I have been freelance for two years and have just got myself an office so that I can cycle to work* and am back to packing and carrying clothing around with me.

Which has made me think – what does everyone else carry with them to work? And do you take one big load of stuff once a week or a fresh t-shirt (or more) every day? Or have some clothes in the office so that there’s always an outfit you can put together?

Don’t have to be as smart as I used to be – most days I just take a t-shirt and jumper. Except for meeting days when I have a full set of suit clothes in the bag. Which is a bit heavy. Luckily my office has a shower.

*Freelance is great but I found I was not leaving the house and this was really not good for my mental health. I reckoned I have been happiest when cycling to work so I have made it so. It’s working as well 🙂

I take all mine home together in backpack when it’s all worn enough, chuck in the wash and drier then take it all back to work. You will have to go commando every now and again, it just happens 😉

I just take jeans, pants and a T shirt but leave a pair of shoes and a sweatshirt and jacket at work and refresh them as needed. However after forgetting to bring some non-bike clothes once I keep some emergency trousers and top in locker just in case. That was an uncomfortable day for everyone that I don’t want to repeat.

Having a shower is a huge plus.

What to carry depends totally on what you have regarding clothes storage on site. Personally, I would keep shoes, wash stuff and trousers on site with weekly swapout of trousers and towel and carry shirt and smalls in daily as I would be bringing food anyway. I always found rolling shirt to be perfectly acceptable although I guess there are situations where a more ‘pressed’ look is important. My commute was perfectly feasible daily so no worries. I know plenty who go for a weekly drive and drop a week load of shirts nicely pressed in one go, I also know people who have to bring everything daily and cope with flannel and sink or baby wipes. Whatever works and is feasible… my top tip is that if you can, keep a spare set of bibs or shorts there. Wet Lycra that you haven’t been able to dry is a million times worse than wet shoes and socks when it comes to home time…

I keep several pairs of trousers on hangers on the back of my office door, so I always have a pair in the office and they can go home on rotation to get washed. When they’re washed and ironed I just roll them loosely and bring them in the the rucksack, creasing is negligible.

I also keep a spare shirt hanging behind the door, in case I forget to bring one in (learned from experience). Otherwise, shirts are brought in daily, I hold them by the collar and do a sort of loose fold/roll and then put them at the very top of the rucksack to avoid creasing.

Socks and undies brought in daily, although there is an emergency pair of each in the back of a desk drawer (again, experience…).

If I’m attending a hearing and need a suit and tie then I’ll get my wife to bring it in the car and I’ll nip out and get it during the day (she works a couple of blocks away and drives in).

My uniform.

T shirt, socks, pants.

Jeans and shoes live at work, with deo. Work gym showers have shower gel provided, and towels.

If I need to dress smartly, I’ll drive in. Bike commute is more training than an every day thing though, 22 miles each way including a painful crossing of Reading.

When I commuted I’d leave as much as possible at work. I wasn’t dealing with customers so just had to be “presentable” which basically meant no torn clothing and no obscene t-shirts. Only needed to take t-shirt, socks and underpants. I’d leave a spare set at work just in case I forgot something or if what I was carrying got wet.

I’d use the really wet days when I’d commute by train to sort out the stuff left in the office.

Shirt – rolled up, skidders and socks get taken in daily, trousers, three pairs of shoes, belts, coats etc kept at work. Trousers get swapped as required, again carried in rolled up or a bulk load if I take the scooter or tube. Keep spares in my locker as well. Wash kit, towels and cheap flip flops (surprisingly handy bit of kit!) kept in the drying room.

I take a clean pair of trousers once a week and clean shirt,pants and socks on a daily basis. I’m lucking in that i have a full size locker to use so shoes are left here permanently along with shower stuff. After having had the days where you have forgotten something i now leave everything at work and swap over in my bag the things from the day/week before in the morning. I also put my clothes inside a plastic bag in side my bag for a couple of reasons. One it means that if the bag leaks or any of my lunch does then the clothes should be ok also it keeps my shirts and trousers from getting creased.

I’m lucky enough to work in a building with a Platinum cycling score certification. No idea what we’re supposed to have for that but in real terms, we have secure storage, showers and lockers.

