bluefoxicy

I think I should keep a change of pants at work... came off my bike on a wet wood bridge today (bike went left, completely, like the contact point tracked left and I went pendulum over the top to the right), clipped out a millisecond before the first impact. Hit my hip so hard the OPPOSITE hip was sore from the shock, yikes. Elbow did damage to the wood. XD

My pants are slightly torn now (good pants, too, Lands' End $40 pants I got for $30 ...) and extremely dirty, but they've lasted me about 3 years already with the only other damage being the hems where I've ground the fabric with my heel (kicking my shoes off... not doing that anymore). I'll sew up the pinto-bean-sized tear and pass 'em to Good Will; it's time to buy more work clothes anyway.

Guess I should keep a change of pants at work, or carry a set of clothes in a pannier or CamelBak or whatnot and go in cycling clothes. No shorts though; I need the skin on my legs protected from pavement (and people ask me why I want light body armor for road commuting? I fall off all the time!)

Anyway I need to go clean this scrape on my arm...too late now I guess, it's already healed over; the skin's a little red but it's skin instead of a scrape. started at 69.7 today...

tjspiel

Sorry about the crash and I agree, a spare change of clothes at work is never a bad idea.

JPprivate

I am somewhat of a whimp, I admit. A crash like that and I would ride back home and call in sick :-)

sggoodri

I always keep a spare set of business casual clothes at work in case of coffee and lunch mishaps. I'm clumsy.

It also helps when I make a mistake packing my pannier for the day - like accidentally picking up my wife's pants folded on the corner of the bed instead of mine.

bluefoxicy

I was closer to work and I've burned too much time.

I've yet to show up to work in a kilt....

himespau 

I pretty much always have a spare set of clothes at work in case of rain or a accidental spill of something on them in the lab. Wipeouts just added another justification for doing so, thanks.

canyoneagle

I pack everything for my day in my pannier(s), including shoes, and ride in whatever is comfy and appropriate for the weather. works for me.

ratell

I carry a change of clothes in my pannier and still have a spare change of clothes I keep at work in case. I actually managed to forget to pack pants one day. Having a spare in a drawer is great insurance for being an idiot.

CACycling

I keep a spare set of clothes and my shoes at work then pack clothes for the day in my pannier.

scroca

I have to have a back-up of the essentials at work in case I somehow forget something. I've forgotten both socks and underwear in the past. So I have a spare pair of pants, socks and a spare shirt at work.

My shoes and belt stay at work permanently so I don't have to worry about hauling or forgetting those.

I figure if I forget the underpants I can go commando for a day and it won't kill me.

MTBerJim

Sorry to read about you're wreck this morning. This morning was my first "wet" commute, meaning grey skies; the road was wet and lots of puddles. One thing I kept thinking was, if it starts raining, I'm going to have to work in wet clothing all day. The next truck day I'm going to bring in a complete change, just to be safe.

fuzz2050

Spending an entire day naked under a lab coat just isn't fun, is it?

himespau 

can't imagine it would be. Especially as I'm tall and our lab coats are all a bit short for me. No one wants to see me in a shorty lab coat and nothing else.

pallen

I'm lucky to have space at work. I have 6 shirts and 3 pair of pants here now. About once a week I bring about half of it home, wash and return. I only wear these clothes in the office for 8 hours while I'm at work, so I find I can easily wear them 4-5 times before I need to wash. Even then, they don't smell, I just don't want to push it to that point. Three of the shirts are all wool - I think that helps too. The only thing I haul every day is underwear and I still manage to forget those from time to time. I sweat too much to ride in my work clothes.

garagegirl

I always ride in cycling clothes, and carry my change of clothes in a saddle bag (either carradice or acorn)

If you find yourself always falling off your bike, I would suggest trying different tires. What kind of tires do you currently have? Some tires are terrible in the wet.
Your balance and handling skills will improve as you ride more, but there are things you can change on your bike to make life easier for you right away.

sci_femme

Not at all and do not ask me how I know it.

SF

sci_femme

I ride in cycling clothes and keep a stick of deodorant, pair of jeans, several t-shirts with company logo and some pretty lacy things in the desk drawer.

CB HI

Having a spare set of work clothes at work is always a good idea. I am surprised that no one has yet mentioned that an even better idea is to learn how to ride the bike so you are not crashing all the time.

garagegirl

Yeah, assuming your bike doesn't have some underlying mechanical issues, and that your tires aren't horrid, you might want to take some classes. REI offers beginner mountain and road classes. The instructor might be be able to assess what you're doing wrong. My suspicion is that you're braking incorrectly and you're not distributing your weight correctly on descents. The handling skills you will pick up from an intro mtb course will be very helpful.
If you're currently using clipless pedals, I would switch to platforms without cages until your handling skills improve. Be sure to wear stiff shoes with grippy soles if you go that route.

atbman

I've never been that frightened

bluefoxicy

Yeah my balance is all weird, my handling of the bike is odd, etc. Hmm I don't see any such classes at REI, but I've signed up for the beginner's bike maintenance class (free).

garagegirl

Every REI offers different classes. The one by me offers road classes but not mountain.

CB HI

From the other thread, stop trying to use only your front brake for now. Save that for when you have more experience and really need it for a panic stop.

bluefoxicy

Yeah, right. I tried my back brake only for a while, then switched to using both. I immediately noticed the rear wheel would always slide to the left when I hit the back brake, though I just went with it since I didn't fall. I switched to the front brake after I learned to brace against the handlebars before braking.

I've had one emergency panic stop, which was when some wench in a minivan stared me down as I approached (at 20mph) and then turned dead in front of me. She actually sat stopped for several seconds, I made eye contact to make sure she saw me, she just watched until I got close and then turned in front. Hit my front brake, knew I shouldn't, knew it'd end bad... grabbed my rear brake too in a panic. Bike immediately goes sideways and dumps me under it.

Not doing that. Back brake is for when the front brake is not useful, not for general use.

MTBerJim

From the other thread you said the bike shop near you has classes they charge for. You may want to look into mountain bike clubs where you live, The club from my area has weekly beginner rides. If you can spend some time in the dirt it will help you when you find yourself on sketchy pavement, wood bridges, etc, etc.