Choosing your cycle route
Even when facilities are provided, some cyclists prefer not to have to change their clothes when they get to work. Sometimes it’s just not practical. For example, if you have to attend a morning meeting at an office just a few blocks away from your workplace and decide to cycle straight there, you will want to be able to walk from the cycle rack to the meeting room without making any adjustments other than putting your cycle helmet in your backpack or cycle carrier. Even if you rarely attend meetings away from the office, you may still not want the bother of having to change your clothes when you arrive at your destination. One of the tricks to arriving feeling fresh and looking professional, is to make your ride in as effortless as possible. While what you wear is important, how you get there is too. Take the easiest route you know. This isn’t necessarily the shortest route, but often the one with the flattest terrain. Some of the most stylish cyclists in the world can be found in Amsterdam. It’s very rare that you see anyone riding in Lycra in the cycling capital of the world. These commuters cycle in their everyday business attire. And they’re able to arrive at work looking polished because they don’t ride up hills (admittedly, they’re lucky enough to live in a city that’s very flat). So do as the commuters in Amsterdam do and cycle leisurely if you want a perspiration-free commute to work.
Another trick to arriving at work looking as though you’ve done little more than ride the elevator to your desk is to equip your bike with a device of some sort to enable you to carry what you need on your bike rather than on your person. This is especially important if you want a crease-free shirt; there’s nothing that’s going to ruin a freshly ironed shirt quicker than a heavy backpack thrown on top of it. A basket on the front of your bike will work but whatever you put in it may not be that secure (it’s likely to jump out should you ride over any bumps). Furthermore, a basket doesn’t provide any protection from the rain (unless it’s covered), and it’s a difficult look to carry off unless you’re an elderly spinster cycling in 1940s England. A much better option is to get a simple rack fitted to the back of your bike and fix carriers (panniers) to it. You can get one or two depending on how much you need to transport. If you’re going to be carrying a lot of items, it’s probably best to get two to even up the load (a bike can be difficult to manage, not to mention a little dangerous to ride, if there’s a considerable weight on only one side of it). These carriers can be easily and quickly lifted off and carried around with you. They come in various shapes and sizes, some of which are very smart looking and similar in design to a brief case. A good quality carrier will be made from durable, waterproof material and have some sort of reflective device fitted to it to help other road users see you in the dark.
As for clothing, wear multiple layers of loose-fitting items which you can take off and put back on depending on how warm or cool you get. If you’re wearing pants, use cycle clips to prevent the hems getting covered in grease or caught in your cycle chain. Make sure no item of clothing is flapping about as you cycle (e.g. an unzipped jacket), because if any part of it gets caught by another vehicle, the consequences might not be too good.
Read more: Necessities for your cycle commute
Work facilities for the cycling commuter
Before you start mapping out your cycle route, find out what facilities your employer offers in the way of showers and change areas. If you’re going to be cycling only a very short distance, and will have a relatively leisurely commute to work, then you probably won’t need much in the way of change facilities – you’ll be able to just park your bike and walk to your desk fresh as a daisy. However, if you don’t want to cycle in your workplace clothes, then you will need at least somewhere to change. While it’s easy to change in the washroom, it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to keep your cycling clothes in there, which means that you’ll have to pack them up and take them with you to your desk. It’s much more convenient if there’s a change area where you can safely leave your clothes ready for when you change back into them for the return ride home.
Some employers are a little more enlightened than others and encourage their employees to use environmentally friendly modes of transport for commuting, such as cycling, and to this end offer their employees full facilities, which usually include a change area, and showers. This makes life very easy for the cycling commuter as she can shower once at work after her ride in, thereby not only saving her blouse from getting all sweaty and creased, but also saving on her household water bill.
As an aside, if there are no showering facilities where you work, you might want to draw your employer’s attention to the importance, and benefits, of encouraging employees to leave their cars at home and take alternative modes of transport to work. One way an employer can do this is by offering adequate facilities (e.g. showers and change areas for those people who wish to cycle, run, or even walk). The very least an employer can do for those members of the workforce who wish to cycle is to provide a safe and protected area in which to store bicycles. It’s difficult for an employer to refuse such a request given the need to reduce our collective carbon footprint, which we can do by using less motorized transport. Not only that, but any employer worth their salt will recognize that healthy employees (those that exercise for example) tend to have fewer days off work because of illness. Furthermore, if there’s limited car parking at your workplace, then this is yet another good reason for your organization to offer its workforce cycling facilities.
Read more: planning your route
Dealing with the weather on your cycle commute
There’s no getting away from it, at some point every cyclist has to deal with the weather. The rain is most cyclists’ number one weather foe. Some cyclists deal with it by not cycling in it; others deal with it by dressing appropriately, gritting their teeth, and peddling through it. If you want to join the latter camp, then you need to buy good waterproof apparel. While the commuting cyclist can, in the main, get away with wearing his or her everyday clothes to ride to the office in, when it comes to dealing with inclement weather, clothing that’s been designed and manufactured specifically for cyclists is the better option. For example, a jacket designed to be worn when cycling will be longer at the back than the front. This is so that when you’re bent forward cycling and the jacket rides up your body, your lower back won’t be exposed to the elements. Similarly, a good quality waterproof cycling jacket will not only prevent you from getting wet, but will wick moisture away from your body when it starts heating up so you’re not left sweaty, and will be equipped with ventilation zips to help keep you cool. As with cycle carriers, most cycling clothing is designed with reflective piping to help you stay visible when it gets dark. Waterproof and windproof jackets and pants can be folded up and stored in your carrier for use in bad weather.
One item of cycling apparel that’s especially useful if you’re cycling any real distance is a pair of padded tights or shorts. These are made from Lycra and fitted with padding in the seat to provide comfort and cushioning when in the saddle. These are particularly useful for the cyclist who sometimes finds that riding leaves him or her feeling a little numb in the derriere.
While you can quite happily cycle in your regular working clothes or leisure wear, good performance cycling apparel will last longer, make your ride more comfortable, and protect you better. And there’s no need to worry about looking as though you’re competing in the Tour de France (you should be so lucky!); most cycling clothing is discreet without flashy logos or symbols.
If you want to buy good quality cycling apparel, some brands to look out for are Altura, Campagnolo, Descente, and Pearl Izumi.
Read more: work facilities for cycle commuters
The cycling commuter
The recession, global warming, or your ever increasing waistline… whatever your reason for wanting to trade in your four wheels for two and start cycling to work, don’t wait any longer. Ask anyone who’s recently made the switch and they will tell you that they wish they had done it sooner. There could be one small aspect of cycling to work that’s holding you back though – the thought of how you’ll look, and feel, once you get to your desk after cycling the four or five miles to the office. Some people never get to reap the many benefits of commuting to work by bike because they believe that it’s impossible to do so without having to spend their day feeling sticky and uncomfortable, in clothes that are creased and grubby. But all it takes is a little know-how and that can easily be avoided.
Read more: Dealing with the weather
