stuartjeff

This might be a little redundant but here's what I do when its less than 75 out:

- shower before I leave home (sometimes that means the night before)
- I slow down during the last mile so that I make sure I'm not winded when I arrive and that my heartrate is low
- park bike in office and remove as much bike clothing as possible
- read email
- go to restroom with my towel and change of clothes, rinse head in sink with cold water, wash face, strip down, use towel to dry body
- put on dry clothes
- wash hands

That takes me around five minutes beyond commute time. Its amazing how clean you can feel if you've only washed your head and hands.

In the summer I just shower when I get to work (we have showers in the office but they really suck)

Seriously though, I think most of your feelings of being unclean and unprofessional are in your head. I understand why you wouldn't want to be dripping with sweat and red-faced but a little sink and towel time should be plenty to get you to where you need to be.

EricJ

Absolutely. Sweat doesn't stink, it's the bacteria. I commuted 10 miles each way for 4 years here in So Cal where it often gets to 108F in the summer ("...but it's a dry heat"). I sweat a lot. I sweat sometimes when I EAT.

1. Shower at home.
2. Put on CLEAN riding gear. Don't ever ride in the same clothes you wore yesterday.
3. When you get to work, take 10+ minutes to cool down.
4. If you can take a shower, take a lukewarm or cool one to further cool down. You are already clean so no need to linger in the shower. If you can't shower, hit the nasty bits with wet wipes and towel dry.
5. Use baby powder or Gold Bond powder on torso and feet. I don't know if it does much, but it makes me FEEL drier.
6. Hang your riding gear to dry for the ride home.
7. Put on CLEAN work clothes.

Clean bodies and clean clothes don't stink. I worked in retail, and had to deal with people up close all day long. It's worth working this out. I never felt better than I did when I was bike commuting regularly.

Eric

GCRyder

That's also my routine, almost exactly, riding in another hot but dry climate. Bacteria control is the theme. I think of the first step actually being when I get home from work, disrobing and washing my riding clothes immediately. In the morning, I shower with antibacterial soap right before leaving. I ride 14 miles at about 75-80%. I usually read/answer a few emails while cooling down, then use antibacterial wet wipes, and spritz my riding clothes with Febreze before hanging them. That stuff is a life-saver - people at work often comment on how fresh my office smells. I'm usually ready to meet the public about 20 minutes after arrival.

mtnwalker

No, its not possible. Unfortunately, exercising equals sweating. Its your body's defense to over heating. Your only solution is to wake up and leave for work earlier so you will have adequate time to cool down and clean up. If you can't waste time doing that then you might as well take the car and drive. I'm not being a smart aleck. Thats just how it is.

The previous responses were excellent. But they all require time and dedication in your part.

doughboy

I looked into this same issue when I started commuting last Spring season. It wasn't particularly hot; besides, I live in the bay area, so the weather is usually quite nice.

You will sweat if you ride at a moderate pace. I'm anal retentive about looking, smelling, and feeling professional. I also go to great lengths to dress nice (fashionable wardrobe and fine fabrics). The answer that I arrived at is that I can never commute if I can't shower at/near work. I've tried riding really slow, wet towel bath, diaper wipes, showering the night before AND the morning of the ride, etc. etc. None of it feels right to me.

So, find a shower at/near work and be efficient in how you get ready for work. It also helps to have a locker so you don't have to carry stuff back and forth everyday. Oh, be sure to cool down 5-10 minutes before your shower if you don't want to sweat after the shower. I suppose you can always take frigid cold showers, but that's not particularly comfortable.

supton

Could it be just a matter of training? I know I sweat profusely; but I'm way out of shape. I expect to sweat less eventually, once I get into better shape. Or at least I'm hoping what it takes to bike at say 15mph won't be me riding at 80% but perhaps say 50%. Could harder riding outside the commute make the commuting ride "easier"?

stuartjeff

"It never hurts any less you just go faster"

mtnwalker

I might be out of line, but I don't think so. I've been keeping a log of my commutes to work and I've noticed that no matter how low my heart rate is or how slow I commuted I still get my jersey soaked with sweat. I think I even sweat more when I'm on my recovery rides.

Besides when you get fitter it only seems like you are giving less effort to maintain your bike speed because you now have a stronger, fitter body. But it still takes the same amount of energy to get to that speed. You just have better tolerance for the pain.

The point is you are exercising no matter what your effort is. Exercise will always translate to you sweating.

cyclezealot

Once I lived in Florida. Just by opening the door and I'd sweat as if I were running a marathon. Might as well ride to work. Who'd know the difference. I do have a set of wicking t shirts for just wearing out and about. . They are great.

