Support road.cc

Like this site? Help us to make it better.

Commuting in "Work Clothes"?

Just curious as to whether anyone commutes in their work clothes...shirt and trousers for example...?

I am starting my commute to work from Monday, its approx 4 miles and should take 20 mins (I drive the first leg of the journey)...working up a sweat and stinking through the work day worries me...yet putting cycling gear on in the morning to sit in the car for a while and then ride, and then have to worry about having stuff either with me or at work to shower and change into seems excessive.

As I say just curious as to what other people do, should I just suck it up and deal with the inconvenience of changing and showering at work for the joy of the morning and evening ride?

If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.

Add new comment

40 comments

Avatar
andyp | 9 years ago
0 likes

 3

Avatar
andyp | 9 years ago
0 likes

If you don't have a shower, its not a problem. Baby wipes can shift meconium (if you don't know, don't google image it if you're eating soon)...so they shouldn't have a problem with sweat  1

we *do* have showers at work, but a mystery colleague appears to take an electric fan, some glue and a small bucket full of pubes into the shower with him each day (seriously, how do you get them to stick to a wall over 2m off the floor??); and either he or some other chap decorates the cubicle walls with snot rockets.

I'll stick with the wipes in one of the traps.

Avatar
Beatnik69 replied to andyp | 9 years ago
0 likes
andyp wrote:

I'll stick with the wipes in one of the traps.

At least you could wash your feet.  3

Avatar
MaxP | 9 years ago
0 likes

4 miles! Is that your total distance?
Depending on the job clothes (suit/overalls,uniform) you could pack them in a bag,leave a set at work to change into.

Depends on your body and fitness as well. Some people sweat alot so they may need a shower, some may need just a quick wash and deodorant.

If you notice hushed tones when you walk into a room or people move away from you, you may need a full shower.

Avatar
gazza_d | 9 years ago
0 likes

You don't need a shower.

17 mile commute, with the last 5 mile mostly a steady climb. I cycle in lycra as I tend to hammer along at a brisk pace (for me).

Get to work, make a coffee & check emails whilst I cool down slightly.
Quickly get changed in the bog, wiping with cheap fragrance free baby wipes & hit the deodorant , before pulling on a clean shirt & duds. Never had a problem.

I would fall out of bed straight onto the bike, but I have to get the missus up & empty the dog before leaving.

I still hit the ground more alert than the people that have driven in though.

Avatar
matthewn5 | 9 years ago
0 likes

I ride 2 1/2 miles to work every day in work clothes. It's downhill mostly on the way there, that said I usually push the last mile and a half which is flat just for the fun of it. The trick is not to tuck your shirt in on the way in, so it doesn't get crumpled, and not to ride too hard.

On the way home it's uphill and I go as hard and fast as I can sometimes taking a longer route just for the joy of riding. It doesn't matter on the way home since the shirt goes in the wash and the trousers on the hanger as soon as I'm inside the door.

But really, if you ride to work the full 9 1/2 miles without pushing it you should be able to do 12-14mph which is about 45 minutes, not an hour, and that's not even pushing it. Over the winter months you won't tend to work up a sweat anyway when its colder. You'll get to enjoy the uphill on the way home as the best gym workout you can get, and it shouldn't take more than about 35 minutes if you hammer.

Avatar
Simon E | 9 years ago
0 likes

I started riding in the spring and didn't think I'd want to ride in winter but I couldn't give it up and go back to sitting in a queue in the tin box. When it was 5 miles I rode in t-shirt and cotton shorts or Ron Hill tracksters but not my work clothes. It's further now so I wear lycra and a brief sink wash is fine. As Chuck says, there's a whole industry trying to persuade us we smell bad solely to sell more toiletries.

Why not do it once a week in good weather? Shower and get your kit ready the night before, you can be out of the door in 10mins. Don't eat beforehand, nibble some dried apricots or a cereal bar mid-ride if you feel the need.

For 9 riding miles some non-flappy cycling clothing will be more comfortable and help you slice through the fresh morning air more easily. Once you're hooked you'll be timing yourself each day  3

Avatar
arfa | 9 years ago
0 likes

You have a shower there so that is a big plus.
Leave shoes, trousers/overwear/jacket etc permanently at work along with towel/shower/shaving/hygiene kit.
Pack your socks, kecks & clean shirt in small back pack the night before.
Set the alarm for 6am.
Fall out of bed, curse, grumble them curse again. Pick up bag, throw on cycling gear, throw leg over bike and head out. Start to feel better as you get moving and the blood flows through your body. Find your rythym, start to think about things you have to solve in the working day. Before you know it, you've arrived.
Park up bike, jump in shower scrub up and hit desk at 7am feeling awake, sharp and ready. Listen to your colleagues whining about how crape their commute was through the day and start to look forward to your journey home.
Cycle home at your own pace, in the happy knowledge it has cost you as close to zero as possible. Repeat at your leisure.
Pretty much how it is for me, mainly because I have a shower at work and really do not like the morning starts.
Good luck.

