Touring - The stinky cyclist.

How do you keep from offending nasal passages everywhere when you go out in public after a long day of pedal pushing?

I shower.

Provided you don't have access to a shower.


(duh)

:roflmao: :roflmao: :roflmao: :roflmao: :roflmao: :roflmao: :roflmao:
I shower.

hah hahahaha !

How do you keep from offending nasal passages everywhere when you go out in public after a long day of pedal pushing?

Use anti-perspirant, NOT deodorant. The former will keep you from getting overly smelly while the latter just tries to cover up odour. Use it under arms, behind knees and on your feet. Using antiperspirant on feet is also a trick for arctic survival. Keeps you feet from sweating up layers of thermal socks and boots, ultimately helping to prevent hypothermia. (dumb trivia for ya' ;)

Bring "baby wipes." Pack about a dozen to a ziplock bag and carry a couple or three bags. (that's kinda overkill but you never know when they'll come in handy.)

If you're camping, make sure you have a complete change of clothes and make washing the dirty set your #1 priority - before doing anything else - so they can dry while you're working on dinner.

I guess that seems self-explanatory. :\ You asked though... :)

Provided you don't have access to a shower.


(duh)


Well, you can find showers in campgrounds, swimming pools, truck stops, hostels, and various places so most of the time, you will likely have access to a shower.

If it happens that you don't, you can always take a dip in the ocean, or a river, stream, or lake.

Or use baby wipes.

Provided you don't have access to a shower.


(duh)

Well, as usual I have about 10 different things to say, some of which are contradictory. To some extent I don't CARE if i smell too much; i figure if someone doesn't want my business, they can tell me to get my smelly ass out of their establishment. Second, my size 14 feet reek to high heaven even when i am not riding, thats just part of me.

On a more serious note...It usually is pretty easy to rinse off my face, arms, and upper body SOMEPLACE before I go into a store or cafe to buy or eat. On the days when it is hottest and sticky, like last week here on the east coast, I carry a towel within easy reach. You can always slip on a fresh cycling jersey as well. I shave my head so that I don't have a huge mop of sweaty hair to deal with.

I tend to go into pretty rednecky places anyway...ya got guys in there whose jeans are covered ass to teakettle with machine oil and have guts hanging out with distended navels filled with gnurr. So I kind of blend in. :)


roughstuff

I plan my tours and am pretty darn sure the camp ground with shower is where I will end up. If not, I would have to use baby wipes. well, hikers on many a Mountain hike only have this to resort to. I would be really aggravated if I had to smell all night. Probably would not sleep in my tent..You might see me atop a picnic table or something.

Use anti-perspirant, NOT deodorant. The former will keep you from getting overly smelly while the latter just tries to cover up odour. Use it under arms, behind knees and on your feet.

I've got to disagree with that. Anti-prespirant hinders the body's normal functions, especially when trying to cool you off. Instead, along with your legs, shave your pits and use all-natural deodorants such as Omega Nutrition's (http://omegahealthstore.com/cgi-bin/omega?XwsSrvID=XOmega01,[a=01[b=31[c=01[d=gemotuna[e=00146067[f=xxxxxxxx[g=7-83482). Along with your healthy diet, you won't smell.

Here ... this subject has been discussed in great detail before. You might get some hints from this thread:

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=108199

Stench is largely a product of what you put in your body.
Eat good stuff, no meat or other chemical /steriod laden crap
and you wont stink. Also a little vial of Wintergreen alcohol
which you can use for flat repairs too can be used to freshen
up in a restroom wipe down.

Well, you can find showers in campgrounds, swimming pools, truck stops, hostels, and various places so most of the time, you will likely have access to a shower.

If it happens that you don't, you can always take a dip in the ocean, or a river, stream, or lake.

Or use baby wipes.

I agree with all those options. Although not a big fan of the baby wipes. Just cause I hate the smell. I have always had some kind of access to water. So in the worst case I have just gone out in the forrest with some bio soap and my water bottles and that worked for me.

