wooljersey

I started a new job yesterday with the largest employer in my community. Since I have been 'on the road' for the last ten years, I was excited about the opportunity to commute by bike again. Unfortunately the facility my office is in does not have showers. Most of the company's other buildings do, but mine is the oldest.

Since I have to dress up for work, I just don't see how I can do a 9 mile (each way commute).

JeremyZ

Hi Wooljersey. Can't you just go to another building for a shower? I realize that would add time to your commute, but that's the only thing I can think about. After you shower, you should be able to make a short ride to another building in your dress-up clothes.

If the bathrooms are for one person at a time, you might be able to sponge bathe...

LouisIV

No showers here either.

I do 14 miles each way.

I have to dress up for work.

Either find a 1-hole (bathroom that is only one toilet) or find a handicapped stall.
I use babywipes, and anti-perspirant. I smell fine, and I feel AMAZING because of the exercise on the way in.

Ride in poorman's lycra (polyester, Target has some REALLY good stuff at a really affordable price), and change clothes after your baby-wipe rub-down.

If you're worried about your clothes getting wrinkled, drive in on monday with your clothes for the next 4 days. I fold my stuff carefully, and into ziplock baggies, drop it in the pannier, and I'm fine. (I made my pannier for about 8 dollars using a kitty litter bucket, some bolts, and some bungie, but there are also garment bag panniers out there)

There are always going to be excuses not to ride in, but there are plenty of good reasons TO ride in. Just don't think saving on gas is one of them lolz, I save a gallon of gas a day. Down here, that's about 2.50-$2.75. I'd say I spent at least that on the extra food I have to eat. But, on the whole, human fuel tastes better than car fuel.

Plus, you get to be outside, you get to ride, and oh yeah, did I mention ENDORPHINES? Amazing stuff. I drove in yesterday, because of errands I needed to do for work during the day. Felt like crap, sleepy, exhausted. Got up 2 hrs earlier today and rode in. Feel AMAZING.

Give it a shot on a day you don't have any big meetings, and see from there. Can't hurt to try it at least once.

Juha

We didn't have proper shower facilities until a couple of years back. I would take a shower in the morning before commute, ride about 15 kms to work, arrive all sweaty, go to bathroom and use baby wipes. Change of clothes and I was ready, though we don't have a dress code here. Getting your work clothes there wrinkle-free may require some thinking, but it can be done. I have a Smartpack Suit Pack (I'm a guy), it's great but they've been "out of stock" since forever. I'm sure there are other solutions.

--J

snorkel

No showers here either. I shower right before I get on the bike in the morning and put on clean "bike clothes" (typically cargo pants and a cotton shirt). I have a garment pannier from Nashbar that I keep my work clothes in. When I get to work I go to my office and shut the door. Cool down a bit and then towel off (I keep a towel in the office). I then use baby wipes to freshen up and put on some fresh deodorant. Get dressed and go to the restroom where I wet my hair and dry it again in order to remove the weird corn row look that my bike helmet gives me. So far nobody has complained about me being stinky, nor has anyone complained about my professional appearance during the workday. I think the key is to shower right before setting off in the morning and wearing clean clothes. Sweat by itself is not smelly.. It is sweat combined with bacteria that is smelly. If you start clean it shouldn't be an issue.

I'm a bit spoiled by having my own office, but I think I could manage just as effectively in the men's room.

bergjm

wooljersey - Not sure if you mean suit an tie or business caual (nice shirt and dress pants). The client I am working at now, I were a golf type shirt and dress slacks, and I fold them nicely and use the plastic from the cleaners. I put the folded pants into the plastic, then put the folded shirt on top of the plastic and fold the top part of the plastic over the shirt and slide it carefully into the pannier. The clothes stay nice without wrinkling. If you have to wear a suit, there are panniers that are built for that as snorkel mentioned. Do a search on "pannier suit" and you will see other threads on this.

I also have no shower facilities (I can dream though), so like others have said I take a good shower before leaving home, and dress in clean "cycling clothes" right before leaving the house. Before changing into my work clothes, I try to sit at my desk for a bit in front of my fan to try and cool down a little. To change, I go into a stall in the bathroom, and use Bathing Wipes (No Rinse, Fresh Bath) to wipe off - I think they clean a little better than baby wipes. Along with the Bathing Wipes, I keep deodorant and a small towel in a desk drawer in my cubicle, so I can dry off and freshen up. If I am really hot the hair under the sink helps. I don't need a comb since I usually get a haircut before it gets to the "needing combed" stage.

snorkel

If interested, this is the garment pannier I use: https://www.nashbar.com/bikes//Produc...2_166278_-1___

No complaints.

opie

Is there not a gym close by maybe? You might could work out a deal with a smaller gym (not a big chain like LA Fitness) where they would let you shower for a nominal fee per month if you brought your own soap and towel

JPprivate

You list Midwest in your profile. Midwest is big, but here in Chicago, I feel sweating only becomes in issue in the summer months. I do pace myself in the morning, and don't sweat at all (spring, winter, fall). See if you have dry cleaning in the area where you work. I do that sometimes in the summer or fall that I just pick up dry cleaning right by my job and hang it up in my cubicle. That allows me to come in in t-shirts. My dress shoes are already always at work. We have a handicapped bathroom, which I use to freshen up. Works well.

dwilbur3

I work for a certain large state transportation agency and we don't have any showers either. (ARG!) But I ride 9 miles each way everyday with the wet paper towel/deodorant thing. Works great. I'd still rather have a shower, but that won't happen in this building.

truman

22 mile round trip, no showers here, either. A shower before leaving the house, a cool-down period and a 2 minute sink bath are all that's required to not smell or feel nasty.

