bluefoxicy

At my last job I was showering before I ride, and swapping out my clothes.

This new job has a shower right at work. I'm considering keeping a towel down there and also storing a WonderWash and spin dryer (that I'll just donate to the company--really, $200, it's nothing), so when I get out of the shower I can turn all my stuff over and have it washed and almost dry (those base layers will be wearable; towels will be effective but clammy after 3 minutes).

That raises the question: Do I need to shower anymore before work? Or do I just bike in and shower there? Or is the question moot because I'll have to shower after work anyway, which counts? Two showers a day...

I know most people here bathe immediately before work.

Man I'm not sure about this. Going to work and getting naked in the building is weird.

kenji666

You said they have a shower at work. You normally shower naked.
So yes, I'd bike in and shower there. Bring your change of clothes, towel, and toiletries the day before.
You may also need to bring your breakfast and lunch the day before and store it in the fridge.

MattFoley

Shower at home = higher water/gas bill. I'd shower at work just because it's free, but my commute is long enough that showering at work is my preferred option regardless of the cost savings.

What? You're going to buy a washer/dryer to wash your AM commute clothes for the PM ride home? Just hang dry 'em, it'll be fine...and just bring a small towel in every day along with your clothes. A hand-towel will get you just as dry as a big towel, but takes up way less space and is easier to wash.

wphamilton

I don't see any point in showering both before and after the commute. It sounds like you're planning on riding in your work clothes, washing them and then wearing them? Or just the towels and cycling clothes, which is a good idea. I'd keep all of my work clothes at work, if I could get them cleaned and dried there, and never have to carry anything in.

bluefoxicy

nah the spin dryer is a tiny little desktop unit, but it sucks the water out of the clothes. Usually base layers are wearable, other stuff's hangable.

I rather don't like wearing the same dirty cycling clothes back home 8 hours later--they're terribly foul. Hanging them to dry is less bad than balling them up in a bag, but it's not great. Less like wearing the same pants two days in a row, more like wearing the same underwear two months in a row.

weshigh

I have a 15 mile commute in the morning. I shower before I leave in the morning. Also have a shower at work, but don't use it much anymore. In the early days I'd just do a fast rinse once I got to work. With summer coming up, I'll be doing that again. Starting off cleans means I don't get stinky and wear wool which doesn't get stinky very fast. Hang drive my riding clothes and they are good when its time to go home.

erig007

And shower while riding?
Some places can have some heavy rain.

the_tool_man

I'll preface my description by saying I have a mostly desk job, so I don't typically get dirty or sweaty at work. OP didn't specify. But that may make a difference.

I am fortunate enough that my workplace has a shower and lockers. So, my locker contains work shoes, a towel, soap and deoderant. My work clothes and lunch fit into a rack bag on the bike. I eat breakfast and shave at home in the morning, ride in, shower, dry off and dress at work. I hang the wet riding clothes to dry while I work, and wear them home again. I suppose if the thought of wearing sweaty clothes home was more than I could bear, I'd rinse them out before hanging them up to dry. But I haven't found this necessary. During the summer months, when I sweat the most, I'm usually doing yardwork or some other activity outside after returning home anyway. So having to shower that evening isn't atypical whether I ride to work or not.

Now if I had a "sweaty" job, I might forego showering before work. But otherwise, showering twice per day doesn't strike me as overly wasteful. I'm pretty sure my coworkers and my family would agree.

jrickards

I sweat a fair bit, especially on days when I try to race in to work (16km) so I NEED a shower when I get in. My (bald) head even sweats when I walk in (45min) at any time of the year, assuming I'm dressed appropriately for the weather. In the summer, my head can be naked, yes, I said it, naked, when I walk in and it will be dripping with sweat. On hot, sunny days, I'll even bring my riding clothes in the shower to rinse them off and then I'll hang them over my bike (outside) to dry through the day, although by lunch, they'll be dry.

cplager

If you don't have a shower at work, shower at home and then ride (and then carefully wipe yourself off with wipes or whatever).

If you do have a shower at work, the answer seems pretty clear...

RidingMatthew

I don't shower before my ride in... i do shower at work. I put on work clothes that I leave at work.

I ride in my lycra, 11miles one way. I hang them up in a locker and they are dry and don't smell too bad to ride home in. The only really exception is my halo headband. I have two one for to work and one for to home. It smells bad no matter if I rinse it or not.

erig007

Have you tried a merino headband?

JReade

+1

I ride 10 miles each way, and come summer months, it's humid and hot. You'll get soaked just standing outside, so I'm gonna get soaked riding regardless. We have a shower here, so I ride in with my clothes in a pannier, then shower off and hang my lycra in a storage room to dry. I have a small fan that I brought in to dry boots, so I just turn it on the clothes. Dry by the time I ride home.

