of great suggestions here. I might add:

- dropping your dress shirts off at a dry-cleaners near work
- everyone's metabolism is different. Some people don't sweat unless they're hammering, others sweat once they're on a bike. You'll need to figure out what works for you
- agreed with carrying the load off your back, be it panniers, front rack, or basket
- and fenders with mudflaps are a must for rainy season