Women motorcyclists - riding to work

[Drunken Monkey]

Yes sorry McJim that is true. Anyones comments are appreciated.

Cheers

There's nothing to be sorry about. If you want to ask a question and direct it at women only, then go ahead. If it went against the ethos of the moderators, then there wouldn't be a 'biker angels' section. McJim just needs to get on his bike and go for a ride, he's bored and needs attention, thats all...

[MikeyG]

I leave shoes at work and take pants in in a backpack mon morning and home fri night (more than one pair, I'm not that skody). Just wear a shirt under my jacket and my riding trou and change once at work.

[apteryx_haasti]

I ride 24 km to work each day - it's great! I wear my work shirt under my Cordura jacket and shorts under my cordura pants. I wear a back pack and take my work trousers in that. During summer I'm thinking about getting some draggin jeans - will still change at work.

I'm lucky because I have an office and a wardrobe so I can leave all my crap there. I just keep a spare pair of shoes and a coat and spare socks at work.

Seems to be working for me thus far.

[KATWYN]

Awesome, looking at this thread theres a heap of us doin it!!!

[Beemer]

Thankfully I work from home now but I did commute for a while. On wet days it's a pain changing from your wet weather gear into your work clothes and often the gear is still damp when you go home. On hot days you feel like you're melting - and on cold days, well, you can get a bit chilly!

I have bad hair even without a helmet so I would always look like something the cat dragged in. Okay for a job where I was working nights and calling people, but not so good for other jobs.

One contract I did recently I rode to work a few times and got looked at like I was an axe murderer! And the time saving (getting past slow moving cars, etc) was lost because the motorcycle parks at Massey in PN were miles away from where I was working. Add the time spent getting changed and you can see why I didn't bother that often!

[Keystone19]

I ride a 60km return trip daily rain or shine. I usually wear the top I'm going to wear for the day underneath my cordura and the trousers or skirt ( ) I carry in my bag to change in to.

Luckily I have an office where I can get changed and hang up my stuff to dry on wet days. Have a mirror in the office to do hair and make up as needed.

Time saved on commute is 15 minutes per day in the morning (not much in the afternoon 'cause there's no traffic when I go home), money saved on petrol costs is over $1000 per year.

[judecatmad]

Tank bag and back pack takes care of the stuff I need to take in to work with me (means I look like a pack mule on the way to and from work, but at least I get everything in that I need!). And it's a full change when I get to work. We don't have a changing area so it gets a bit crowded in the cubicle with all those clothes all over the floor!

I have to go for the ever-creased look cos got nowhere to store nicely ironed stuff, even if I wanted to trek the 40k into work at the weekend......

[klingon]

Thanks for the thread, Katwyn! I'm planning to do the same when I get my bike. One of my key motivations for getting a bike is the commuter thing - it will make going to work so much more fun! And on those warm summer evenings I may be a bit late home.

When I was choosing my riding gear, I specifically tried it on in the shop with my work gear underneath, so I know there's enough room underneath. (Now I just have to take MacktheKnife everywhere to help me get dressed...)

I'm looking for boots now, and it would be nice to find a pair that could pass for dressy boots if I need them to. I'm planning to leave a couple of pairs of shoes at work but I'm sure there will be occasions when I'll forget to do that and end up wearing my boots all day.

Suit jackets will also live at work.

Hair and makeup are no problem - hair is always in a ponytail anyway, so I just need a comb. And makeup isn't a priority when there's riding to be done!

The biggest problem for me is likely to be my laptop. I've seen hard backpacks specifically designed to carry them, but I don't know if I want to shell out that kind of money. Any tips for carrying laptops from more experienced commuters?

[Keystone19]

The biggest problem for me is likely to be my laptop. I've seen hard backpacks specifically designed to carry them, but I don't know if I want to shell out that kind of money. Any tips for carrying laptops from more experienced commuters?

I purchased a slim laptop case and use it solely for commuting. I have a piece of foam that I place between the keyboard and the screen to prevent vibration damage as well. The small laptop case fits easily into the smaller of my two Ventura packs. It would fit easily into a backpack as well. I have a workstation at work so leave all the connectivity and power cables at home in the larger case.

[ManDownUnder]

I purchased a slim laptop case and use it solely for commuting. I have a piece of foam that I place between the keyboard and the screen to prevent vibration damage as well. The small laptop case fits easily into the smaller of my two Ventura packs. It would fit easily into a backpack as well. I have a workstation at work so leave all the connectivity and power cables at home in the larger case.

My laptop LIVES in my hard l;uggage (known as my "lock box")

Rain hail or shine it's there... it's even done a couple of the Thursday night rides. The extra vibration came up for duscussion when my hard drive shat itself (I've never seen a HD so dead... not spinning... nothin'!) but that's once in 4 or 5 years?

All good.

[Nicksta]

I ride to work every day..... I wear my work shirt and pants under cordura.... take a back pack with my makeup and sweatshirt.... i work in a corporate office, i get "comments" from a few of the oldies there as i walk in... and strip off the cordura... i keep my heels in my drawers... so all good... no problem with hair as i just wet it and go.....
Love that i can sleep in an hour earlier than if i drove the cage i commute the entire NW motorway here..... and am home in 10 mins at night.... and never worry about parking!!
Plus, i get to work, in a happy mood... esp if i took the scenic route!!

[gijoe1313]

Heh, I wear my normal clothes for school under my riding gear. Formal shoes gets stowed into my backpack along with the laptop. If I need to wear a jacket, I have just enough space to wear it under my riding jacket, but it does get hot fast! Usually I leave a formal jacket in my teacher's office and other toiletry items.

Some days, I don't bother taking my riding pants and boots off and just teach in that all day. Lots of looks, comments from students about my "lowrider" look when they start slipping down!

Oh yeah - they also think its ill (kewl) to have a teacher in biker gear swanning around the school I get queried often by upper management whether I am riding my bike during school hours...

Which I do! Go home for lunch, go pick up some resources for class, go home to pick up the cage...any excuse to go for a ride during the day!

[buellbabe]

I'm looking for boots now, and it would be nice to find a pair that could pass for dressy boots if I need them to. I'm planning to leave a couple of pairs of shoes at work but I'm sure there will be occasions when I'll forget to do that and end up wearing my boots all day.

I wear boots made by Harley Davidson... They look good, are superbly comfortable but are still "tuff enuf" to wear on the bike...

[Hawkeye]

I wear the leathers for the commute and keep shoes, socks, and trousers at work. We are lucky enough to have showers and changing areas at work so no problem. We also have corporate polo shirts (best thing ever invented), so I don't have the issues of them looking crumpled when I take off the leathers. Hair.... What hair?

[Pebbles]

Unfortunately I live too close to work to ride my bike there, but when I lived in Holland I always took my bike (25kms one way). And did basically the same as all of you. In winter I used to wear my jeans underneath my bike gear and in summer I just rode in my jeans (I was lucky enough to be able to wear jeans at work).Shoes: yep had a pair at work.. Hair: yes suffered from helmet hair I suppose, but hey who cares... ponytails work too...Keep