Comment 30735

By LL (registered) - website | Posted May 03, 2009 at 01:46:23

I wish I could find the link for you. But somebody makes garment bag / panniers for suits. They look pretty sweet and get great reviews.

In Europe (and increasingly in big cities in NA) the "city bike" is very common among white collar workers. A comfortable geometry and ample chain guards make these bikes suit friendly. Personally, I still opt for the road bike.

I'm a white-collar worker. I don't have to wear a suit, but I do wear dress pants, collared shirt, etc. A "pant strap" keeps the pants from getting greased.

I used to wear athletic gear and fold my work clothes carefully in my pannier. I still do that in the summer. But for the other three seasons, I've figured out it makes more sense for me to just wear the work clothes. I've been bike commuting long enough that I can ride fairly fast without working up a sweat. A microfibre undershirt and good (natural) deoderant means that my dress shirts can take multiple wears without a wash, even riding. (So much for the claim that cyclists are Luddites.)

I check the weather every day. I pretty much wear my waterproof/windbreaker every day, except in summer. But if it's going to be raining, I also take rain pants (over the dress pants)and booties (over the dress boots).

In the winter, you would be surprised how much a synthetic fibre ballaclava under the helmet and tights under the pants makes riding comfortable. (I would wear longjohns even if I wasn't riding.) And I can't stress enough: get a decent windbreaker.

It all sounds really complex. But it becomes second nature fairly quickly, just like the hassles of keeping a car on the road. I would say it's easier overall than car ownership, especially when you consider the portion of you wages / salary (representing time worked) that gets swallowed up by a car.

Plus, are you going on the highway? There's no way I would do that. You can't read, sleep, write a diary, blog. It's basically unpaid work.

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