MBD

I agree with all those options. Although not a big fan of the baby wipes. Just cause I hate the smell. I have always had some kind of access to water. So in the worst case I have just gone out in the forrest with some bio soap and my water bottles and that worked for me.

MBD

You're right. A person can usually access water somewhere ... sometimes you've got to be a bit creative about it though. For example, if you are riding near beaches (ocean or lake), you can wade right into the ocean or lake with all your cycling gear on and splash around for a while ... even without soap. And then, quite often beaches have those outdoor showers to wash the sand off before people get into their cars. Those are great ... have a little shower! Sometimes there are change rooms near beaches too, and sometimes those also have showers.

Often parks have taps or pumps here and there. I've used them to do a sort of 'bird bath' shower. I've even climbed into a sink in a kitchen area in a park and had a bit of a bath a few times, especially on hot days. Those park sinks are about twice the size of a normal kitchen one and you can sort of half sit in them, or on the edge and wash.

And as I mentioned, truck stops are great ... they've got everything you need there!

You've just got to look around.

You're right. A person can usually access water somewhere ... sometimes you've got to be a bit creative about it though. For example, if you are riding near beaches (ocean or lake), you can wade right into the ocean or lake with all your cycling gear on and splash around for a while ... even without soap. And then, quite often beaches have those outdoor showers to wash the sand off before people get into their cars. Those are great ... have a little shower! Sometimes there are change rooms near beaches too, and sometimes those also have showers.

Often parks have taps or pumps here and there. I've used them to do a sort of 'bird bath' shower. I've even climbed into a sink in a kitchen area in a park and had a bit of a bath a few times, especially on hot days. Those park sinks are about twice the size of a normal kitchen one and you can sort of half sit in them, or on the edge and wash.

And as I mentioned, truck stops are great ... they've got everything you need there!

You've just got to look around.


haha I like the way you think. It reminded me of a couple of showers on my last tour. It was this beautifull day at cannon beach in Oregon. I could'nt resist and did the bay watch run into the water jersey being thrown off at some point of the run. It felt great one of the few times on the Oregon Coast that it truly was warm enough to swim. The other three riders played it safe and missed it. Now they looked at me saying so no whatcha going to do to get the salt water rinsed off. Well I just went to a beach house and asked if I could use the hose. And the rest is history.

I use a deodorant/anti-persperant. Right Guard works wonders for me, and so does Degree. If I use Degree, I usually pick a powder scent, which works well.

Otherwise, baby wipes do a lot of the trick. You can carry travel packs that weigh next than nothing and fit in your saddle bag.

Koffee

Using anti-perspirants is not harmful or "disruptive" in any way.
You just sweat slightly more everywhere else to compensate.

Generally, feet don't smell much as long as the shoes are on.
If you wear open sandals, it's a different matter, but that probably also means your feet aren't very sweaty to begin with, as they're ventilated and cooled much better.
Feet are also easy to wash off as long as you can find water somewhere.
A stream, a lake, or the ocean. If none of those are available, any toilet will do, as long as it's got a wash basin with water.

For armpits (the only other place that smells, normally), use a proper anti-perspirant (with aluminium chloride or related compounds, and preferrably alcohol) and make sure you're clean and dry when you put it on. Also make sure it's dry before you get sweaty.

Fresh, clean sweat does not smell bad, and what you eat has nothing to do with how it smells, with the exception of a few cases where substances ingested are passed out of your body along with the sweat. Garlic is one such thing, IIRC, but garlic is so foul-smelling that sweat is (or should be!) less of a worry if you're around people.

If you wash and apply anti-perspirant before you engage in sweat-inducing activities, you won't smell afterwards. At least I don't. My family and friends have confirmed that to me.

I should also add that it's impossible to cover a bad smell with a good one.
Lesser noses might think it's possible, but it's not!
If you smell bad, dousing yourself with perfume will only make you smell worse!

Stench is largely a product of what you put in your body.
Eat good stuff, no meat or other chemical /steriod laden crap
and you wont stink.
Pardon my skepticism.

