# Starting to Commute to Work



## stunzeed (Jul 27, 2007)

I usually commute home from work 3-4 times a week during summer. I want to try and start riding to work 2-3 times a week and wanted to find out any tips you guys may have.

My commute is about 8 miles with about 900ft of climbing. I have a mid sized chrome backpack to carry my daily clothes in and plan to wear cycling clothes since I will be working up a sweat.

I won't be showering when I get to work, thinking to keep clean wash towels at work to clean off. I live in Portland,or so it will be cool most of the mornings but with the climbing I will be working up a sweat. 

Will wash towels and deodorant be enough? Not sure if it makes sense to shower before I ride to work or not also.


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## cparrish (Jun 21, 2010)

A couple of things I picked up over the last couple of years.

- baby wipes
- bring clothes and stash them on driving days.
- get a small desk fan cools you off when hot dries clothes when wet.
- mountain bike shoes
- thick skin depending on where you live / work.
- spare set of tools / tubes / floor pump at work.


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## brucew (Jun 3, 2006)

stunzeed said:


> Will wash towels and deodorant be enough? Not sure if it makes sense to shower before I ride to work or not also.


Shower first, wear clean kit, and the cleanup at work is easy.

I get to work a half-hour early which gives me 15 minutes to cool down, and 15 minutes to clean up and change. There's no point in cleaning up and changing until after I've cooled down.

I do a birdbath in the mens room sink--face, neck, arms, pits--with a fresh swipe of deodorant to finish. Co-workers appreciate it if I clean and dry the sink area when I'm done.


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## JCavilia (Sep 12, 2005)

It wouldn't work for me without a shower, but it may for you. As Bruce said, definitely shower before. That way you start with a minimal load of those sweat-eating odor-making bacteria.

And I'd seriously consider getting a rack and panniers. The backpack will make you sweatier.


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## InfiniteLoop (Mar 20, 2010)

Agree with above, no backpack, nothing in pockets, etc. Slowing down a bit can make a huge difference in the sweat. I can usually do something like you're talking about with no sweat, but that's on an upright city bike (more wind on you, less skin-skin wrinkles, slower, etc.). 

Be very cautious about sweating unless you normally sweat on your job. Most of us don't realize how bad we smell, but everyone around us does. Tell a couple of people you trust to please tell you if you're too sweaty. If you've told them and they know you might be expecting it then they'll likely oblige if necessary.


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## crossracer (Jun 21, 2004)

Awesome, great move. Try asking your employer if he/she/they could have a special place for you to change, shower/clean up. Alot of emplorers are supportive of this kinda activity. 

Bill


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## rideorglide (Dec 3, 2005)

cparrish said:


> A couple of things I picked up over the last couple of years.
> 
> - baby wipes
> - bring clothes and stash them on driving days.
> ...


Good one would not have thought of that, until it was too late.


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## kjdhawkhill (Jan 29, 2011)

Cooling down the last mile or two should help, but if the climbing finishes the ride, I'm not sure how well it might work for you. Try unzipping your jersey with 5 minutes to go and zipping up just before your coworkers see you. 

I'm one of the fortunate ones with a shower, but sometimes in the summer I still can't cool down. I've found a lightweight wool undershirt wicks well enough without stinking to mitigate some of the extra heat I face here after a hard ride in. They are expensive, but worth it when its hot and I'm having trouble reducing my core temperature.

I think your commute distance is quite workable for an inbound trip in all but the worst conditions you can expect in Portland, even without a shower. Take the extra time to cool down while moving on the bike if you can, bird bath it if you have to and mask it with an extra bit of cologne or scented stick deodorant if you must.


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## dirttorpedo (Feb 20, 2009)

I commute 12 season in BC, Canada, so probably similar weather - little colder and wetter in the winter I imagine. I worked for close to a decade at a place with no showers and I tend to sweat a lot riding (generally I go all out). I found sponge bathing in the bathroom sink wasn't enough. I used a perineum wash my wife gave me - it helped a bit, but left some sticky residue which sucked. I didn't use baby wipes, but I think they would be much better. I found the whole cool down period the biggest issue - I was so hot it took me close to 1 hour to cool down. Somedays I would work in my bike shorts/t-shirt until I cooled down and then change. 

Another strategy is to ride slowly and dress very light to minimize how much you sweat - I used this recently when our office showers were being renovated. It works fairly well.


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## skepticman (Dec 25, 2005)

Have seen this product called Rocket Shower before, but have not used it myself since my commute is under 3 miles.

Rocket Shower spray body cleaner-Get Clean When You Can't Shower- 10nine8


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## shoemakerpom2010 (Apr 25, 2011)

Things that I learned doing this for more then 3 years:

1. Cheap fan to cool dry clothes and shoes if it rains if you can.
2. Good moisture wicking shirt on the way in and don't go hard if the temp in work is in the 70's:
3. Give yourself 30 min or more to change and cool down.
4. Always shower before work with a clean kit if possible if not at least the shirt.
5. Never use backpack (they make your back sweat) if you can and get a rack with a bag and panniers if posssible.
6. As somebody mentioned pump, spare tube, charged phone.
7. a plan to get home some other way should your bike become inoperable.


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## saf-t (Sep 24, 2008)

15 years of bike commuting here.

A small fan over your desk is worth its weight in gold.
Extra clothes at work limits the need to bring stuff with you- you can swap stuff out on days that you drive.
Never schedule a meeting immediately after your expected arrival time.
After a relatively short period of time, your coworkers will no longer think you're nuts- you'll just be the bicycle guy.
What brucew said.


