Rajflyboy

How do you commuters handle cleaning up and smelling good when you get to work on those hot days?

AndreyT

A shower at the office. Ride in cycling clothes, take a shower, change to office clothes. Hang your cycling clothes to dry. Change back before riding back home.

If you don't have a shower room at the office - sign up for the most basic membership at the local gym by the office, arrive there, take a shower, change clothes there and walk the bike to the office.

Rajflyboy

Gym by work. I did not think of that angle.

MikeyMK

E-bike

PaulH

Cycling takes less energy than walking and the breeze from the higher speed cools you. Upright bikes help a lot -- so do short sleeve dress shirts and loosening one's tie.

JanMM

Sweat doesn't stink. I always tried to start the commute to work as clean as possible. (And used antiperspirant/deodorant.) Changed into clean work clothes on arrival.

Machka 

Shower at home, quick ride to work, baby wipes at work.

KraneXL

One word: wipes.

You only really need a shower if you're the sort that gets muddy, dirty, or drenched in sweat. Otherwise you just have to worry about the critical zones to avoid any odor. I'm fortunate in that I don't sweat a lot, but I've always been lucky enough to work at locations where they had showers. In one case, where they didn't, I signed up at a gym that was believe it or not, right across the street frrom my workplace.

Other than that, I'd use a baggie with a towel soaked in my own mild disinfectant mix, and there's always a bathroom. Just look for the low traffic bathroom. Or if you're lucky, make friends with the custodian, and get to use the storage room and sink.No it doesn't. But the bacteria that is always present on your skin mixed with it does.

wphamilton

The bacteria doesn't stink either - it's the bacteria's waste product, which means that it takes some time for the bacteria and waste to build up enough. Just wiping off and wearing laundered clothes prevents the body odor.

Jim from Boston

Commuting to work and stenchI enjoy the ideal situation as described by @AndreyT. I cycle commute for fitness, so sweat is expected. Often I don’t have time for a full shower so I do the routine as described by @Machka, even after a hard ride, with my own variation:

Jim from Boston

I have posted on this thread,

shelbyfv

There is a sub forum devoted to commuting. Please ask a mod to move this thread to the appropriate place.

cb400bill

Thread moved from General Cycling to Commuting.

pdlamb

Yep. Just to expand a bit, check your email until the sweat is almost dry, then duck into the handicap stall, wip down, put on clean clothes. Mild-mannered cyclist steps into restroom, out steps Super-[fill in your job title here].

Of course, in the most of the northern hemisphere, you won't have to worry about sweating on the bike for another six months.

Falkon 

It gets hot and humid here. I am lucky enough to have a bathroom at the end of the hall with a shower. I started using that. I'm not generally a super sweaty person, but you just can't avoid it here. I carry a minimal shower kit, deodorant, and cologne. Without a shower, I'd probably wait until the worst sweating stops, use wipes, and put on deodorant.

Darth Lefty 

Essential oils.

wipekitty

I keep a big bottle of witch hazel, some paper towels, a bar of Dial Gold, and a bottle of gender-neutral, non-offensive body deodorant at work. I also wear bike clothes and change - the bike clothes actually dry out while I'm at work (in Alabama, I literally had a cotton shirt grow mold during the work day.)

Normal sweaty days involve a quick wipe-down with the witch hazel - it kills the stench pretty well, doesn't overly dry skin, and has a nice cooling sensation. (FWIW, it's also a main ingredient in a bunch of natural body deodorants as well as Tucks pads.). Extra sweaty days involve a trip to the bathroom to wash face, armpits, and hands with the Dial Gold Bar. If America's favorite toxic antibacterial soap is still too mild, Hibiclens will get the job done.

I don't play around on my rides to work - it's a workout - and my body likes to produce a smell that resembles male cat spray. This strategy has worked for me on some longer (8-10 mile one way) commutes in delightful places like Alabama and North Carolina.


+1 on checking e-mail during the post-sweat. I'd forgotten about that when I first moved back south. Nothing like trying to slide into a sweater with sweat still pouring out.

And yeah, I don't know about y'all, but the AC is still running at my house.

noglider 

I'm glad at least one other person knows the value of witch hazel!

sweeks

A colleague of mine developed a product called "Paper Shower". This might be of use to some commuters.
Availability

crazyravr

Wet Wipes and clean clothes to change into at work.

mojojojo

I have done the shower and ride method and it worked. I kept baby wipes and whatnot but really didn't need them, just deodorant on hot days. Now, I have a gym nearby and I shower there.

rumrunn6

what I try to do is, wash myself regularly & use unscented deodorant like Uncle Tom's. I remember a time many years ago I struggled with underarm odor & not from just cycling. there were times where even during a shower I could still tell more work had to be done. I tried everything in the shower, all the soaps. the killer cure was a dab of toothpaste on a washcloth. be careful tho it can sting. mix it with some other soap. you can also stop up the tub & turn the shower into a bath & wash the under arms with a soapy washcloth under water. another thing I do periodically (twice a year?) is reduce the amount of hair under my arms. I don't mean shaving, I mean combing it & trimming it w/ scissors. I think the less hair there is the less of "anything" will accumulate.

also check your clothes. I wash mine after every use. I try not to let it sit for days before washing because then "stuff" sets in. I think I remember a time when, even tho I was clean & my shirt didn't smell, shortly after wearing it, I started to smell. I think warming up the shirt re-activated the microbes? so I keep after that & I wear liners, aka base layers, aka undershirts just about all the time. it's cheaper to toss those or use them as rags & they help preserve my better shirts

if, like me, you have no shower at work but do have a private bathroom, shower before leaving home, then at the office you can use a washcloth & soap at a sink. I sweat a lot & this summer I was reminded how smart it is to shower at home because at work I didn't require too much soapy washcloth. just get it good & wet w/ a dilute bad of body wash or any soap & squeeze it dry so it's just damp. wipes don't cut it for me. it's so easy to use soap, water & washcloth. & because my hair is thinning, it's best for me to do a quick sink hair wash & rinse with diluted shampoo with a big plastic cup, cuz then it fluffs better. helps to stash a small towel in an office drawer!

here's my "kit"


it helps to arrive before anyone else, so you can get the routine over with, without raising any eyebrows, or whatever