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How To Pack Your Clothes (For Riding To Work)

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Do you want to ride a bike to work in your office attire, but you worry about rocking up to your desk with sweaty and damp clothes?

Gross!

And what would your co-workers say?!

You donโ€™t really want to be โ€œThat guy/girlโ€

Itโ€™s much better to pack your office wears and change into them once you arrive to work.

About 872,000 people report to work by bicycle.

If you are in this group, one main concern you may have is how to pack a suit while riding to work.

Here is an informative piece to help you on your wayโ€ฆ

What You Need to Carry Your Work Clothes on Your Bicycle

While commuting to work on your bike, you will have so many essentials to carry like bike maintenance tools and work gadgets or documents.

With all these items, you need to find a way to transport your clothes without creasing them.

Some of the things that you will need to transport your clothes crease-free to work include:

A Backpack

Most people carry a backpack to work even when not commuting on a bike.

You might still use this to hold smaller items, but if you try cramming clothes in here, they might end up creasing.

If you have a small size backpack, get a bigger one.

Choose a backpack with comfortable straps.

Also, get a bag with waist straps so you can redistribute the weight pressure throughout your body for stability as you cycle.

This will help stop putting too much strain on your neck and shoulders.

Another thing you need to consider is the material of the bag.

You will need a weatherproof backpack to avoid wetting your suit on rainy days.

Go for a bag made from breathable fabric to prevent excessive sweating.

Consider a bag that has multiple pockets to increase the storage space.

pannier bags attach to cargo racksPin
You also need a rack to hook the pannier onto

Pannier Bag

The best way to get your suit to your workplace in perfect condition is by carrying it in a good waterproof pannier bag.

You clip these bags to a pannier rack, which clamps onto your bike.

This bag seems more like a wide shopping bag, so you can conveniently pack your clothes and other dense items.

You can opt for a pair of panniers dedicate one to your clothes and the other to your lunch box and water to avoid spills.

Have dual pannier bags is good for safety, because you can spread out the load across the width of your bike, rather than on only one side.

Garment Bag

While carrying your clothes to work on the bike, they might get dirty when pressed against other items or get into contact with crumbs at the bottom of the bag.

To avoid this, you may want to use a garment bag or even a plastic sheath.

Read more: Guide to bike messenger bags

Folding Board

A folding board will help you fold your work outfit perfectly to prevent wrinkling.

Check out this video by Specialty Store Services on how to use a folding board.

You could put this inside a sheath too.

Video: How To Use The Folding Shirt Board

How to Pack A Suit For Work

One of the most delicate pieces you will carry to work is your suit.

You will want to make sure that you store it neatly to prevent creasing.

Use the procedure below.

1. Start by folding the jacket

Lay your ironed and buttoned suit jacket facing down, fold one side of the coat towards the middle, smoothen the wrinkles with your hands and repeat the same for the other side.

Ensure that you align the edge of each side to the collar.

2. Roll the jacket

Fold the jacket into halves, turn, and carefully roll it from the bottom to the top.

Pack the jacket in a plastic bag to prevent it from unfolding as you cycle.

3. Fold the pants

Lay your ironed pants on a flat surface, smoothen them out, and fold them neatly into halves as shown in sjlsharp’s video with one leg overlapping the other.

Fold the bottom part up to the waist twice, then pack it in a polythene bag before putting it in a backpack.

Video: How To Fold Pant To Pack Without Wrinkling

How to Pack A Shirt For Work

1. Fold the shirt perfectly

Button the shirt, lay it on a flat surface with the back facing up, fold the sleeves to the back.

Fold on both sides of the shirt towards the center, then into halves from the bottom.

2. Pack it in a plastic bag

Park the shirt in a plastic bag to minimize friction, then put it in your pannier bag.

When You Get to Work

Unpack your clothes as soon as you get to work.

If there is a shower at your workplace, itโ€™s a great opportunity to freshen up, change your cycling clothes, and put on your office attire.

But if you don’t have a shower, use wipes to clean off the sweat and put on deodorant before wearing your suit.

Hang your jacket at the coat hooks in the office, and you can leave it there for a few days.

As a bike commuter, youโ€™ll enjoy the low-impact exercise and youโ€™ll have the satisfaction of avoiding sitting in traffic jams for long hours.

If you enjoyed the tutorial, share the article if you like it, and let us know what you think in the comment section.

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Mark Whitley
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Mark is the founder of BikePush, a bicycle commuting website. When he's not working on BikePush, you can find him out riding.

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