Jessica

the secret for me is to get nekkid.
after I arrive sweaty, I go in the restroom and take off EVERYTHING. then I use the toilet, wash with a cold cloth, dry off and dress in my work clothing. Just a few minutes with no clothing and then the COLD wash off stops the sweatiness. When I get home, I take a shower, which does the same thing.

LittleBigMan

Hey, Aaron,

I'm in Atlanta, not exactly Louisiana, but we don't get snow here, and I sweat like the devil even in winter.

Carry a change of dry clothes (or have them ready at work.) When you arrive (early,) strip off those sweat-rags, apply the deodorant, and put on the dry stuff (right down to your skin, everything.) Remember that when you've been riding, and you stop for a minute, you'll sweat a lot more. Your body is trying to diffuse the extra heat you've been generating, and now that your blood is slowing down, you can't release the heat as quickly, so you sweat. That cool-down time is essential, and temporary.

I've been doing this (without showering at work) for over a decade, even in Atlanta summers.

Booger1

I'm lucky I guess.I'm a machinist by trade,I can be pouring off sweat in the middle of 110 summer weather when I get to work....and THAT will be the cleanest I'll be all day at work.

roadiejorge 

I shower before I leave then baby wipes and deodorant when I get to the office; I've had no issues with offensive odors although my co workers might just be too shy to say anything...hmm..


As for sweat you can't avoid that, just get clothing which wicks moisture away.

forgetful

sounds like you sweat a lot - covering everything you touch in sweat. I guess there's a few options, here are some of my thoughts:

shave your hairy legs, arms, eyebrows, head, and anything else. your body needs to sweat else your core will overheat = bad. it works because energy needs to be given to the sweat to change it into gas (the amount of energy is called latent heat and is specific to the composition of the substance in question). hair acts to insulate you and to wick moisture away. this means that you have a hot boundary layer around your hairy parts, and when the sweat does evaporate, it doesn't take any heat away from your skin - just from the air in this "boundary layer", and the rest of the atmosphere around that. if you have no hair, the sweat stays on your skin, the energy will be taken from the skin, and the blood which supplies it. overall this cools you down faster so 1) you lose less water therefore increasing your overall performance 2) you get less total sweating for same amount of heat lost. 3) there will be less air resistance on your way to work, so you wont have to exert so much = lower heat production = less sweating. I dont know how much this will actually help your problem, and you may well end up looking rather silly if you have no body hair at all.

you could combine this with standing naked in front of a large fan when you arrive. you'll cool down faster and stop sweating sooner.

Shower at work. I have to agree with some of the other posters, only aqua-man needs an hour-long shower.

forget it. if you live in a hot place, then surely everyone's sweaty at work. at least you worked hard for your sweat.

what i do is ride to hospital (where i work), get changed there and then go and rub my smelly bike shirt in everyone's face. after smelling that thing, people think i'm a glade plug-in.

or there's always this handy little gadget though it might not be your best bet if you want to wear a helmet.

please let me know if any of these suggestions is useful to you.

crazybikerchick

How long is your commute? Any tough hills on it?

For a long and/or hilly commute I agree its not necessarily practical to ride at such a pace that you arrive sweat-free.
I have a short (6 km) and flat commute. The vast majority of the year I take a shower at home, put on the clean clothes I want to wear at work, tuck my pant leg into my sock, and ride. There's no point in sprinting to the next red light, so I'm going at a comfortable pace, which is about the same pace most cars are going (yeah they pass me but I catch up again at the lights)

On heatwave days I sweat just being outside never mind moving. So on those days I'll bring clean clothes (minimum shirt) and change in the washroom with a quick wipe off and fresh deodorant. Or in the rain where it seems either you get wet from the rain or sweating up the rain gear. I must also admit I often forego the helmet in the summer since its easy to get sweaty head that way. I don't think it makes a big difference but I don't want to start a helmet war thread so keep in mind your personal comfort levels here.

Suggestions would be:
- keep the pace aerobic (ie no breathlessness sprints)
- dress as cooly as possible (sometimes I sweat in the cold TO winters from overdressing) and in light colors that don't absorb the sun
- especially on warm days drink plenty of water as you ride
- if you wear a helmet make sure it has lots of vents
- wear a wicking shirt so the sweat moves away from your body
- try to work out a quick freshen up that involves a change but not a shower, and a hair comb
- some people like baby wipes for freshening up
- theoretically the fitter you are the less you will sweat at the same speed, but yeah temperatures just mess with it too
- clean sweat should not smell so don't worry about a little sweat

Alfster 

My commute over the last few years involves the following routine:

- shower at home
- commute 6 miles to work. I leave early enough to give me time to do the next step
- park the bike and find a place outside to rest for 10 minutes. This gives me enough time to stop sweating. Of course I bring a small hand towel to wipe the initial sweat off of my face and hair.
- Go inside and spend a maximum of 5 minutes changing in the washroom and reapplying deodorant.