Avatar
Him Up North replied to arfa | 9 years ago
0 likes
arfa wrote:

Set the alarm for 6am.
Fall out of bed, curse, grumble them curse again. Pick up bag, throw on cycling gear, throw leg over bike and head out. Start to feel better as you get moving and the blood flows through your body. Find your rythym, start to think about things you have to solve in the working day. Before you know it, you've arrived.
Park up bike, jump in shower scrub up and hit desk at 7am feeling awake, sharp and ready. Listen to your colleagues whining about how crap their commute was through the day and start to look forward to your journey home.
Cycle home at your own pace, in the happy knowledge it has cost you as close to zero as possible. Repeat at your leisure.

If anyone wants to rustle up interest in their company's C2C scheme, email the above to all employees and stick a copy on the notice board too. Bloody brilliant.  41

Avatar
arfa replied to Him Up North | 9 years ago
0 likes

"If anyone wants to rustle up interest in their company's C2C scheme, email the above to all employees and stick a copy on the notice board too. Bloody brilliant. =D>[/quote]

I thank you sir, this routine has sort of kept me going for the last 20 years !

Avatar
glynr36 | 9 years ago
0 likes

I guess what you can do depends a lot on your employer.
Mine provides secure bike storage, so I leave my lock here.
I have a locker, so get the train on a Monday and bring all my clothes for the week. Showers here as well.
Laptop and paper work stay in the desk (I don't get paid enough to work outside my hours!), so all I need to cycle with each day is a musette with my lunch in.

Only a 5 mile commute, but I'd hate to do it in my work clothes.

Avatar
Chris James | 9 years ago
0 likes

We don't have a shower at my work, so I cycle in wearing work clothes. Just take it steady, particularly the last section of the commute (to allow you to cool down) and wear minimal clothing.

I do 10 miles a day, but with about 300m height gain it is a fairly tough 10 miles.

Avatar
andyp replied to Chris James | 9 years ago
0 likes
Chris James wrote:

I do 10 miles a day, but with about 300m height gain it is a fairly tough 10 miles.

Mixing imperial and metric units. Oh, the humanity.

Avatar
MuddyGoose | 9 years ago
0 likes

I do a car/bike commute. Due to the overall distance being 55 miles I've never gone the whole way (yet). I ride the last x miles depending on how far I fancy, weather, etc. I'm lucky work has showers though so I shower at work. Taking the place of the shower I would have had at home so no time lost.

I carry each day's clothes in a rucksack (just my preference) and leave a pair of shoes at work so I don't need to carry them. Then I ride in my bike gear and go fast. Also if I get wet it doesn't matter as my fresh clothes are in a dry bag.

Longest bike section of my commute so far was a 25 mile each way, which I've done a few times now. I have several options for parking the car, mostly on the road outside a village church/hall.

Avatar
farrell | 9 years ago
0 likes

Six and half miles each way, although coming home is usually a little longer, or faster, or both.

If it's dry then I'll just wear my jeans and a jersey then put on a shirt when I get to work. I've got a towel, wet wipes and deodorant at work and I usually leave a weeks worth of shirts once a week.

When the rain starts coming down again, I'll move back to lycra, purely because it dries quicker.

I always leave spare undercrackers and socks in my desk. There's nowt worse than having to sit round in damp trollies for a working day.

Avatar
bfslxo | 9 years ago
0 likes

i cycle 6 mile each way all year round & wear cycle clothes for it. I changed to a single speed 2 years back to add interest as it was so short  13 & also have a 'whore's bath' - never heard that expression, brillant  21
you would get used to 9 mile very very quickly & be loving it before no time.
It teaches you a lot about cycling generally as well as really loving any dry day no matter what season.
My buddy works shifts incl 5am starts & 1am finishes rotating every third week. he lives 15 miles away & does it all year round no matter what the weather (except ice/snow) he says it's a bit of a punch to the face during the hard winter but by fek he's a machine on the sunday runs due to it.
As the ad says 'just do it' the whole way you will not regret it

Avatar
farrell replied to bfslxo | 9 years ago
0 likes
bfslxo wrote:

& does it all year round no matter what the weather (except ice/snow)

That's where a mountain bike comes in handy. Get the knobbly tyres out and ride in to work and bask in smug glory as the drivers of 4x4s who have spent more on one tyre than your entire bike get stuck in the snow and can't make it in.

Avatar
Chuck | 9 years ago
0 likes

Contrary to (apparently) popular belief, you can get a bit of a sweat on in the mornings over a few miles without stinking out the whole office if you don't have a shower. I think a lot of people massively overestimate how much of a smelly mess they'll be- the deodorant industry to thank maybe?

A bigger caveat for me is comfort when I'm riding, and wearing holes in my trousers! So I do get changed even though I only do a short commute, but it's not really because of being cleaner at the end. Also I don't have to wear a suit so it's not really much hassle to shove a T-shirt and pair of trousers in my rucksack.