Make yourself a solar shower with a 2 qt. Juice conatiner and an extra cap.
Paint the container flat black, drill out the extra cap with some small holes, hold over your head and you will feel great. Use Doctor Broners soap, its bio degradeable. Forget that chemical glue stuff under the arms... yuucck
-mtb

Pardon my skepticism.

You should be skeptical since body odor is caused by the bacteria that live on our skin. A warm and moist armpit is perfect breeding ground for them.

Using an antiperspirant will hardly affect the body's ability to cool itself since armpits have a small surface area and there is usually little airflow (that's why they are so moist and warm!).

What stinks most after a sweaty ride (I am an expert, being a sweat machine) is your clothes. After a ride, wait to stop sweating, change your shirt, use deodorant or anti-persperant, slap shorts on over your bike shorts, and you should be good for most occasions. You won't be fresh enough to try to put the moves on that cute ride partner, but for people farther than one foot away, you will be OK.

I heart skinky cyclists! I think anti-perspirants are not very good for you.

i used anti-perspirant for a few months on my armpits. developed a 20-30 gram cyst/growth over the course of just a few days. doctor said i should stop using anti-perspirant. cyst/growth went away. now if only i could say the same thing about the malignant tumor i had in my neck....

Baby wipes.
You can buy little travel sized packets from camping stores or grocery stores. A little big for after a short ride but killer if you're touring.

On long tours carry a x-large ziplock and a little bottle of laundry soap. Throw yesterdays clothes and some soap in the bag, lash it to your panniers and ride on. The sloshing and bouncing will do most of the work, rinse a couple times and hang dry when you get to camp. Small system, but you can wash a pair or shorts, socks and a light jersey in a 1 gal ziplock.
Only problem is if you're touring in Oregon-like humidity nothing ever dries.

i used anti-perspirant for a few months on my armpits. developed a 20-30 gram cyst/growth over the course of just a few days. doctor said i should stop using anti-perspirant. cyst/growth went away. now if only i could say the same thing about the malignant tumor i had in my neck....

Wow. That sucks.

I remember someone else mentioning they got an infection in their mouth from using mouthwash (Listerine).

I don't doubt these things can happen but I wonder if this has something to do with body chemistry. Everyone is slightly different and can have different reactions.

I've been using mouthwash DAILY for 5 years - twice a day - and anti-perspirant once daily for about the same time. I've yet to develop ANY kind of infection, cyst, growth, fungus etc.

*shrug*

Could be something ridiculously silly like eating nippy cheddar (which I do) but I think this is one to just chalk up to untraceable factors. (unless there've been studies on this...)

"Soylent green - made from people... how's it taste? It varies from person to person."

Pardon my skepticism.

Here is a question from a WEB MD forum that explains.....
There is loads of stuff on this subject but without reading any of this stuff
real life experience shows me the people I know who have constant odor problems
are the ones who have the worst diets.


Question: I have a problem with body odor - I have tried all kinds
of soaps and deodorant and have even consulted many doctors. Unfortunately, none
of them could help. I even try to consume food without spice and garlic. I need help
in any way possible.


Answer: When you visit the zoo, notice how the animals smell. If you get close enough
to notice, you'll find that the meat-eating animals like lions and tigers are foul-smelling,
restless, and pacing. In contrast, animals that eat a predominantly plant-based diet, like
elephants, are quite different. They tend to be more peaceful and they don't smell bad.
In some cultures, like India, they even burn elephant dung or cow dung and use the ashes
for religious purposes.


Of course, humans can be either carnivores or vegetarians, but you can smell
the difference. Your body excretes toxic substances like excessive amounts of meat in your
breath, perspiration, and bowels. When you eat a lot of meat, it takes a long time for it to
make its way through your digestive tract. As it putrefies and decays, your breath smells
bad, your sweat smells bad, and your bowels smell bad. Not very attractive.

Soaps and deodorants don't address the underlying cause of bad breath and
body odor. Try going on the diet I recommend for a few months, and you will likely notice a
big difference. At the same time, drinking a good amount of water combined with
exercise and saunas can help you perspire and cleanse. You might also go to a dentist to
make sure that you don't have any small pockets of bacteria and pus trapped in your gums.

