# Commuting to work with your bike? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 8, 2013, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commuting-to-work-with-your-bike/660491 "2013-06-08T19:05:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Busy\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d78d45/32.png) [@Busy\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Busy_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2013, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commuting-to-work-with-your-bike/660491/21 "2013-06-10T10:39:30Z")
I commute by bike and likely always will, but it is made to measure for my circumstances - mild climate (UK), I’m bike fit and there is no formal dress code where I work. Hot climate, needing to look smart for work would put a different complexion on things. Still eminently doable, but you need to be v organised with your clothes portage and change routine. The linked article in the OP is spot on - people have actually said to me how noble it is to cycle to work (usually the older generation), as if a sacrifice of some kind is being made. You couldn’t pay me to drive to work. Get signed up to strava for added interest on the commute. ETA - I also have a bike shed with swipe card access at my workplace - are you sorted for somewhere to keep the bike? This can be a big difference maker, not having to worry about theft, cycling with a big lock etc. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2013, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commuting-to-work-with-your-bike/660491/22 "2013-06-10T11:48:02Z")
I keep all my work clothing at work except underwear, of which I take in a bagful once a week or so. I have a service that collects all my shirts from work and washes and irons them and brings them back. Only costs me about $15 a week. They do dry cleaning also. ---
**Author:** ![Pixel\_Dent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bc8723/32.png) [@Pixel\_Dent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pixel_Dent)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2013, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commuting-to-work-with-your-bike/660491/23 "2013-06-10T14:41:28Z")
> [@Aspidistra](#): > > If it’s close enough that the bike trip takes about the same time as the car trip, how sweaty are you really going to get? You don’t have to ride hell-for-leather, after all. Humidity can make a huge difference. I went out for my ride yesterday and while the temperature was only in the low 80’s F, the humidity was around 85%. I was pouring sweat by the end of the driveway. ---
**Author:** ![AnaMen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dfb087/32.png) [@AnaMen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnaMen)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2013, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commuting-to-work-with-your-bike/660491/24 "2013-06-10T15:37:06Z")
Perhaps there is a gym located near your work and you can join to use their shower. ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2013, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commuting-to-work-with-your-bike/660491/25 "2013-06-10T17:10:57Z")
Cold tap water on your head and neck for about a minute tricks your body in to stopping sweating much faster, I’ve found. I second the CO2 cartridges for flats. They work great, and fast! ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2013, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commuting-to-work-with-your-bike/660491/26 "2013-06-10T17:38:24Z")
I used to at a previous job. Take clothes in one one day, leave them & bike on other days. Shower at home before you go; even in the summer, it’s usually not too hot/humid in the morning. Back your pace down the last two miles or so so you’re not too hot & sweaty when you get off the bike. Go into the bathroom, take a quick ‘paper towel bath’ at the sink & get changed in the stall. Remember to keep an extra deodorant in your bag. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2013, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commuting-to-work-with-your-bike/660491/27 "2013-06-10T17:54:44Z")
A couple more thoughts: A ‘birdbath’ at the bathroom sink can be enough clean-up for a lot of people. Run a wet washcloth over your face and pits, towel dry, and you’re good to go. (I sweat like a pig, so I shower at work). You don’t necessarily have to bring a full repair kit every day. If there’s bus or subway between you and work, that can be a flat-tire/breakdown option: when you get a flat, lock your bike up, hop on the bus, and come back after work (either ride the bus out with a patch kit, or take your car there and throw the bike on a rack to bring it home). Heck, in this cell-phone world, you can even just call a cab if you break down. (I’ve put my bike with the front wheel off in the trunk of a cab before, but that was an old-school monster sized cab; probably not an option with the newer ones). And for avoiding semis, read Bicycling Street Smarts: [Bicycling Street Smarts - Table of Contents](http://www.bikexprt.com/streetsmarts/usa/index.htm) ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2013, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commuting-to-work-with-your-bike/660491/28 "2013-06-10T18:27:29Z")
**Princhester** and **Spiderman** have your answer. Drive to work Monday and take an extra suit jacket, pants and a couple of shirts with you. Bike in Tuesday - Thursday, changing at the office. Drive in Friday, retrieve clothing. Start all over again the next week. With a good selection of shirts and ties, you can avoid having to store too many suits at the office and won’t look like a drone while you do it. ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2013, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commuting-to-work-with-your-bike/660491/29 "2013-06-11T15:33:49Z")
A couple more tips. Purchase a little desk fan to cool off in the morning. Also, be prepared for a change in mood. Have a bad day at work? Ride hard on the way home. It does wonders. Have a good day at work? Take a scenic route home, or at least take a way you’ve never taken before. ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commuting-to-work-with-your-bike/660491/30 "2013-06-13T17:52:15Z")