At the moment I’m cycling 3 days a week, one day at home, and one day on train. The train day, I bring in clean shirts / trous / pants etc and take my washing home. Other days I just have a small bag for my diary and phones etc.

I don’t bring any clothes in on the bike which is nice.

i carry tools, tube and a waterproof jacket in a saddle pack, I much prefer to commute without a backpack. At work I have a big box with underwear, a few t-shirts, a couple of pairs of jeans and some shorts. I also leave two pairs of shoes and a jumper (hoody). I take home dirty clothes every few days when I’m not cycling, replacing with the laundered stuff I’ve just brought. Problem at the moment is that as my fitness and the weather improves, I can go quite some time between non-cycling commutes – I did 5 days last week and the 5 days the week before…

I tend to drive in a couple of days a week, so take cothes in/back whne driving. HAve a small backpack (deuter race 8 after recommendation on here) for a packed lunch and puncture repair kit. Means if I have time and inclination i can extend teh commute for a couple of hours without an excessively heavy bag

I carried all my stuff in an Ortlieb saddle bag https://www.evanscycles.com/ortlieb-saddle-bag-large-EV229699 about 3 litres in size and mounts/unmounts to the saddle in seconds so just a case of grab and walk in to the office.

I have a locker at work (which helps a lot) and work provides showers and a sauna (which is really nice), so all I generally carry is a shirt, pants and socks in my bag. Shoes and trousers (and spare trousers, pants, socks and shirt are always in my locker.

I also keep a jumper and a coat at work, but that’s not really needed this time of year.

My bag is big enough that I can take my work laptop and charger home if I need to work remotely. And a new towel. And sundries (matlådar/socialist food box for example)

Just carry pants & socks. The rest stays in my locker until I get around to doing the drive in and remember to bring some fresh shirts. I don’t smell so wear them 3 or 4 times before changing usually. Different levels of cleanliness are available 🙂

if possible, leave at work one pair each of trousers, shoes, undercrackers else they’ll certainly be a time when you spend the day without one of them. And pack your bag the night before rather than in the morning in a rush still half asleep

One pannier with laptop, phones etc.
One with shirt (in shirt shuttle), pants, socks, towel, toothbrush and shower gel.
Suit and brogues kept at work.

Turn up after 20 mile ride, shower, look distressingly conservative and professional.

I ditched the panniers as I also take the little one to nursery on a Hamax bike seat. Tools and tube in a small frame bag.

I keep a locker stashed with shoes, new and part-worn shirts, trousers and underwear. If I’m only wearing clothes during office hours and not during a drive it lasts a lot longer than you might think. Sometimes I ride with a set of new/old underwear in jersey pockets and often I take a rucsac full of kit.

I used to leave a pair of shoes and a jumper at work, then everything else came with me in a pannier. I would occasionally forget something, worst was forgetting my trousers, had to get someone to drive me home and pick them up. 🤣

These days, as I only do it occasionally, I just take everything I need the day before, which means I don’t need to carry a backpack or panniers, which is nice.

Been doing this for a few years now

Trousers, shoes and toiletries kept at work. Work provide towels, lockers and showers

Take in shirt everyday, and either take boxers in with me or wear them (depending on outfit)

Also have spare everything at work (shirt, ties, suit, boxers, socks)

Often take lunch in with me too. Work in a corporate office, wear shirt and trousers every day, only wear suit for big meetings

I try to avoid carrying anything whenever possible, but am in a fortunate position of having a shower at work and plenty of space to keep spare clothes – I have my own clothes rail with various suits, smart trousers, shirts and t-shirts so I can dress according to need.

I can drive in within 15-20 mins and have keys to the office so tend to drive in at weekend or if in town in any event and replace when required.

The odd day I have to use a rucksack is a chore – particularly if need to carry laptop.

I leave a pile of stuff at work and take it home as it starts to smell. I try to replenish the pile when it gets low, but will leave the last things there even if smelly to avoid workplace nakedness. I’ve once messed up going the other way and had to go to primark first thing in the morning.

Oh and commando happens and that is fine, but I often forget to do my fly up coming out of the shower. So far, the two have not coincided.