Breathegood

I currently have a shower and locker room, but I didn't for a long time and used the baby wipes and deoderant in the desk method. I think the baby wipe idea is pretty well documented and widely used. Depending on the temperature, personal level of fitness, and propensity to sweat, you may need some extra cool down time. If I've had a particulary hot ride in, I will use a paper towel wet with cold water from the bathroom sink to help me cool down before I get into the baby wipes. Sometimes I would need to give the back of my neck and top of my head (very short hair) a second "cool down" wipe 5-10 minutes after I've dressed.

As for clothes: Unless you are needing to carry a suit and tye or pressed outfit, rolling the outfit up seems to be the easiest way for me to avoid too many wrinkles. I start with my slacks as a base, put my shirt, underwear, and socks on top, loosely roll everything up from the ankle cuff, and use my belt to loosely secure the roll. It fits in my panier along with my lunch and raingear.

Always wear clean and fresh riding clothes. Let the clothes take the funk off your body when you remove them rather than compound the stink with dirty clothes.

9 miles isn't that long of a commute. Take your time to enjoy the ride. Don't make it a race (on the way to the office anyway), and you shouldn't require too much cleanup.

SlimAgainSoon

We've got showers where I work, but some of the cyclists don't bother ... they just cool off, wipe off and change.

xtrajack

I like a product called Rocket Shower. I also have some home made dry shampoo. Works well for me.

brawny

+1.

We have showers that I could use, but unless I'm sweating bullets, there isn't any point. I work in my bike gear for about 1/2 hr or so, and then off to the bathroom to freshen up. I'm a cubicle rat, and have a filing cabinet that keeps a big enough wardrobe that I just cycle clothes home for washing as they get dirty. Change of seasons is a bugger though - I've got a filing cabinet full of long sleeve stuff and sweaters.

I also have a bar fridge under my desk (not sure if mgmt would approve, so shhh!), that I keep stocked with hardboiled eggs, cheese, yogurt, veggies, fruit, etc. I figure I spend half my waking hours here during the work week, so I'm entitled to act like I live here! :-)

AdamDZ

I shower in the morning and try to pace myself to limit sweating. Once at work I wash my hair in a sink and clean up a bit using either wet towel or wipes. Then I apply deodorant and I change clothes (including socks and sneakers). Although I dress totally casual (shorts and t-shirts) but I could do the same if I had to wear a suit. The main point is that I don't smell. I'd just have to get a better pannier with a garment carrier for more formal clothing.

I also keep my hair very short, shave underarms and wear merino wool when riding. I do sweat a lot but these strategies allow me avoid being a nuisance to my coworkers

justintime

+1 for the baby wipe wipedown method. Take it easy on the ride in, cool off for a minute, then wipe body with baby wipes and rinse hair in the sink. Works great for me.

mskibinski

I just started commuting a couple of days a week to a new job in March. It's a 30 miles one way and when I started they had no showers. I talked to another part time bike commuter and lunchtime joggers and we convinced the company to put a shower in at work for all of us. We used a oversized bathroom in another building, took out the toliet and installed a shower. It ended up being only around $400 total, which isn't too bad. I only had to do the no shower thing for a couple of weeks and it wasn't that bad because it was still cold in the morning. In the summer months it would have got bad, though. If interested here are a couple of links for the shower. Good luck!
https://doitbest.com/Main.aspx?PageId=64&sku=431054
https://kscdirect.com/item/MUS%2B72/E...XT%2BBASE%250A

sauerwald

I shower and get dressed in another building (gym) which is about 1/4 mile away.

rumrunn6

maybe shower in the other building?
if you do a sink cleanup you might try what I did in the past:
diluted Neutrogena shampoo and washcloth - good for the head and underarms, etc. Neutrogena rinses really well
just bring a hand towel too
if you arrive early enough - no one will ever know!
+1 for showering before you ride

benda18

this thread reminds me of one of my favorite BSNYC pieces:

https://bikesnobnyc.blogspot.com/2009...-you-wear.html

rumrunn6

re: "there's no reason we should all have to pretend we didn't travel to get to work"

right on, man

PaulH

Given that a bicycle is an energy saving device, how come pedestrians don't need to shower upon arrival at work?

Paul

JeremyZ

That's easy. If we went the same speed as pedestrians, it WOULD save energy. But once we get on a bike and feel how easy it is, we just put enough effort into going faster that it isn't as easy any more.

If a typical walking speed is 3 mph, you wouldn't break a sweat to go that fast. If anything, you'd have to shower from cleaning your wounds from falling due to going so slow.

How about 6 mph? That's a slow jog. You probably still wouldn't break a sweat to ride that fast, but you'd be sweaty if you got to work as a pedestrian going that fast.

Double it again, 12 mph is an easy-going pace for me. Unless it was really hot out, I wouldn't sweat to ride that fast. We're already going 4X faster and only maybe would we break a sweat.

But you knew this. Just wanted someone to type it out, right? Hehehe

chipcom 

^^ this