I work in an engineering office so my work cloths have to be relatively wrinkle-free. When I remember I bring a few spare shirts to work at the beginning of the week and leave them in my filing cabinet. If not, I simply put them in my panier.

LittleBigMan

I want to try that.

ToworkNback

One thing I found really helpful are the "technical" fabrics. They work as advertised and wick the moisture away. After I arrive at work, a splash of cold water through my hair, a quick wipe-down and then a change of clothes seems to work just fine.

InTheRain

I sweat some by the time I get to work. In cold weather, when I have on some layers, I'll take them off down to my base layer while I'm still outside. This could take about 5 minutes, removing rain coat, balaclava, helmet, gloves, rain pants, booties. Then I take the bike upstairs, sit in front of the fan (private office) as I change out of the rest of my clothes into my "professional attire." By this time, I'm pretty much dry... if not, then I keep the fan blowing on me.

Most winter/spring commutes are 20-40 degrees. I could just go shorts and jersey and I doubt I would be sweating then... but then again, alot of times I would be wet from the rain (guess that counts as a shower, huh?) Summer/fall commutes are rarely above 50 degrees... cool enough that I don't sweat excessively. So, even though we have alot of rain in the Northwest, when it's not raining, the weather is optimal for cycling.

If all else fails, can you move? We have alot of demand for "professionals" here in the Northwest. Are you football, basketball, or baseball?? We need help in all those areas.

just kiddin'. Don't sweat it!

Pepper Grinder

Solution: rubbing alcohol.

A quick rub down with a bit of rubbing alcohol will both kill bacteria and help quickly cool you down so you sweat less. You'll gain hours of 'not-stinky-yet' time.

Niles H.

"What I need is to be able to hop off the bike, possibly spending a few minutes to clean up, then get to work, without sweating all over myself and everything I touch."

To answer as directly as possible:

1) Do what you can to minimize the sweat in the first place. Cold liquids (at the right times) can help your body to maintain its temperature without needed to sweat as much.

2) Find a quick-cooldown technique. (Plunges in cold water are among the quickest, even if it is just in a cold bathtub. The cooling effect of this approach is much faster than with showering. Get over the wuss-reaction of avoiding cold water. Native Americans did this sort of thing with extremely cold water, and found it a tonic. Russians do this too. So do some hearty swimmers in SF and elsewhere. They don't recoil. They find it bracing, not fearsome.)

3) To speed things up, use a microfiber towel (light, quickly absorbent, easy to dry) or some other towel, rather than baby wipes or other small items. (I've tried both. A good-sized towel can speed up the process enormously. With a little practice and vigor, you can get it done in seconds.)


*******
4) You didn't mention concerns about bacteria and possible odors -- but if they are a concern, adding something to kill or prevent the growth of bacteria will help. Some people include some kind of antibiotic in the wipe down. That will go a long way toward preventing bacterial growth.

TRUMPHENT

Going to a client site? Wear lycra shorts. Arrive in style. Someone might even see you pull up and lock up the bike. Slap on a pair of Chino or very breathable slacks pull on a rolled up polo shirt. Then, grab your totally knarly panniers and walk in like you owned the place.

If anyone asks about your appearance, condition, etc., do the job and then tell them you are training for a four day ride in France held every four years and then shut up.

Ekdog

I've found that wearing a light Merino wool undershirt like this one eliminates underarm odor. I also like to put a couple drops of lemon or lime juice in each arm pit.

orange leader

I've heard several say that they're waiting until they get in shape so they'll sweat less. I used to be in better shape than I am now, (rode 50+ miles per day, played soccer 3 times per week, and volleyball once a week) but I sweated more when I excersised, than I do now. When you excersize more frequently, your body gets used to sweating at the first sign of exhertion, so it starts to cool itself down right away. I think part of it is genetic too, some people just sweat a lot. The difference is, your sweat doesn't have as much odor as it normally does because you're regularly sweating, and therefore cleansing your system more regularly, if you excercise normally.

My routine is to slow down a little in the last 1/4 mile, so I start to sweat less. When I get to work, I go to my desk, and do some little things like boot my computer, and maybe check email, snail mail, until I feel i've about stopped sweating. Then I visit the bathroom and wipe down, wash my face and arms and re-apply some deoderant, and put on some dry & clean work clothes. I haven't had any complaints about me, but i've heard complaints about others who don't even ride, so I assume I didn't stink too awful much if people were "confiding" in me. Or perhaps it was a hint I just didn't get......Hmmmm.

Cave

I find if I shower at work I'm in there for 2-3 minutes, compared to 10+ at home (waking up, thinking about the day, etc). I spend less time overall getting ready. The difference is that the time I spend is not optional; I can't compensate as easily if I'm running late.

Showering is about the only thing that works for me.