Stench is largely a product of what you put in your body.
Eat good stuff, no meat or other chemical /steriod laden crap
and you wont stink. Also a little vial of Wintergreen alcohol
which you can use for flat repairs too can be used to freshen
up in a restroom wipe down.

You do NOT want to be around my mom when she belches.
She's a vegetarian and when she lets one rip (either end) it smells like rotting compost...

Having said that, I do understand that poor diet containing a lot of saturated fat can make you smell odd.

You do NOT want to be around my mom when she belches.
She's a vegetarian and when she lets one rip (either end) it smells like rotting compost...

Having said that, I do understand that poor diet containing a lot of saturated fat can make you smell odd.

:roflmao: :roflmao: I dont even know how to reply to this....
Or if I even should...........So your Mom..... uhh, nevermind ! :roflmao:

so no meat = smell ok?


good thing all I eat is cabbage...

Shaving the armpits reduces a lot of the odor since a lot of the bacteria cling to the hairs.

Unfortunately not cycle touring related, but an anecdote that I find amusing...

Following the RAC Rally around Wales and England, 5 days, 5 blokes sleeping in 3 cars on the side of the road in the forest.

While travelling between stages we stopped off at the Golden Arches for some health food, and the use the facilities...

The manager was less than impressed when he entered the gents for find one of my companions at the hand basin with his pants around his ankles indulging in a McKnobwash...

I eat meat - drug injected and not.
I eat lotsa beans and legumes.

I eat sardines and asparagas.

And the whole time I'm riding I sweat like a pig who swallowed a pound of habeneros.

I don't stink! At least not that I notice.... :)

Usually if I am going to a place where there are people that I may offend with my odour; there is a place where I can get clean shower, lake ect.
Places I have trouble finding amenities do not usually cater to the population, such as the bush lining the highway, or a ditch.
In these places nobody will care what I smell like. Although it is always nice to finally find a shower, after a few days of avoiding civilization.

I've been vegetarian for two years and omnivorous before and after those two years. I never noticed any difference in the way I smell.

On the other hand, I'm sure that what you eat influence your well being and the way you smell... its just that I have always been carefull about what I eat, at least in terms of taste and quality... I still have progress to make about quantity though ;-)

You do NOT smell bad because of your diet.
Unless we're talking garlic, which is one exception.

But meat/veg has nothing to do with it.
The fact that the text in an earlier post refers to meat as "toxic" should be warning enough that the text is biased.

Here is a question from a WEB MD forum that explains..... [snip]



Answer: When you visit the zoo, notice how the animals smell. If you get close enough
to notice, you'll find that the meat-eating animals like lions and tigers are foul-smelling...[snip]



This smells a bit fishy to me. My cats (obligate carnivores) smell just peachy.

Note: I'm a vegetarian, and I've been known to smell a bit goaty after working out. :D

I believe there is enough material out their for people
to make thier own decisions. In my small sphere of reality I
have both types of aquaintances. In EVERY instance, the vegitarians
dont have any of the health issues the carnivors have. They weigh less,
have better skin tone, smell better, are way more energetic /athletic and even look waaaaay younger than their meaty peers. I dont need to read anything about it or worry what anyone says 'cause Im forced to look at the proof every day.
Veggies....Taste great, less filling !

And I'm telling you what you're saying is nonsense.

The actual reason for what you observe is of course that people who are vegetarians generally have better knowledge of nutrition and are healthier people in general.
However, eating meat or not has nothing to with it, just that people who eat meat generally live and eat less healthily than vegetarians.

It's a fact that the healthiest diet for a human being includes meat in various forms, especially fish. You can get by as a total vegan, but it's not the best for your body, and requires profound knowledge of nutrition and a highly varied diet.
The issue is simply that people who eat meat often eat far, FAR too much of it.

Veggies....Taste great, less filling !That's just it, though. I hate wanting to eat 16 times a day, so I've never been a very successful vegetarian.

I don't mean to accelerate what has already become a pretty wild tangent, but: Hitler was a committed vegetarian, all his adult life. He was also infamous for the foullness and frequency of his farts--one aristocrat whom he was trying to impress during the 1920's ordered all the windows opened after Hitler left to air out the house!

