Biking to work?

I had a friend that would bring several suits to work and store them in his office. He would then ride to work, change in his office. On hot days he would bring wipes to wash with.

Mike

Well, I very rarely wear a suit and tie to work I'm not sure that if I had to be THAT dressy, I could ride to work very frequently. But for my semi-dressy workplace, I do ride. I ALWAYS have a spare outfit at my office. If you get caught in the rain, it will splatter right up your backside. Oh so charming - NOT. My husband leaves a jacket and tie hanging in his office, figuring that he can become dressed up if it becomes necessary. But that may not be dressy enough for your workplace.

Andrea

I've been commuting to work on my bike for over thirty years. for the last 20 or so years, I have been wearing suits to work or actually, slacks, shirt, tie, and sports coat. I leave a sports coat, a few pair of slacks and a few pair of shoes in the office all the time. When I leave home in the morning, I put on my cycling outfit and pack my backpack. In the backpack I put a rolled up pair of short slacks (if you roll your clothes up it will not get wrinkled), socks, underwear, a fresh shirt which I also roll, and a tie. When I get to work, depending on which building I am currently assigend, I will strip down and either take a shower or was myself by the sink in the washroom. This morning I came in during a thunderstorm and it was pouring. I packed as usual but I put everything into two plastic bags inside the backback and all my clothes is nice and dry. My cycling outfit is drying off on the furnitue in an empty office next to mine.

I really would like to bike to work (only 6 miles), but I'm terrified of being in the traffic. There are no bike lanes in this part of the world. I could ride on the sidewalk for part of it, but other times, I'd have to be riding on the road with little or no paved shoulder. I don't think I could ride faster than 15 mph the whole way either. It's also fairly congested. What are your rides like?

I'd love to ride the 11 miles to work too, but I get out of work at 1:00 AM and am not willing to mix it up with the drunk drivers on my way home at that time in the morning. Talk about a challenge!

Max

I rode to work all last year and will starting again in September. The last place I had a shower so I just got ready for work after arriving - rolled my clothes and carried them with me. This next place there won't be a shower, so I'll probably have to go with the sink bath and leaving clothes at work. Query: how do you ride to work without sweating?? Whatever the weather I'm always soaked, and I'm not a super heavy sweater.

You can kit out your bike to make things easier for yourself: fenders, horn, panniers, mirror, etc. I've ridden in heavy downtown traffic and you learn how to make yourself visible. Don't cling to the edge of the road or the curb. Get right out there, where they have to slow down and change lanes to get around you! If they honk - well, I know my response to that, but you may be more of a lady than I am. They're our roads too.

OK you've inspired me. I'm going to start biking to work. It's about 14 miles each way but luckily there is a city trail that goes all the way. I don't have to go through traffic if I don't want to. I'm going to time the ride this weekend. Gotta' date with a MB! And we'll see. Also my job has showers, locker rooms etc., which no one uses so it'll be like home sweet home anyway! Oh, sorry, no advice for you on the suit and tie. Why not just pack it, wear your cycling stuff and change at work? Ovetta.

Whit… In order to ride in traffic, you have to be visible…that means lots of colours and in their face. Stay far away from curbs and STAY OFF THE SIDEWALKS, they ares far more dangerous than riding on the road!

CllinIA…. how do you ride to work without sweating? You ride in your car or on the bus! If you ride a bike, it is impossible not to sweat.

Where do you leave your bike during work? I would love to bike to work but don't want to leave my bike on the bike rack a block away from my building. I know some buildings have bike rooms-- I will have to check that out. And there's no way my boss would let me keep it in the office, let alone bring it up the elevator.

Do you think that leaving it on a bike rack in downtown San Francisco would be safe? Lots of people around to notice if someone was messing with it, but still...

My old office had a bike rack inside the building's secure parking garage. I didn't even have to lock it. Even if there's no obvious place to store your bike, ask if there's not a maintenance or storage room where you can keep it. Usually there's somewhere safer and better protected from the elements than the outside rack.

I would love to bike to work, but I think the 65 miles I commute each way is a little much.

Bill

I don't think that's going to work for me. There's only 2 lanes in each direction and the traffic is heavy in the direction I'd be going. If I took up one of those two lanes, I'd piss off a lot of people and make myself a major target.

Maybe I can find a back route that runs through neighborhoods. There'd be a lot less traffic which would then allow people to pass me as necessary.

LUCKY!

I wish I had a safe trail to ride on.

thanks for the info.  Saw my office today and it has a nice place for my new bike.  Now if I can get over my tendonitus.