If you ride to work, what do you wear?

[RhythmsDJs]

I just wondering, since I'm now closer to my job I'd like to start riding more. However, it's a pain to pack my shoes/khaki's/brush and stuff in my tankbag to make myself look presentable for work. I wear my leather jacket, helmet, gloves, boots and jeans. What do you wear? Have you found anything that works well for pants that look like Khaki's but offer protection and are comfortable for work? What about boots? We have to wear business casual and I'm just looking for ideas to make it easier to ride to work.

[brentsR6]

what about those riding pants that go over your normal pants?

[stinky93071]

Riding pants on the way in khakis under them shoes under desk change when I get here still working on the helmet hair thing, best so far is brush and hair spry in desk and fix it when I get to here. Take about 10 mins to get changed and ready to go to work. Everyone here know I ride so its not that big deal for me.

[TheSollyLama]

a$$less chaps.



No really, I wear my regular work clothes plus my helmet, leather jacket, and gloves. Same as I do everytime I ride. My work clothes are dress clothes, but really no worse than the levi's I normally wear to ride.

[Neverlose]

yea I'm in that boat with ya dude. I bring everything with me. Sometimes I just wear the khakis and say fuck it, that way I jus need to bring a change of shoes. Problem I have is in traffic above 80 wearing the leather, but never getting above 50 except for short bursts, when I get into work i'm soaked. Luckily I have a buzz cut so i don't need to worry about my hair.

i always just think it looks gay riding a bike with khakis or slacks.

[freeride]

Save up some cash and buy an oversuit. Fieldsheer and Alpinestars make a cheaper one, and Aerostich makes an amazing one, but be prepared to pay $1000 for it. Once you've got one, you'll never want to live without it again.

[japbike]

since most of my jobs are at job sites, of course I wear jeans, but even going to see the Lawyer or my CPA, I just put the luggage on her, and change when I get there

[FastEddie]

Originally Posted by freeride

Save up some cash and buy an oversuit. Fieldsheer and Alpinestars make a cheaper one, and Aerostich makes an amazing one, but be prepared to pay $1000 for it. Once you've got one, you'll never want to live without it again.

Thumbs up for the Aerostich, I've have a two piece one for 11 years and never had a problem with it. They are not cheap but they last.

So far I paid $597 for mine plus $50 to have them alter it for my long legs and had if for 11 years...lets see $647 divided by 11 thats $58 a year for protection from skin grafts, good deal if you ask me.

The great thing is you just pull it over your street clothes.

[ThumpDaddy]

I wear my work uniform with my jacket, gloves helmet. and boots. My job doesn't really care what you have on your feet.

[slingblade]

I used to have to just wear a polo & jeans. I didn't sweat much on the way to work with my jacket on. The way home didn't matter because, well, it was the way home

Just leave them at work if you can and change when you get there. I kept hair stuff at work, and whatever else I needed to get 'presentable' but I was wearing jeans/polo

[ZeuSeason]

Nothing...I ride completely naked....o...wait....thats only during a bad dream.

[Jake]

If I ride to work I usually wear my work clothes and a helmet and gloves. I only wear the helmet and gloves because I only live 1/2 mile from work. And I don't care if I get my work clothes because they're going to get dirty at work anyways.

[f4igrad]

i ride to campus, about 1/2 mile away. I am a squid...just a helmet and jeans. My rationalization (however flawed) is that since I am going through neighborhoods at about the speed of a bicycle, then the risk isn't too bad. I won't complain if i go down though, it is a risk i take. All other times, full gear. Full leathers for the backroads.

[Grashopr]

I've got a 50+ mile ride to work one way, over a 2-lane highway across three counties. There are only 2 small "towns" between where I live and where I work, and they are seperated by over 20 miles. So breaking down or finding shelter is not an option. There are no "shoulders" on this highway, so pulling over means that I'm parked IN the highway. The road has some moderate elevation changes (less than 40' difference from the highest peak to the lowest valley), but there are some very blind hills that I cannot park on the other side of safely.