Avatar
notfastenough | 9 years ago
0 likes

I think your routine and prep is key here - 30 minutes at each end of the journey needs to shrink a bit, and as you get quicker you'll be able to cover the 9.5 miles more quickly. If your cycling kit (plus change of clothes, towel etc) is ready to go, you could probably fall out of bed at 5:45, out the door before 6, get there by 6:45, shower and change in 15 minutes.

Also, how much of the driven portion is spent in traffic? You may find that the whole journey on the bike is quicker than by car.

Avatar
stampz replied to notfastenough | 9 years ago
0 likes

Luckily its pretty traffic free....not sure if it means anything to anyone but..

Leamington to Coventry via Stoneleigh.

Avatar
bamilton wackad... | 9 years ago
0 likes

I might not be the most cost-effective way of doing things - but I got a Carradice Camper Long Flap and their SQR system to avoid having to use a rucksack and it makes my journey a lot more comfortable. Panniers would be another option depending on the bike.

Avatar
IngloriousLou | 9 years ago
0 likes

I should add that I shuttle my work clothes in on a Monday, home on a Friday. I take enough for the week in my rucksack and then enjoy 8 rucksack free commutes until it's time to lug it all home again.

Avatar
parksey | 9 years ago
0 likes

I do a mere 5 mile round trip most days of the week, but with one or two 17 mile trips thrown in depending on childcare arrangements.

Cycling kit is the way forward for me, mainly just cheap Decathlon/Aldi tops and bibs. I agree that the tops particularly can start to hum after just 2 or 3 days, but when they're a fiver each I can happily buy 5 and wear a clean one every day!

I did start out cycling in my work shirts and trousers, but they were just too restrictive to be comfortable, especially on a road bike. If you ride a hybrid or more relaxed style of bike, that'll be less of an issue.

Avatar
bamilton wackad... | 9 years ago
0 likes

Do the whole commute by bike I say. I reckon if you start driving part of the way and cycling the rest, you'll end up just wishing you'd cycled the whole way anyway. Once you get into it you'll start saving minutes here and there. There's no reason you can't leave the house for 6am and still be at your desk for 7am. If you take clean clothes with you, at least you won't be a sweaty and potentially soaking and oily mess when you get there.

I do about 8 miles each way to work. I leave the house at 8am and get to the office for about 8:40 once the bike is all locked up. That gives me more than enough time to have a shower, change and make a cup of tea before sitting at my desk for 9am. On top of that, my journey includes the joy of riding up through Camberwell, Oval and Westminster at rush hour. If you're cycling before 7am the roads will be much clearer for you - and you'll feel wide awake by the time you get there.

Avatar
IngloriousLou | 9 years ago
0 likes

Whore's bath!
Haven't heard that in years, love it  1

Avatar
bigshape | 9 years ago
0 likes

I do a 12 mile each way commute in full spandex and have a quick 'whore's bath' in the bogs with some of that muck-off dry shower stuff (we don't have showers...)
getting changed isn't really a big deal.

I try to go slower on the way in, then push a bit harder on the way home...

Avatar
IngloriousLou | 9 years ago
0 likes

Merino polo shirt, baggy shorts and padded undershorts work for me. I do about 15miles a day at a decent pace.

I used to commute in standard nylon kit, the same stuff I'd wear on a sunday club ride or for racing but any level of effort and the nylon kit reeks of sweat.

Merino kit doesn't get smelly and I wear my kit for 2 days before getting fresh stuff out of the drawer.

Avatar
Wookie | 9 years ago
0 likes

I start at 07:00 finish at 19:00 and ride 14 Miles each way.
Get on the bike and just do it  16

Avatar
Beatnik69 | 9 years ago
0 likes

I commute 8.5 miles by bike. I shower before I leave the house and ride reasonably hard (average speed is between 10 and 14 mph but that includes quite a few traffic light stops). I wear cycling clothes and when I get to work have a small towel in my bag to dry off then spray on some anti-perspirant. I have had no problems with body odour over the warm summer. If you fit panniers on the bike you won't even have to worry about getting a sweaty back from a backpack.

Avatar
Joeinpoole | 9 years ago
0 likes

The difference in time between cycling the entire journey and part/car/bike can only be about 15-20 mins. Without using the car you'll also be saving about another £10 per week too as cars are at their least fuel efficient when cold and on short journeys.

Personally I'd regard a 9.5 mile e/w commute on the bike as the perfect distance. You'll certainly get very fit and may well speed up quite a bit too.

Why not try it for a week or so (while the weather's still fine) and sees how you get on?

Btw, my father cycled 7 miles e/w to work in his suit for almost his entire working life until he finally learned to drive at the age of 55. He had his suits made-to-measure at Burton's with double-seat trousers to increase their longevity. Cycling in your work clothes was not unusual in the 70's (as indeed it still is in Denmark/Holland today). 'Cycling-specific clothing' for the non-professional rider is actually quite a recent phenomena.

Pages

Latest Comments