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## goodwij (Sep 15, 2008)

I also do not have a shower at work but do have an office. I keep shoes, baby wipes, body powder and hair brush in a desk so I don't have to carry so much. I generally arrive an hour before everybody else and take 30 minutes to do some paperwork while I cool down. Then its off to the bathroom to wipe down and change. I second the suggestion of the backpack, I did this for two years and was always sweaty. Now everything I need goes in my Caradice saddle bag.


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## whatthefunk (Apr 15, 2012)

Id pretty much agree with all that has been said. I dont have a shower at work, so I get there a bit early, cool down for a few minutes and then head to the bathroom. I pack a couple hand towels. i use one to sponge myself off and the other to dry off. Then I put on a fresh coat of deodorant and change clothes. I feel pretty good after all this.

I would also definitely agree with the mountain bike shoes. Theyre much better to commute in and you wont rip up the flooring in your office.

Id also add that it is very important to do regular maintance on your bike if you want to commute. Getting halfway to work and breaking down is not good at all. I do a quick tire, brake and drive train check every weekend and lube up at least every other week.


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## tom93r1 (Jul 19, 2009)

The fan blowing me after a hot ride in to work was an incredibly amazing decision. I agree with all the other suggestions including panniers, mtb shoes, and all that, but the fan is like a piece of paradise at my desk.


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## Scott B (Dec 1, 2004)

Given that you're in Portland: fenders. Even in summer I always kept my fenders on my commuter bike. Portland is a great city to ride in and most work places already have a bike commuter or two, which helps with the "you rode a bike?" questions.

I find that a washcloth, a quick towel off and some deodorant leaves me presentable. This assumes a change of clothes.

The other comments are also excellent. Lots of good advice here.


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## dirttorpedo (Feb 20, 2009)

Another thought is about clothes - I tried to limit the amount of clothing I carried and would cycle through a couple of sets of pants/shirts at work over a week. I found the shirts became pretty stale if I wasn't showering after my ride. Definitely bring clean clothes regularly if you can't shower fully - just try to keep bulky things you don't wearn next to your skin like shoes & belts at work. Also keep any toiletries there too to ease your load.


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## JCavilia (Sep 12, 2005)

dirttorpedo said:


> Another thought is about clothes - I tried to limit the amount of clothing I carried and would cycle through a couple of sets of pants/shirts at work over a week. * I found the shirts became pretty stale if I wasn't showering after my ride.* Definitely bring clean clothes regularly if you can't shower fully - just try to keep bulky things you don't wearn next to your skin like shoes & belts at work. Also keep any toiletries there too to ease your load.


A word: Febreze.


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## Scott B (Dec 1, 2004)

What you need depends on where you work, but I generally keep a suit, 2 pairs of dress pants, a couple of dress shits, belt, shoes and 1-2 ties in my office. Most days I bring in a fresh shirt, socks, etc. It's not too much of a load. I end up driving once every week or two due to meetings and I'll bring most things then.

For riding stuff I also keep an old rain jacket, spare fleece and some extra long underwear for changes of weather.


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## orange57 (Feb 17, 2013)

Good info here. I'm looking into starting to commute on a bike as well and am also looking for tips from others. 

matt


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## Mr Pink57 (Mar 30, 2011)

My work is kind to me. We have lockers so I keep a work weeks worth of socks and underwear there then just stuff it in my bag on Friday to take home. I have a work shirt so no need to pack that plus they wash them for us. I get to wear jeans so I keep all 3 at work then just stuff those in my bag. We have to keep humidity strict so we literally have these mister fans all over the place that I just stand under to cool down. I do not have to comb my hair as I always have hat hair until about noon. And they let me keep my bike in the warehouse so no worries there.

Now on to things to wear. I recommend wools since they do not stink and can usually get by about 5 days before a wash is needed. They can hold about 30% of their weight in water before becoming damp or heavy (random showers). But keep any and everything you can at work to reduce your load, I ride a cross bike to work that does not have mounts so I have a backpack but only need it on Friday the rest of the week anything I need is in a frame bag.

Keep a few bike things at work as recommended earler.


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## Mag1973 (Mar 2, 2013)

I too, have started to commute to work on a road bike. I am sure this question has been answered in the past but I would like to know if I am able to put a larger tire on the rims I have. I am presently running 700c x 25 tires and would like to move up to a x 28 tire. I ride on a variety of terrain from road to bike trail but none of these roads are real smooth, i.e. rough and large cracks in the surface. I am always worried that I am either going to split the tube or "taco" the rim leaving me pushing the bike somewhere along my 14 mile one way commute.


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## wooglin (Feb 22, 2002)

Mag1973 said:


> I too, have started to commute to work on a road bike. I am sure this question has been answered in the past but I would like to know if I am able to put a larger tire on the rims I have. I am presently running 700c x 25 tires and would like to move up to a x 28 tire. I ride on a variety of terrain from road to bike trail but none of these roads are real smooth, i.e. rough and large cracks in the surface. I am always worried that I am either going to split the tube or "taco" the rim leaving me pushing the bike somewhere along my 14 mile one way commute.


The rims are rarely an issue. The question you should be asking is how much clearance do you have between the fork and the front tire (especially the top of the tire where it goes under the fork)? If the 25s fit pretty comfortably then 28s probably won't be an issue. You could also buy a cheap 28mm tire (or see if someone you know has one lying around) and try it. 

And also check for possible clearance issues with the back tire, of course.


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## kikoraa (Jul 19, 2012)

I work in landscaping so a wet-ones wipe down and fresh deodorant are enough for me. Definitely ditch the backpack and get a rack/panniers. I ride clipless and in cycle gear and stick all of my work gear in the panniers. I have a frame bag for ease of reach for tools, phone, wallet, ect I have about a 24 mile round trip and I sweat if im just walking around in the summer. Just how my body is. Make sure to allow ample time to cool down and stop sweating before you put on the nice clothes.


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