I had my office get me a tablet so I could leave my laptop at the office. Now I carry my clothes and tablet in a backpack as I ride.

My ride is 35 km one way, so close to what yours is. I use a camelback "blowfish" pack. I put my tablet, work cell phone, change of clothes and lunch into it. I leave shoes and sweater at work.

I have a half locker that I put most of my biking gear in during the day. I change in one of the stalls in the bathroom.

I don't have a shower at work so have joined a gym a few kilometers from work that I stop at on the way in. I used to get strange looks every morning as I would walk in as the gym entered in my bike gear and then walk back out 15 minutes later, all showered and "fresh". They seem to have accepted that now.

If it is raining everything gets put into plastic baggies and then into the pack. My gear will get hung up around various coat racks in the building if it is too wet to dry in the locker.

I bike commute until snow is on the road and then the bike goes on the trainer (bleck - can't wait for the snow to go away).

My commute is unique in the way most days I ride to work then back home at lunch, then drive back to work to finish my day. This allows me to bring the next day items with me by car as well as not dealing with 5pm traffic. I also keep extra clothes and my work shoes stay at work. My work doesn't have showers or lockers so I have to take a bird bath in the single handicap restroom.

It is almost time for my own commute to work to start for the season. My commute is 25ish miles one way and then I usually take the bus home (with my bike - work gives us a huge discount for the bus so it's practically free). Give yourself a lot more time than you think you're going to need to arrive to work on time. The simplest thing can cost you a ton of time to fix.

You said work has showers, that's a huge plus - be sure to give yourself ample time to use them and dress. Does work have lockers? I have a locker at work which I keep my shower items in, deoderant (don't forget that), a brush, and a pair of shoes. I use those travel size products for the shower and refill them as needed. I work in the medical field so my work clothes are crazy easy to just leave in my locker but a rack on the back of my bike also does the trick with a waterproof bag (which would also hold a lap top).

I only really biked to work 2 or 3 times a week and would make sure Monday was NOT one of those bike days so that I could leave anything I might need the following day (a bike day) in my locker. You're going to want a "dirty" bag for your bike clothes if you're not riding home in the same clothes. I use a reusable bag for my bike clothes that can be washed.

Most importantly.. make sure you know your bike friendly way to work. Turn your blinky lights on and keep warm!

Archon2 wrote: »

Hey I had an idea about just leaving laptop on at work, and then using a remote desktop application over the VPN to access it from home if I needed it that night, before biking in again the next day. Anyone use this method? Seems easier than lugging the thing in a backpack.

This is an excellent idea, if work permits. We use it all the time at my job. Though we aren't allowed to work from home very often.

I commute every day possible. Sweaty clothes stink so I carry work clothes with me a few times a week to keep at work. I clean up in the private restroom and change into fresh clothes before starting my day.

Commute as near daily as possible here...even in "inclement" weather. Fresh clean clothes go in the waterproof pannier, shoes are left at work, lunch goes in the other side. Just a quick change in the restroom and wipe down if needed (and a deodorant swipe if neccessary) and I'm good to go. Although I have been told my office can get a bit fragrant (espeically on wet days when everything is drying) but considering I work in a hospital it's far from the worst smell here. Commuting is a great way to get mileage in without taking time out from other more prioirty things, like family (no matter what Sean Kelly says).

Now that this thread is resurrected, I can see that since my last post here I have tried commuting quite a few times since. In short: the VPN solution to not lugging a laptop works but it still isn't as nice as having the machine at home. So if I anticipate a lot of take-home work, or need the laptop over the weekend, I drive that day.

As for sweaty cloths -- I have been leaving a pair of shoes or sneakers at work. I backpack a lightly rolled shirt and pants on the way in and change into them in the bathroom or an empty office after getting to work. I have had an issue of where to dry out the bike shorts and jersey though. I've been putting them behind the office door on the coat hook, but I still don't like that solution -- especially since I started sharing a new office with someone else now. The other option is to just pack it damp, and carry another set of dry bike shorts & jersey for the ride back home, along with the fresh work clothes, but that is just too much clothing to have to wash and deal with in one work day.