So can we find our way back to the poor bloke's initial question, or is it hopeless?

I can do without mammal flesh, but I needs me some seafood baby!
(preferably drenched in garlic butter)

Besides I'm doing crustaceans and mollusks a favor when I consume 'em.

A chance to re-roll the karmic dice.

Back to the original quesion... Whats wrong with smelling? After a while, your nose adjusts and you can't smell yourself regardless of how bad to smell. I realize everyone else can smell you, however. I hiked the Appalachian Trail and we all smelled real bad. Of cource buisnesses were still willing to accept our money. Realistically, water from any source and a wash cloth will help out wonderfully. I'm sure a full body wax would help, but the itching would keep me away from that option.
On a side note, and up for dissagreement... According to the backcountry office at a National Park I worked at, even biodegradable soap is bad for the environment. So if you are going to use it, idealy you should rinse off away from the water source (unless its a water facet), or just be aware that you are not saving the enviroment.
Scott

meat makes you smell bad?
good smelling things make you smell better.

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP (BS METER AT OVERLOAD!!!)

1-I've treated dozens of gastritis cases who ate/ drank nothing but vodka/iced tea or gatorade or even bottles of mouthwash, let me assure you that is the worst smelling breath.
2- meat is not a toxin... there may be toxins in it... as there may in any food, but before dropping that comment, be specific. Methane, ammonia, bacteria smell. Lots of other things smell. Cow-Steroids... oderless, not what i think of as healthy either, but you can't blame everything on toxins.
Speaking of 'toxins' one of the largest sources of common contamination or exposure to 'toxins' Bottled water, soda whatever. Studies now tracking the breakdown of plastics leaching 'toxins' into our systems.
3- Some people's sweat just smells different. Factor of bacteria (wash all you want, you'll make more) or glandular production.
4- the meat thing again, (sorry an ex-vegge myself so not bashing) take a celiac (gluten intolerance) on a 'healthy' whole grain diet, and you'll get some serious methane production...

(Troll on.)Yeah, well, Hitler was a vegetarian, and was known for the frequency and foulness of his farts. So there! (Troll off.) ;)

I'm kinda having a hard time taking this thread seriously...

Isn't common sense, that changing out sweaty clothing, and running a washcloth under your pits, and thru your crotch twice a day (and a full sponge bath once a day [preferably before crawling in that nice clean sleepingbag!]) will take care of all but the most offensive among us? (some folks just plain stink - cycling or not)

(Troll on.)Yeah, well, Hitler was a vegetarian, and was known for the frequency and foulness of his farts. So there! (Troll off.) ;)

Not trolling at all. I'm a trained historian, and all three major biographies of Hitler mention this problem of his. Pretty relevant post if people are arguing that vegetarianism is a cure for odor. What's YOUR problem?

What's YOUR problem?Every full moon, I turn into a werewolf.
:(

Every full moon, I turn into a werewolf.
:(

There's a way to cure that, but it sounds complicated (http://www.larp.com/neroatl/sharnhorste/severa/lycanthropy.html).

Solve this problem the old fashioned way...
wear WOOL jerseys!

They really do work.

Make yourself a solar shower with a 2 qt. Juice conatiner and an extra cap.
Paint the container flat black, drill out the extra cap with some small holes, hold over your head and you will feel great. Use Doctor Broners soap, its bio degradeable. Forget that chemical glue stuff under the arms... yuucck
-mtb

Alternatively, at a camp shop buy a solar shower, £7.95 a 15 ltr. I fill 3-4 ltr worth , whilst setting up camp it heats up in the sun to take the cold edge off in half an hour. It showers very well and a clip to switch on off the shower to minimise water used. Hang it up in a tree, comes with string and hook, and I have very thin nylon shorts, I shower in this, as it dries out very fast after the shower.

As for deodrants, never used them, used salt crystal, which alters the chemical composition of the armpit, for the bacteria to live in. no bacteria no smell. These are now available in most health shops and do really work.