I ride to work every day. I've been through hail (pea to marble sized) twice this year, and have been through countless thunderstorms, rainstorms and even had to make the run once during a Tornado Warning.

I have to wear business casual (no jeans 'cept on fridays and at least 3-button shirt). I keep my hair short, but it has to be combed (no crue-cut). My shift is from 1pm to 11:30am and if you figure the time it takes me to drive, I'll be going to work from approx Noon to 1pm, and driving home from midnight to 1am. So I'm going towards the sun in daylight on teh wy there, and obviously in the dark on the way home.

To get to work this is my routine:

I wear my business casual shirt, tucked into a pair of extra-long blue jeans. Then I wear a textile riding jacket, a pair of nice, over-the-ankle style boots that are acceptable for work and wather-resistant with a no-frills toe. A pair of Nike Interchange sunglasses with the dark lenses in, gauntlet-style gloves with chrome knuckles (not only for looks), and my normal helmet, clear visor.

In a backpack I keep a cheap ($80) 2-peice rain suit. The suit top is 2-sizes too large, so in a pinch, it will quickly fit over the top of my normal riding jacket without making me stand out in the storm on the side of the road trying to fight it on. The bottom has the little elastic strips that go through my boot bottoms so I can 'step into' them in a hurry. Also I keep a pair of leather dirtbike gloves in case its an extremely hot day, I can swap out for the stuffy gauntly-gloves, or, if it's GUARANTEED rain, I wear the dirtbike gloves as they dry MUCH faster. Plus my lunch, and my slacks for work, rolled (not folded...hold them upside down by the cuffs of the legs, smooth out the wrinkles and ROLL them into a log-shape. This will help them fit into a MUCH smaller area than folding, and they wont wrinkle nearly as bad. plus, if htey get wet...it'll only be in one portion..usually they wont get water all the way to the middle) and tied in a plastic grocery sack.

The chrome knuckles (or any type of hard knuckle protection) are NECESSARY when riding at night. June bugs, Flying Volkswagons, Japaneese Beetles, Birds and even fireflys can rip open a knuckle at 60 mph with dirtbike gloves on. And when riding between corn fields, bugs that havent' seen a light in hours will RADIATE towards a pair of high-beams...it's like the scene in Star Wars when they're going to Hyper-Warp or whatever.

The toe of your boots needs to be flat, as cleaning off all of the bugs when you get to work is MUCH easier in the bathroom if you dont have to dig any guts out of elaborately-designed leather creases. Also, those extra-long pants willl go down to cover the laces of your bootstrings so you wont have to clean them when you get in. Always tuck the loose loops of your knots inbetween your ankle and your boot. Dont let 'em flop.

For the ride home, the Nike Interchange comes with a pair of yellow (shooters) lenses that make everything seem twice as bright as it is. This helps me as my bike headlights aren't super-bright, and I have no idea how many times I've seen the Deer standing beside the road sooner than if I wasnt' riding with the yellow lenses. Haven't hit one yet (knock on verneer).

IF you HAVE to ride in the rain without a riding suit, I've found that using bar soap to coat the zippers of your regular jacket works well for about half an hour at keeping water from coming through. My Textile jacket is pretty water-proof except at the arm=pit vent zippers.

I get to work about 5 mins early to change my pants, comb my hair and get settled....that's all it takes.


Anyways...hope this helps.

The 'hopper

[EricKC]

khakis work shirt like a polo (biz casual).. my shoes get me buy. THe problem I have is that I work 2nd shift so I can't bring the tinted visor I have to wear the clear one and sunglasses and I usually stuff a sweatshirt in the trunk for the ride back..

Sometimes on nights I know it will be chilly I will wear a long sleave shirt and that sucks cause I will come in all burning up cause of the heated ride and then be freezing on the way home.

Then I have my schoolbooks to do homework heh.. and my laptop in the backpack. I feel my back muscles growing.

rawr