Commuting and business clothes tricks

Justin Seiferth said:

I am searching for tips and techniques for transporting
business clothes in panniers without their ending up
looking like were slept in. Special ways to fold them,
special containers or packing orders- all of interest.

I've had some success with rolling clothes. First roll up
the stuff that can wrinkle (undergarments, socks) into a
cylinder. Carefully fold pants in half lenghwise and roll
around the undies. Then carefully fold shirt and wrap around
pants. If you can keep the roll from getting squished on
your ride you'll be in good shape. I used a messenger bag
and it worked great.

But a better answer is to leave the fancy clothes at work
and only carry the undies on the bike. When I had to wear
suits I kept a suit jacket, a couple of pairs of pants and a
couple of dress shirts at work. I got them drycleaned around
the corner so they never had to come and go from home.

Michael

Justin Seiferth said:

I am searching for tips and techniques for transporting
business clothes in panniers without their ending up
looking like were slept in. Special ways to fold them,
special containers or packing orders- all of interest.

I've taken to buying shirts made of poplin and other fabrics
that don't wrinkle easily or at all. My pants roll up fairly
well and I don't have problems with them wrinkling.
Additionally I tend to dress in black or dark colors [1], so
wrinkles don't show as much even if I had them.

[1] One Halloween a year or two ago I came to work all
dressed in white. Pretty much everyone got it.

--
Dane Jackson - z u v e m b i @ u n i x b i g o t s . o r g
"Hey, Mr Nyatharlothep, tally me Cthulhu, six foot, seven
foot, eight foot ... TEETH! Daylight come, and me wanna
go.... AAAAAAAARRRRRRRrrrrgh
nononononostoppleaseGodsavemeArrrrrrrrrrrrghch...!" --David
Cameron Staples in the Monastery

Quoted message said:

I am searching for tips and techniques for transporting
business clothes in panniers without their ending up
looking like were slept in.

I've seen special panniers in a couple of bike shops for
carrying business clothes; but I've never been concerned
enough about my appearance at work to do anything but roll
'em up and toss 'em into my bags -- maybe that's why my
office is a dark old closet down in the corporate dungeon?

--
"Clothes maketh the man; and the less there is of the man,
the more the need of the clothes." -- John Neville, "Spider"
(2002) imdb.comtt0278731Open ↗

Justin Seiferth <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

I am searching for tips and techniques for transporting
business clothes in panniers without their ending up
looking like were slept in. Special ways to fold them,
special containers or packing orders- all of interest.

Thanks, Justin

Justin,

I have had good luck with rolling, but I do two things that
help. Before rolling, I spritz the clothes with either Downy
wrinkle releaser or water (depending on the fabric). Part of
the trick to rolling is getting all of the air out and not
rolling the clothes too tightly. Shirts I fold into thirds
lengthwise then roll from the bottom up. Alright, rolling is
a bit of a misnomer. The first part of the "roll" should be
a two or three inch fold. Then continue folding as you work
your way up. I fold my pants as mentioned elsewhere - fold
in half, then follow the three-inch fold/roll technique.

I usually pack daily wear in a backpack - shoes (if not
left at work) on bottom, pants, then shirt and tie on
top. I leave a couple of jackets that work with just
about everything I wear at work and clean them once a
week (not that they see much wear beyond hte occasional
"important" meeting).

You could also get a cargo trailer and lay your clothes
flat in it. Use it to haul the clothes on Monday and
Friday. Burley and Bicycler Revolution (www.bikerev.com)
make nice ones.

Good luck! -Buck

Michael Press said:

Carefully fold pants in half lenghwise and roll around the
undies. Then carefully fold shirt and wrap around pants.

I typically roll my shirt inside my pants. Two reasons:

* My pants are dark, my shirts are usually white or a light
color.
It's not as apparent if dirt or water or something gets
on my pants.

* The shirts roll smaller than the shirt, making my
bundled roll a little easier to handle when the pants
are on the outside.

Tie is layered between the shirt and pants. Shoes are kept
at the office. Most of my clothes are wrinkle-free polyester
blend. I almost never wear a jacket.

As with many things, YMMV :-)

RFM