The benefit of taking a big load in is you’re more efficient doing it in a batch, plus you can then take a luggage free bike other days – either MTB or racer if you like (if, like me, you use panniers to avoid loads of weight on your back).

I swap my ‘work’ clothes over every two weeks. The only things I carry in every day are my lunch, phone,bike tools,and rain jacket.

shirt pants socks daily carry. Tools in the bag.
full emergency change stashed at work (one day you’ll forget something)
shoes, coat, toiletries all have a live at work set.
trousers are washed as required when all the dirty stuff goes back for washing

Depending on the length of the commute I’ve left at least trus/shoes there with shower stuff. When I had to wear a suit I cycled in (5 miles) in civvies with 5 shirts on a Monday and a couple of suits at work.

Yesterday I miscalculated that the weather would hold and had to ride home in a pair of cords in the rain. Oh the glorious flapping of wet fabric around the ankles.

Wondering about leaving emergency riding home clothes in the office as well as emergency smart clothes.

Usually leave D lock and chain at work.

Each Monday take in full clothes and shoes plus bike repair suff and wallet in a waterproof pannier (Ortlieb) bag. Leave jeans, jumper and shoes at work for the week and bring in fresh everything else plus repair stuff and wallet each day. Take everything home on Friday. Keep a travel towel and washing stuff at work in drawer and take towel home for washing on a day with less other stuff. Although we have showers, we don’t have a drying room so my towel and wet kit gets hung up around my desk. Crap for my office mates but I’ve complained to our Department and not had any alternative options suggested.

If I need to take my laptop home or D lock or have shopping to get on way home, take 2 panniers.

I only commute ~5 miles each way but that means I can do it most days.

At present I’m just cruising in in normal clothes, it’s great, (I have left an emergency shirt in my desk drawer just in case).

When I do have to change (due to cold winter weather and lots of mud) I tend to roll (not fold) socks, boxers and a shirt inside a pair of trousers and put that big old clothing sausage into an 8L dry bag along with some other odds and sods, which can be carried a variety of ways to/from the office depending on the bike I’m using that day.
I leave shoes under my desk, and ideally some lunch stuff to save me carrying food every day…

I forgot to add, as well as shirt/lunch everyday, I also have the following in my (rack pack) bag every day
– mini cable lock, for extra security if needed
– tools
– mini fold up rucksack
– berghaus hypersmock waterproof

Plus D lock and tube on bike

I avoid carrying stuff on my bike everyday, but frequently do a food shop on the way home. Rackpack has expanding pockets to carry stuff and I throw on the fold up rucksack for extra capacity

Drive in with a week’s worth of clothes on Monday. Leave the car at work and cycle home that night, commute the week and pick up the car on Friday, or whichever day I finish shift.
Got showers and a canteen in work so don’t need to carry anything daily.

1x tshirt/shirt
1x trousers
1x innertube
1x pump
1x multitool
1x pedal wrench
1x rainjacket

Leave my “work shoes” at work.

Oh, if we’re doing the other stuff, apart from clothes – lunch, phone, wallet, multitool, shiny puncture plugger thing, iPod, pump on the bike. Not carried a tube for the last 2 years and only regretted it once (blagged a lift home).

I’m lucky enough to have showers and a locker at work so the locker has a holdall with shoes, trousers, belt, deodorant, hair product and a towel in it.

I work in an office so need to be smart but don’t need a jacket so I carry in with me daily my shirt, tie, grundies and a pair of socks. They pack down quite small in a messenger bag with spare tools etc.

Funnily enough someone shared some footage of me riding earlier this week and I got a screen grab from it. There I am on the singlespeed Langster with my bag on my back. Shoulda titled it ‘does my bum look big in this?’…

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Thanks to Conrad for the footage that supplied this great pic of me pulling away from the lights on yet another cycle commute on London Environment Network day #londonenvironmentnetwork #worldenvironmentday #worldenvironmentday2019 #urbancommuter #ridebikes #instacycling #goprosession #gopro #cyclesuperhighway7 #foreverbuttphotos #specialized #specializedlangster #langster #lfgss #singlespeed #sockgame #sockdoping #strongsockgame #thisislondon

A post shared by Richard Sear (@ralph_e_rogers) on Jun 5, 2019 at 5:28am PDT