Do any of you commute-to-work-by-bike bikers live in Florida? Because I live about a half-mile from my office and the reason I don’t walk or ride my bike to work is because it is that bloody hot. This morning, it was 85º on my back porch when I let the dog out – that was at 7:00a.m. Currently (mid-day) it’s 96º. I can’t see riding or walking in this heat without being completely dripping with sweat by the time I got to work. Hell, I get pretty sweaty in my five minutes in the car! Couple that with daily afternoon rain/thunderstorms, and I just don’t understand how Floridians do such things. There does happen to be a shower stall here at work, in the men’s bathroom (which wouldn’t bother me, but none of the men would be allowed in there while I’m showering), but again, I can’t see the sense of getting up, taking a shower, going for a sweat ride, and then showering again or just showering for the first time \*at \*work. Doesn’t make sense to me from a practical standpoint. If you live in a more temperate climate than this, it looks really appealing. But I don’t want to get ready for work twice just to save a few pennies on gas. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commuting-to-work-with-your-bike/660491/31 "2013-06-13T18:15:40Z")
> [@gracer](#): > > Just stop treating it as a sport and more like walking. You don’t have a problem walking in a suit, do you? 😛 Sometimes, yes. I’m from a cold climate…if it’s above 75, and I have on more than one layer, I’l be sweating after walking maybe just half a mile, and I’m not out of shape or anything. My body just gets really hot, really fast. ☹ I have an ex-girlfriend that called me a human blast furnace when we shared a bed. ---
**Author:** ![actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/actualliberalnotoneofthose)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commuting-to-work-with-your-bike/660491/32 "2013-06-13T19:03:37Z")
I feel like biking should be a sort of simplification, but this sounds like a lot of complication-for what, exactly? ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2013, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commuting-to-work-with-your-bike/660491/33 "2013-06-13T21:27:23Z")
> [@Dogzilla](#): > > Do any of you commute-to-work-by-bike bikers live in Florida? > > \ > > I can’t see the sense of getting up, taking a shower, going for a sweat ride, and then showering again or just showering for the first time \*at \*work. I’m here in S. Florida. If I’m biking to work, I don’t shower before I leave the house. I just shower the one time, at the office. But yeah..I don’t do it when I expect thunderstorms, which rules out most of the summer. Or when I have a broken toe, which also seems to be ruling out a good chunk of the summer. ---
**Author:** ![Jake\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Jake\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake_Jones)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2013, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commuting-to-work-with-your-bike/660491/34 "2013-06-14T03:00:51Z")
> [@gracer](#): > > I live in the Netherlands, where everyone wears a suit on their bike to work. We make fun of people who need to wear silly costumes to get on a bicycle. Chill out and hop on your bike. Our prime ministers do, business execs do, everyone. Just cycle whatever speed is comfortable. Wear deodorant, and if you sweated a tiny bit you’ll be fine. The last few minutes, go slow to cool down so you arrive all nice and relaxed. > > Here is what Dutch people look like. If a whole country manages to do it, I’m sure you can too 😉 Did it not occur to you that there are fundamental differences in commuting by bicycle in a place where the “whole country manages to do it” compared to a place where commuting by bicycle is exceedingly rare? I put on a “silly costume” for several reasons related to comfort, efficiency and safety. > [@](#): > > Just stop treating it as a sport and more like walking. You don’t have a problem walking in a suit, do you? 😛 If I limited my effort to that of walking it would probably take me 3-4 hours each way. The elevation changes over 13 miles result in a speed range of about 6-30mph with an average speed of roughly 13mph. In other words, the experience of commuting by bicycle in the Netherlands is nowhere near universal. Also, your bikes look silly. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2013, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commuting-to-work-with-your-bike/660491/35 "2013-06-14T03:14:01Z")
[Amusing bike-commuting incident](http://notalwaysworking.com/putting-your-shoes-in-your-mouth/30447) from [Not Always Working](http://notalwaysworking.com/). ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2013, 9:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commuting-to-work-with-your-bike/660491/36 "2013-06-14T09:02:45Z")
To add to the pile on: > [@gracer](#): > > Just stop treating it as a sport and more like walking. You don’t have a problem walking in a suit, do you? 😛 Yes, yes I do. For about six months of the year, walking more than a few hundred yards (perhaps less) in a suit is highly uncomfortable here. And riding a bike in a suit more so. Brisbane is both hot and hilly. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commuting-to-work-with-your-bike/660491.md?page=1)