storckm

My wife is reluctant to bicycle places (especially in the summer) because of the freshness factor: arriving at the destination after having worked up a sweat. Can anyone advise her about this difficulty, since she doesn't find deodorant effective enough in the summer.

gerv 

I think North Americans are way too obsessed with body odor. It's partly to do with living a sedentary lifestyle. (I mean, if you are active, you are gonna sweat, right?)


However, some suggestions:
- wear very light wicking tops and nylon shorts during the summer months. You can get some extremely lightweight tees that deliver your sweat back to the atmosphere in no time flat.

- ride at a slower pace when it's hot.

- try to travel early in the morning or late in the evening when it's cooler.

- still... you're gonna sweat so... lighten up! Travel with your lady friend and reassure her that she is not smelling too bad. That's make her feel at ease when she does sweat.

bragi

If you're already clean when you start out, a little sweat will not make you smell. Regular riding will, however, make you look and feel better over the long term.

Cyclepup

Wear light, breathable or moisture-wicking fabrics. A light colored visor or sun cap under the helmet to protect her head & face. Take an extra top along if she really feels she might want to change when she nears the destination. Take it EASY! It's not a race, so don't push the pedal power.

We live in the high desert where temps are climbing toward the 100's now. On our errand rides we leave in the cool of the morning to reach our destination before it gets too hot. We use an easy pace and stop as needed if the heat is too much.

Good luck! I hope she gets out there and has fun with it!

Roody

• Shower just before you leave, and allow a few minutes after you arrive to cool down and dry off.
• Try to use routes that are shady, breezy and don't have tough climbs.

storckm

(This is the woman in question.) Thanks for the suggestions. It could be that it is more noticeable to me than others, and that I'm slightly preoccupied with other people's perceptions. However, some people (including family members) do find sweat offensive, and my awareness of this fact is heightened as a result, such that I try to avoid this disagreeable aspect of bike-riding whenever possible.

gerv 

To my mind sweat goes with work. You should remind your family of this.

Standalone 

I remember when my wife got on some thread I started about her being in tears over my early morning rising and various issues to work out when I first gave up driving to work. It made my day and the issues began to clear up almost right away.

Clean body and clothes = no offensive odors. Any sub-offensive odors are easily remedied with a 30 second visit to the powder room armed with something like a wet nap or two.

PS: here's a thread w/ a photo of us on our way home from a social gathering. No sweat problems, even on a 75 pound bike with a 40+ lb kid! And hills!! https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...s-on-two-bikes!

storckm

Thanks for that picture! So encouraging to see. I actually noticed at a new local street cafe that opened, bikes and trailers were parked outside, as well as at the ice cream place and bar next door. Mike talked me into taking the tandem bike downtown last month when we settled on our new house and we were running late so we were actually racing to get there in time. Either everyone was too polite to comment or they didn't care about our condition. We even went out for lunch at a cafe in a hotel lobby afterwards. We probably should have chosen to sit outdoors, but absolutely no one complained, raised an eyebrow or frowned in our direction. Perhaps I do worry too much.

swwhite

I thought it was only horses that sweat, while men perspire, and women only glow.

gerv 

Robert Foster

The only advice that might help you might have already discovered. Going some place where other cyclists go is one solution. But for many women it is also how it makes the clothes they wear look. Wet spots in tihe normal places can be unatractive. A solution for wearing street clothes in styles and fabrics flattering to some is to slow down and as it has been said take it easy. Another solution is wicking material. If you happen to be going someplace where such material is more or less socially acceptable.

Sweating will happen in the summer in most cases. Some people will have more of an order than others. https://www.mayoclinic.com/health/swe...SECTION=causes

bragi

I've noticed that, too. I ride virtually everywhere I go, and so far, at no destination has anyone expressed any objections to my showing up just a little bit disheveled. I even rode my bike to a graduation last week, and brought a suit with me. I used to think that it was because Seattle is so enlightened, green, or whatever, but lately a more likely explanation has occurred to me: in general, people are so concerned about the impression that they're making on others that they fail to notice what those others are doing. If you arrive at the opera on a bike and are a little sweaty, no one will notice, or if they do, they won't care; they're worried about their own sweat, and don't have time for yours.

wahoonc

Here is a link from Lovely Bicycle about what to wear while cycling in extreme heat, from a woman's perspective. FWIW I live in the Deep South, perspiration is a way of life, as long as you take regular showers/baths and wash your clothes you should be fine. I work outside for a living, it isn't uncommon for my shirts to have heavy salt stains on them at the end of the day. Anybody wants to comment, they better be ready for an obnoxious comeback. I do clean up before heading out to somewhere public to eat.

Aaron

travelmama

Being that I swim, ride and run, I can't stand the smell my body emits after a work out. I have attended meetings after cycling and running thinking I smelled like moose only to be told no one noticed. I think for many of us, as pointed out before, it is an American thing. Even though I can get away with shaving my armpits once a month and not have to wear deodorant daily, I use to wonder if others are smelling what I think they smell. Now I do not worry about it or will excuse myself if need be.

