Saturday, January 28, 2012

Bike Commuting Tip #28a: Shoes


That's a view of underneath my desk at work in cubicle-land. A rare day with some sun shining through the window shedding a little light on my workplace hoarding tendencies. Our dress code is business casual which means no sneakers, even on jeans days.

Work shoes on platform pedals are a little slippery, so depending on the bike and my mood, I might ride into work in sneakers or clipped-in shoes. When I started using a rear pannier,  I'd stash my work shoes in that.  Then I started riding a cross bike to work that I couldn't stand the thought of putting a back rack on (I'm over that now), and started using a backpack again. I have the Novara bright yellow commuter bag, which holds a lot, but shoes take up a lot of room.  I found it easier to just keep 2 pairs of shoes at work, instead of hauling them back and forth. Saves room and a little time. Being a little neurotic, I have to have a brown and a black pair to match my pants.  I'm not one of those guys who can wear brown shoes with blue or black pants. But I have done it once or twice. Just doesn't feel right.

3 comments:

  1. I would encourage you to tow the line with the two shoe options - just because you ride a bike doesn't mean you should have to dress funny. If it's of any value, camraderie-wise, I have clothing, shoe, and towel bits stashed all over the place where I work . . . some for fashion reasons and some more urgent reasons, like forgetting something essential.

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  2. If there's one effect that bike (and running) commuting has had on me, it's change my wardrobe. Black shoes and black or gray pants only. I keep black shoes at work and leave them there. I also have a belt and a pair of socks there just in case. Nobody knows if you're going commando but they will notice you're missing a belt or socks.

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  3. Yeah, I need to remember to stash a shirt and socks at work, too. I've had to run down to the Macy's clearance racks when I've forgotten to pack a shirt, and sometimes their options are limited there to either too ugly or too large/small.

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