That seems like a lot of work. Here, most cycle commutes are quite short (up to 5km) and people just ride at a speed where they're not out of breath or sweaty. I just lock my bike and get to work (or rather, the coffee machine). Any speed gains from riding faster would be more than eaten up by the necessary drying off / changing clothes / showering / …
Is your commute that long that it's impractical to just cycle at a comfortable, non-sweaty pace?
My bike ride is right about 8km, but in the summer there is no such thing as a "non-sweaty pace". That said, I'm lucky enough to work in a place that has shower facilities in the basement so I just pack my work clothes in a bag and shower/change when I get there. The worst part is putting the sweaty clothes back on for the ride home.
When it is not hot out (like now), I'll just wear appropriate pants and skip the shower. I find my dress pants rub too much in certain areas when on a bike so I still have to change, but it is quick and I shower at home.
I have to say that I really love biking to work. It's way less stressful than sitting in traffic and there are some health benefits too. Plus it has a way lower carbon footprint.
I live in Austin. I ride my bike as long as it's less than 100F (38C) out. Anything above 90F (32C) is pretty hard for me to do without getting sweaty. Fortunately, my office has showers.
Also, I think your advice to ride at a moderate speed is a good one. When I first got into bicycle commuting, I was reading the bicycle subreddit and I was told more than once that it never gets easier, you just get faster. Well, they were wrong. It gets way easier. I understand what they mean by "you just get faster", but I think it's potentially discouraging to new out-of-shape riders like myself.
It gets way easier and for me is almost meditative. My mind wanders like crazy.
That is definitely a quote that only applies to racing. I agree that better fitness absolutely does make the easy stuff easier. But if you want to make going fast feel easy, you can't escape training for it.
My bicycle commutes ends with a half-mile long ascending steep slope. It can be impossible not to arrive sweaty when you live in a hilly place, no matter how fast you go.
Or go the Chinese route and get an electric assist bike.
The bigger obstacle for where I live would be 90F temperature and 80% humidity. You get sweaty regardless of hills (or any physical exertion for that matter) - just by being outside an air conditioned room for more than 10 minutes.
One of the interesting observations I've had on the bike is that when it is hot and muggy out I don't notice the sweat until I stop. I can be keeping up a decent pace for 5 miles, and it's only when I have to wait for traffic at a crossing or when I arrive at the destination that I'm suddenly drenched in sweat.
The body can keep sweating for quite some time after exercise if it's still having to get rid of some excess heat, often I'll get home from a ride, shower and still feel like I'm (slightly) sweating after.
I'm the same way. Sometimes I'll try to ride slowly to avoid getting sweaty, but I'm rarely successful. I'm just used to riding faster, and it's more fun. As you said, it also can feel safer/more natural if you're next to car traffic. Luckily I've usually worked places that had showers if I really needed them.
As an SF cyclist, that's not entirely true. Most commutes in the city end up in SOMA, the Financial District, or the Mission, and require little if any climbing. On the way home, even going to areas like the Haight have paths such as the Wiggle that aren't particularly steep and can be done sweat-free.
Obviously some people live and work in areas where a sweaty climb is unavoidable, but far fewer than you seem to imply. And it helps a lot that it's virtually never hot here.
Having moved from Georgia, it doesn't matter if the route is flat when it's 95 and nearly 100% humidity. That's way more relevant to sweat than the SF hills are.
The human body adjusts to a remarkable degree. The first days or maybe weeks of a new bike commute can be a sweaty experience but it ceases to be a problem quite quickly. If you were in the gym, that would be your cue to increase workout intensity, but since it's a bike commute, there's no need.
For a grade over a certain percentage and longer than some duration, it is probably indeed the case that sweating is unavoidable. But you can usually trade a short steep grade for a longer shallower grade, even in San Francisco. The absolute worst portions of SF hills are usually only a block or two long and are much more likely to be found where you live, not where you work.
But it's not just five minutes, you also need to bring fresh clothes and a towel. Your commute also needs to be a lot longer than mine (4-5km) for that to provide any time savings at all. That's why I'd rather ride more slowly and not have to deal with any of that.
Showering in the morning and wearing cotton are a lot of work? I cannot tell if you're being serious...i feel like i do these things by accident at least 1/2 the time [i probably bike 2x week at most] and could easily do it all the time if i put even the slightest amount of thought into my mornings.
You picked the parts that fit easily into just about anyone's morning routine and ignored the inconvenient part of arriving at the office sweating. My entire post was about avoiding the sweating in the first place.
One problem with showering before cycling is that it takes me a long time to cool down/dry off after a shower. If I start riding 15min after getting out of the shower I'm going to sweat like a pig. At least it won't smell, I guess.
> One problem with showering before cycling is that it takes me a long time to cool down/dry off after a shower.
Does it really have to? I'm sure you can avoid that by not using hot water (or even going with cold-ish) and not spending more than 3-5 minutes in the shower. Also you can turn off the water if washing your hear takes time. Seems simple to address.
Is your commute that long that it's impractical to just cycle at a comfortable, non-sweaty pace?