Robert Foster

What I have noticed is most people wont say much to a person but once away from that person they become the topic of conversation. Like you I have found that quite often I worry about it more than I should and very few people have said anything to my face. However after overhearing two young clerks at a Pharmacy after waiting on a woman cyclist in some kind of light blue cotton pants and blouse that was obviously not wicking material I am not sure what is said after I leave.

If I am going to be in a place where I might be in close quarters with others I sometimes carry moist wipes. Still as some have said, slowing down and riding early or late to a social engagement works.

gerv 

This is astonishing to me. These same clerks who berate a cyclist for sweating have no compunction about jumping in a car that emits all kinds of noxious fumes. If you happen to hang around busy intersections, you can hardly breathe.

The price of being able to breath is that occasionally we have to deal with the odor of sweat.

Robert Foster

I doubt if any well read person is astonished with how American society views sweat and body odor. I also think most people are well aware of the disconnect we as a nation have with cars, flying, gas powered lawn mowers, Charcoal Bar-B-Cues or how hard it is to get rid of electronic equipment.
Hyperbole or disappointment maybe but no one living in our society can read a magazine, News Paper or even pass a Bill Board without knowing how we are told to feel about sweat and body odor. Most people can tell you what is strong enough for a man but made for a woman. Many know what you need to be “Sure” your underarms are dry. Right after a man stops working he will be handed a bar of Irish Spring and must take a shower before he even sits down with a woman. Absolutely millions are spent on odor eaters, shampoos, Perfumes, body oils and lotions, powders and yes even air conditioners to prevent sweating.
I am not debating what should be only what is in our society. Some families, like the OPs seem more adverse to body odor than others might be. But there is very little chance of a grown daughter changing attitude of her family who taught her the attitude in the first place.

So I still will stick with, ride slower, ride when it is cooler, ride wearing something that doesn't show sweat by wicking. Or ride where other people that ride go. The only other options are to not care what others think.

cycleobsidian

I am female and I used to ride 18 kms to work. I did it in the summer months as well. I too was very averse to perspiration and smell, as my coworkers were all quite fresh smelling as they came to work by car.

My solution may not work for you but it worked for me.

I did pack extra clothes in my tote bag. I kept extra sandals at work. Since we did not have a shower at my workplace I cleaned up in a sink in a private bathroom. Just a bit of soap and a wet cloth and a small amount of water does wonders.

While I suppose it was a bit of a hassle, I wouldn't have changed it for the world because of how I felt about myself. I felt strong, fit, and as far from anxious as I could be, after that morning workout.

I have since moved closer to work and ride my bike and I don't stink because I don't work up a sweat. I actually miss those days when I got a REAL workout everyday.

Good luck!

robi

I have come to love merino wool! if I am clean when I put it on and end up sweating I still smell better than when I wear any other type of clothing.....

I ride to work regarldess of how hot it is.. I just try to go slower, if I cannot because I am running late, ro just having fun riding fast, I go into the toilettes where I work and wipe down, then soap the arm pits, rinse, dry, then face and neck..... but if I have enough time I actually sit at my desk in my cycling top, merino thsirt or plain cottonw Tshirt, whatever I happen to have on and cool down... this couple of minutes cooling may not make me smell any better but I sure feel better...

I have never had coworkers say anything to me but I would not care too much if they did because many of them smoke and I have to put up with their nasty smelling hair, clothes, breath day in and day out....

I often leave a set of clean clothes at the school I teach at... There is no way anybody can tell if you were a shirt for 2 days if it is not all wrinkled .... pants, helll I wear them for at least a week at a time in summe and often 2 weeks in winter...

I wear jeans and casual pants, if I were wearing a suit, I would have 2 sets of pants and jackets here and wear each every other day....


So, make srue you are clean to begin with, get there, cool down, rinse/wipe/sponge bath if you feel the need, get completely dry, then put on shirt of your choice...

I have done this at international conferences too, where I rode in my suite with a Tshirt on, then switched to my dress shirt and tie at the event.. I simply cleaned up in the toilets at the conference hall.

Have fun!

Bike-a-Boo

I ride everywhere, including to work where I have to dress nicely, and I can sympathize. I agree with many of the previous suggestions, including showering before getting on the bike and cleaning up a little at your destination. In my case, depending on my chosen outfit, sometimes I'll ride in my destination clothes, or wear "riding" clothes (nothing technical, just a different outfit that I'll change out of at my destination). If I do ride to the office, for example, in my work clothes, I tend to favour dark colours and/or materials that don't show sweat as much. A little clean up and a few minutes to cool down, and I'm good to go!

xtrajack

That is what I have always heard.

sauerwald

Storckm

If you wear tops which are loose and flowing, the sweat is less apparent. Also, keeps you cooler so you don't perspire quite as much.

Another option is to put a silk scarf in your bag, and when you get to your destination, drape it over your shoulders, covering the layer of clothing closest to your body....

Roody

I have never tried it, but some people use baby wipes to clean up a bit when they arrive somewhere on a hot day.

BmoreDrew

This is what I do.. makes me feel so much better. Physically that is, I don't care if I smell bad honestly. I want to believe that me standing there with a messenger bag, gloves, and a helmet on its OK if I don't smell zestfully fresh.