I have just started a new job and will start riding to work once I am settled. The plan is to ride in 3 times a week and travel without bags leading to the problem of what to do for lunch. There are no shops nearby as the site is in the middle of nowhere.

Do you have any suggestions for Lunches that can be taken to work on Monday and will keep until Thursday?

Got a fridge you can use on site?

What facilities do you have on site?

We have a fridge and a microwave so chilling and heating isn’t too much of a problem.

I commute on the bike 20 miles each way, I just stick sandwiches in a sandwich bag in my back pocket or rucksack.

Big bowl of something you can make on a Sunday and heat up would be my immediate thought.

Soup, chilli con carne, pasta with some sauce, jambalaya, risotto, you name it. Butties in a pocket are fine too.

Are your three days going to be Tues, Weds, Thurs? Also, why the “no bags”?

It’s easy 🙂

I tend to get crumbs in the keyboard and smudge the monitor…

I would suggest a bag.

The days would be Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. I don’t like riding with a bag so try to avoid it at all costs.

On your non cycling days,bring stuff in to stock the fridge with.
The trick to a fun commute is being organized 😉

The days would be Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. I don’t like riding with a bag so try to avoid it at all costs.

How far is your commute each way? I carry a small rucksack a couple of days a week to swap clothes over and it doesn’t bother me.

In winter I generally use a rucksack every day as the weather can be so changeable.

Iused to use a seatpost bag ( by revalation designs as hes now called)..Velcros to post and under seat gives more carrying options or a sensible sized (which means small) backpack,I’m currently using an evoc commute thing and its pretty comfy and totally waterproof.

Soups nice in the winter thou and would keep…Just cary bread in pocket.
(Pot noodel and toast is yummy).

I tend to carry sandwiches in my back pocket and do a quick shop every couple of weeks for crisps and cereal bars.

I try and take cloths in when I get the train but this has been very useful:

http://www.ghyllside.co.uk/shop-by-brand/ortlieb/ortlieb-bike/ortlieb-saddlebags/ortlieb-saddlebag-large.html#.VcIN0_lVhBc

It’s just big enough for clothes if tightly rolled or a shirt and sandwiches if trousers are already in the office. Having a pair of shoes you can leave in the office is useful (office slippers).

I quite fancy one of these Bridge Street Bags for winter commuting.

I’m with the OP on the no bags front, I try to avoid them if possible and find the 3 days per week commute can work very well. It gives you a good chance to restock food and clothes and also gives you a rest day so you still want to ride on the weekend.

Jacket potatoes are good too – they’ll easily keep for a week in a bag in the fridge then just 10 mins in the microwave.
Have a few cans of beans, tuna, block of cheese, bottle of mayo, tupperware box of chilli and that should give you a few options.

A saddle bag is the obvious solution – I use a Carradice SQR model which can be put on/taken off in a couple of seconds. Plenty of room for clothes, toolkit, food.

As others have mentioned, being organised is the key, leave as much as you can at work – shoes, trousers, baby wipes, deodorent, etc. then you just need to take shirt, underpants, socks. If you need a smart ironed shirt then take them in on the days you aren’t cycling. I leave a pair of underpants at work just in case I forget and so I don’t have to go commando.

Uncle Bens/Sainsburys/whatever microwavable rice are pretty good – the own brand ones are 50p each

But this

The trick to a fun commute is being organized

is spot on

I used to use one of these, perfect for putting a shirt, boxers, lunch and wallet in, not much else and couldn’t feel it on the bike at all.

Just get a saddle bag. You’ll need something to carry your tools/spare tubes/raincoat/keys/wallet etc in surely?

I think you’re overthinking it a bit. Rucksack with whatever you need in it.
Would you like us to suggest what foods you take as well?

Organisation is the key, no question, I pride myself on being on my bike within 10 mins of my alarm going off. I have my clothes laid out in a pile, in the order I will put them on, I have my bike ready to go with bottles in the cages and I have my helmet sat next to my bike with the final bits I need. This means I rarely forget anything and I can have an extra 10 mins in bed.

And I’ll reiterate my agreement with the OP, if you can do it without bags then do so, I do and it’s great, I have the same small saddle bag on my commuter bike as every other bike I own that contains only tools, a tube and my inhalers. Panniers or a rucksack are fine but if you can avoid them, do so.

Organisation is the key, no question, I pride myself on being on my bike within 10 mins of my alarm going off. I have my clothes laid out in a pile, in the order I will put them on, I have my bike ready to go with bottles in the cages and I have my helmet sat next to my bike with the final bits I need. This means I rarely forget anything and I can have an extra 10 mins in bed.

I’m similar apart from the order of clothes thing, the bottles in cages as I prefer mine in the fridge, my bike helmet shoes are in the garage anyway. I prefer to get ready at a leisurely pace though, cuppa when I get up, or in bed if I wake up early, then breakfast and an espresso before I go.

But yeh organisation is key.

I have tried to do the no bag thing but it requires everything to go to plan including the weather and the wife’s ‘arranged’ childcare plans.

For this reason I take Heinz soup and beans, Princes Mackerel, apples and bananas into the office on car days and small items in a daily bag like flapjack, tomatoes and left overs from the fridge.

The bag also has keys, cards, notebook, cash, spares for the bike and next of kin details.

Tried the no bag, but it just wont work everyday.

One of the big things for the no bag thing to work is planning and prep.

I always have a suit, 4 shirts and 4 sets of undies in the office. I have a small bag of shower stuff that also lives there. These both get replenished on my train days.
I also make sure I bring a week of food in on a Monday, again, it’s a habit and it happens every Monday.
I check the weather the night before when getting kit ready, if it’s likely to rain I take a small waterproof in a jersey pocket, if it’s getting cold then I pack arm and/or knee warmers the same way. Having compact, mostly roadie based kit really helps this. Today for instance I’m likely to get drenched coming home, hence having a waterproof gillet and arm warmers. If the weather changes during the day, well, I guess I’m getting wet/cold.
My wife also knows things need to be planned during the week in advance, in an emergency I can get the train home though it’s not much quicker, but it happens twice or 3 times a year

I know this level of organisation doesn’t work for all families, it didn’t for mine for a while, but with practise it works really, really well. I do accept the fact I have a rather long commute does strengthen by anti-bag bias, if I was doing 5 miles I’d be less strenuous in my arguments but still, do it if you can.

bar bag?