RidingMatthew

hmm i have a merino jersey and smartwool socks where do you get a merino headband? i like the gutter type thing the halo has. I SWEAT A LOT from my forehead.

the_tool_man

+1 on the Halo. Effective and stinky.

imi

I start every day with a hot then cold shower, mug of strong black coffee and rock 'n roll...
Wakes them ol' bones up for riding to work

the sci guy 

I'll be starting a shorter 6 mile commute this week - and I teach at an elementary school, so, yeah there is no shower!
I'll be showering in the morning before I leave, and when I get to school I have a small towel, some refreshing wipes, deodorant, and some baby powder. Should be good enough for the early morning before it gets hot! I'll hang my riding clothes in my closet and change into them again for the ride back to my car.
In the afternoon on the ride home, meh, who cares!

erig007

There is the Icebreaker quantum headband currently sold out nearly everywhere (UK and NZ are my bet) and some Smartwool headbands. I didn't see any from Ibex.

https://www.amazon.com/SmartWool-Smar...erino+headband

https://www.edgeandwax.co.uk/33121/pr..._headband.aspx

https://www.bivouac.co.nz/icebreaker-...and-16833.html

timvan_78

I shower at work after the ride in.
Sometimes I go for a run at lunch time, and need a rinse off after that. In those occasions, the towel wasn't drying out in time. I got a speedo sport towel, which is a microfibre cloth that is magic. Squeeze it and it becomes DRY. It is the size of a facecloth, but will dry your entire body. It feels weird sliding across your skin, though. Like a sham-wow! lol.

WonderMonkey

Showering at work isn't free, it's just someone else paying for it.

When I work somewhere that has a shower I wait until I get there and use the facilities. I take an extra pair of socks for the ride home but otherwise I use the same clothes I rode in with.

tjspiel

I shave at home and shower at work. I wear the same stuff home that I rode in with and then change when I get home. I bring a new towel in weekly (more often if it gets funky but usually it's OK for a week).

Shoes get left at work but otherwise I transport new work clothes each day. Keeping spare clothes at work too is advised in case you forget something (speaking from experience).

I know there are some people that don't like to put on previously sweated in clothes but they'll be sweaty before too long anyways. Socks are an exception for me, - not so much because of sweat but if I suspect they're going to get really wet I'll bring a spare pair. Dry socks = comfort for me.

bunkiefd4

I normally just pack my work clothes in a small book sack on my back. When I get to the firehouse I take my shower and then get dressed. We have a washer and dryer there so I can wash and dry if I need to but I normally don't wash my riding clothes. Now that the summer is getting here and it only gets 500 degrees over here ill have to start washing and drying due to how much ill be sweating.

Just pack your work clothes in a small book sack and shower when you get there. Then get dressed. Pretty simple.

Buzzatronic

So far I've had success showering at home and riding to work and changing there. Seattle weather means it's still below 50 in the morning so far and unless I push hard, I'm not really sweaty when I get to work other than my head. I guess the real test will be in the summer when the morning averages are closer to 60 than 40. I may end up starting my commutes earlier just to get cooler weather in them morning.

Rob_E

It hasn't been that warm here, yet. We've had days warm enough that I've come to work in shorts an athletic tee, and changed clothes at work, but it hasn't been warm enough yet that I have felt like I would get to work needing a shower. There are still plenty of days when I come to work in my work clothes. But then most days I take the bus most of the way and only bike 3 miles of work. But it's getting warmer, and in the past I showered, rode, and changed, but I also was able to keep the bike riding down to 1 mile if I wanted. But whether I biked 1 mile or the whole 7, there was no option to shower after I got to work.

Now even that scant 3 miles is likely to make me sweat when the humid summer sets in, and it's unavoidable due to my office relocating to off the bus line. But, with the office being in a new building that was built to get certain environmental certifications, there are showers present for bike commuters. As of yet, I don't think they've been used. Most people seem to find the idea of showering at work pretty funny, but then I'm only one of maybe three bike commuters in a staff of somewhere near 100 people. I expect I will be the first to christen those showers, and I expect that it will be in the coming month. Having spent time waiting to cool off, and spending the first hour of work moist with sweat, I think this will be an improvement. However I haven't determined yet if this will be the shower of the day, or if I will also shower, and perhaps shave, at home after my evening commute.

Medic Zero

Some days I shower before riding in, even though I always shower before I get there. Depends on how funky I am, when the last time I showered was, and how much time I have before I roll in. Often when I shower before riding in, it is either to help wake me up, or to warm me up before riding in during winter, especially since the first couple miles of my commute is basically slightly downhill, so I'm starting out cold and not exerting myself much.