Looking Smart and Commuting on Bike

nickl360

Hello all,

I work in an office and appearance is quite important when meeting customers. How do you guys work your commuting routine to ensure you stay looking smart?

I don't want a creased shirt from stuffing it in my bag in the morning.

Cheers,

beancounter

Leave office clothes in office.

Cycle to office in cycling clothes.

Change into office clothes in office.

Simples.

bc

p.s. strictly speaking only works every 4 days out of 5

bromyG

nickl360 wrote:

I don't want a creased shirt from stuffing it in my bag in the morning.

I leave my suits in the office and just carry my shirts in when required. The answer here is don't just 'stuff' them in your bag; fold them carefully, pack your bag carefully and they will arrive in good condition!

BromyG

rhext

Fold shirts carefully, put socks/underwear on top, then tightly roll shirt round socks/underwear. If they're well ironed to start with they will not look crumpled when you get to work. Leave suit in the office. If you need to change trousers, then rolling them around shirt/socks works well too.

madtam

Careful packing is all that's required.
It's pretty much the same as packing for an overnight trip abroad where you are taking carry on luggage only.
I always roll rather than fold and that keeps creases where you want but avoids those where you don't.
Lay trousers flat in their creases and then roll up from the bottom to the waist band.
Shirts should be folded in half by holding the centre rear of the collar and pulling the sleeve cuffs together at the back, then lay them down and fold the two sleeves ontop of the main shirt body. One fold of the collar at an angle allows you to start rolling the collar into the centre of the shirt (not too tightly).
Jackets can be done the same as shirts but thicker materials and padded shoulders can make this quite difficult.
Ties can either be rolled or you can get away with perhaps double folding as this doesn't seem to leave a crease anyway.
Shoes in a separate bag uppers together but reversed and if you stuff underwear and socks inside each one it can help to stop them being crushed and creasing.

If you can, then stashing shoes and jackets at work saves weight and bulk, but trousers and shirts are simple enough.

I find it comes second nature to me now and for several years I used a small backpack to carry clothes a laptop (and charger) tools, pump, spare tube etc as well as my lunch. The clothes had to be packed pretty small but I don't think I ever had a problem with them getting creased. I always put them in a plastic carrier or similar as well to avoid them getting wet if it was raining.

Gizmo_

Wear a thin jumper over your shirt. I've been doing it for years and it avoids all that pesky ironing

MadGarlic

same here commuting in cycling clothes and changing at work, got my uniform dry cleaned there as well so no problem.Sometimes happens that I have to bring shirt so I'll wear it as a 2/3 layer right under my jacket ...

dincost

I change in the "office clothes" when I get to the work.And of course, a shower

4biaggi

Hi, i'm driving my car once a week , bring fresh office clothes and going back home with dirty ones. It is my easy day...

The other 4 days, i commute with cycling clothes and take a shower. When going back home, the length of my commute depends on my form; 8, 21, 31, sometimes 45 miles. Relatively new to cycling, i've discovered that selecting clothes depends heavily on the temperature and other meteo conditions. I really enjoy commuting, but i enjoy the car day as well ...

MichaelW

Use easy-care smart shirts, they crease less than std cotton ones. M&S are always bringing out high tech cotton materials. Rohan style business travel shirts are very good.
Use a generous sized bag so you don't have to stuff things tight.
Roll or fold.

nickl360

Thanks for the tips guys.

I'm lucky as I have a locker and showers at work and it's only a 3 mile ride. Towel, trousers, shoes, laptop are left at work. Just carried some boxers, socks and a clean shirt in a waterproof rucksack (that's actually my laptop bag provided by work - bonus!) on my Boardman Urban Team R. If I didn't have this pesky outside of my right knee pain I'd extend the ride home (any tips for what this might be?!).

Clothes were suitably rolled and laptop locked in the office draw, no creases so a good start. Roll on the good weather and fitter me!

corshamjim

On my four mile commute, the difference in time between pottering along at an easy pace and riding hard is so small it's never worth pushing it only to need a shower when I get there, so I don't and simply wear my work clothes on the bike.

nickl360

True. I showered at work purely to save money at home... pikey but true.

I'll need to get the front derailiuer to shift up to the top crank as it wouldn't do it this morning, been fine since I've had it but just wouldn't move up on the way in. I assume it's down to the cable tension.

seanorawe

We dont have a shower in work, but its only a 3.5 mile ride and reasonably flat with downhils. So I just put a change in my bag. Walking in to the office in my shorts attracts some attention.

jefflad

Madtam nailed it... rolling clothes is your friend.