General Cycling Discussion - Tub or shower?

After a long ride, A pleasure that sustains me over the final miles is the prospect of running a lovely hot bath, removing my cycle clothes, getting in and lying soaking for maybe a couple of hrs.

Aaaaaaaah bliss!

BUT!! being a relative novice to this road cycling game. Talking to a road sage the other day, he suggested that soaking in a bathtub immediatly after many miles of cycling was the wrong thing to do.
A luke warm shower after the ride would be more appropriate.
I dunno? I must admit I can feel pretty tight in the muscles after a long soak.

I enjoy the tub myself. But I wonder if a little stretching after the ride and drinking a glass of water may help the muscles. :)

I can certainly understand the pleasure of the long soak. However, I do agree that lying still immediately after waging exercise is probably not the best idea. I suggest some stretching after a gradual cool down should probably precede the long soak. Don't givve up the pleasure of the bath entirely though.

Never bath alone & you will decrease the possibility of drowning:D

I enjoy fixing my bike (as it usually requires something done to it) then a quick shower :)

I stretch then I prefer to shower , then soak (if I have the time). I have a clawfoot tub that you can fill pretty full and it is cast iron so the heat stays in for a long time.

Someone once told me that taking a bath is like soaking in your own dirt, so now I shower first, then soak.

I have no choice but to shower, since I don't have a bathtub. And, having outgrown the sink a number of years ago, that is no longer an option. :D

I get a bath once a week whether I need it or not.

JACUZZI!

Not that I have one.

I think I need one though.

Come home. Wash hands. Pull contacts out because sweat + dry eyes + contact lenses = PAIN. Eat. Shower. Eat again.

If I'm really hot (warmer months) I sit on the front porch and eat a popsicle while cooling down.
http://www.dmgice.com/~john/images/popsicle.gif
Then I head for the shower.

Cooler months I just grab a couple of dates on my way to the shower.
http://www.browndategarden.com/photos3/lineup_deglet.jpg

Originally posted by MtnBikerChk
JACUZZI!




I'll second that! It's the best especially lately with our cold temps.:thumbup:

I can't imagtine where I would get the time for a bath. When I come in fromn a ride, I get into the shower, scrub off for four or five minutes and move onto the next thing on my way-overcommitted schedule.

DITTO.

In fact, I am usually still on the cycle when I realize I am going to be late for work. Thank goodness I am in charge or I'd never get away with it:)

I enjoy a nice cool down, a light jog or walk, followed by a LOOOONNGGG jacuzzi. I then take a shower later to get the chemiclas off me, and make me smell fresh! :D

If there is time, a long soak in the hot tub, then a shower.

Originally posted by velocipedio
I can't imagtine where I would get the time for a bath. When I come in fromn a ride, I get into the shower, scrub off for four or five minutes and move onto the next thing on my way-overcommitted schedule.

I hear you, but then again many busy folks couldn't imagine finding the time to bike either. I guess one makes time for what your well-being requires. My most satisfying rides have concluded with a nice hot soak - after scrubbing the grime off first, in the Japanese manner. Few things are more relaxing than to cap off the euphoria of a good ride with a few minutes of steeping. It's like icing on the cake, except a lot healthier. :)

I've always preferred showers to baths, but I tend to like them HOT. Even in warm weather, although during the hottest of summer days I turn down the temp. Usually though, I like to be parboiled. I always stretch first and have a nice coold drink. During the warmer months, I like to go for an after dinner walk when I've had a long ride, to wash the lactic acid from my leg muscles.

A shower. Usually a cold one.

We both love baths, so installed a 2 person Jacuzzi corner bath at home. If it's a cold ride home, often enough Sandra has the bath run and a nice glass of red wine beside it, and some music or a magazine so I can chill out.

I know I'm lucky!!

Oh for a bath!

I only have a tiny shower cubicle, and a shower that is capable of:

1) a hot dribble
2) a lukewarm stream
3) a cold shower

....and that is on the high setting. God knows who would want to use medium or low. It is worse in winter when the mains water temperature is lower and I really need a hot shower after the commute :rolleyes:
Still, at least I have a shower and running water.

If the shower cubicle was bigger, there would be room for two......

.....and I could get the bike clean :D

(My fiancee would not find this amusing, though she is very supportive of my cycling this would be a step too far!)

First I mix what left in my water bottles, square the bike away hot shower cold rinse and finish off beverages with a healthy snack, and if lucky i won't have go to work when I'm done

Originally posted by digger
I get a bath once a week whether I need it or not.

Dirty beast, you!:)

An uncle of mine once joked, that he has 12 pairs of underpants, one for January, one for February...

And he always changes them on the last day of the month - whether he needed to or not.:D

I'm odd, in that I like a soak in the bath first thing in the morning. Admittedly getting out to go to work is a problem ;)

Richard