Commuting - What do you do?

Just curious, how do you deal with showering once you arrive at work. I don't know about many of you, but after a 15km commute to work I neeeed a shower. The problem is, none are availablewhere I work.
I'm sure not all of your employers have them either.

I sweat like a mug of beer, but I don't need to shower after my 13 mile ride to work.

I do shower at home before I leave, of course. Then when I arrive I towel off and try to spend 10 or 15 minutes cooling down, which is key -- otherwise, I'd still be sweating after changing clothes.

Then I just wipe down with baby wipes. There's nothing "dirty" about sweat. If you wipe it off along with whatever salty residue is left, and then apply your deodorant, you'll be just as clean as if you'd showered.

Cooling down is key. Leave earlier to give yourself cooldown time if you have to. My situation is ideal, because I have my own office. I can stay in the bike clothes and check messages and such during cooldown, but do what you have to.

It also helps to have as little hair as possible on your head! :rolleyes:

RichC

Cooling down is the key. I go 17mi in the morning and I get pretty sweaty in the summertime. No showers at my office either to help cool off or 'de-smell'. I usually take a few mintues outside when I arrive at my building and drink some water and stretch out a bit. Then I walk upstairs and put my bike away. Grab my clothes, deodorant, cologne, hair brush and my shoes and I am off to the bathroom. I wash my face and head (very little hair) and wipe off whatever else is wet. Put on the necessities and then I am back to my desk. I am usually still warm for another couple minutes, but not really sweating.

I know of others that work out at lunch (I run during that time) and they stink the rest of the day. So I have made it a point to take people aside and inquire if I do smell even a little bit. I work in an office with four others and no one has a problem.

Even after a shower in the evenings I still will be sweating if I do a quick one, cooling down is very important.

Plus, take it easy on the way to the office.

I shower at home in the morning. Also, I double-rinse my cycling clothes. After 14 miles, I'm wet on arrival. But the only problem areas are underarms and crotch. If I address these, all's well.

I've also noticed that the more synthetic material I wear, the more I produce odor.

I suppose I could get away without showering but it feels sooooooo good to hop in that baby after 13 or 20 miles, depending on the course I take. In either case, by the time I get to work there is not one dry article of clothing on me. I am an absolute mess.

Like Pete, I rinse my bike duds in the shower so that they're at least bearable on the way home. And I also agree that the synthetics trap more odor for some reason.

In Silicon Valley it is very rare for a workplace to not have showers.

Well, I live in a climate that is hot for nine months of the year and warm for the other three. While I had a shower at my workplace (which I am no longer at as of 8 days ago) the only time I ever actually used it was when my shower at home simply wasn't working. I usually found that a decent spray of deodorant did the trick of keeping the odours under control, as well as making sure that you have all bases covered in regard to change of clothes (including fresh underwear).

P.S. My commute was 23.5km one way.

Originally posted by Chris L
at my workplace (which I am no longer at as of 8 days ago)

What happened, Chris?

Originally posted by urbanrider
Just curious, how do you deal with showering once you arrive at work.

Others have touched upon it already, but let me second it: proper cooldown is key to commuting via bike but without a workplace shower.

I wear clothing that breathes well and doesn't keep sweat in. I also try to slow down my cadence and speed during the last mile or so so that my body can begin to cool down, too.

After I arrive, I immediately change out of my cycling clothes into my work clothes. But then I spend another ten or so minutes just walking around, pick up my snail mail, etc., allowing my body to cool down even more. I think the last thing you really want to do is sit down and allow your sweat to not evaporate and to soak your clothing.

During that time, I will carry with me my towel and constantly dry off my chest, back, head, and underarms when I can in privacy. I do this until I don't feel like I'm sweating anymore.

After about 10 minutes, I feel cooled down enough to start work. And I use some deodorant, too, under the arms. So far no one's ever complained to me at work and my SO says it works, she can't smell me.

I bring a bar of soap and a wash rag and use the sink to wash the smelly area's(bird bath) then put on deorderant and a small amount of cologne. oh yeah I change clothes..

Originally posted by DnvrFox
What happened, Chris?

To put it politely, the company went down the crapper. :(

That's why you've seen so many posts from me in the last week and a bit. Well, I've got two more interviews lined this week (one in Brisbane), so hopefully I won't be out of work for long. The best thing would be if I got another job right away, then got a generous redundancy package (which I've heard might be a possibility).

I'd second the technique of cooldown. Its is so much more effective and quicker to cool down on the bike than by just standing around. Bring your pace down so that your heartbeat and breathing are near normal as you arrive. For the last 1-200m, just roll along, so you are not working, but the wind is cooling you.
In a hot climate, you can chuck a waterbottle over yourself for the final roll-along. In a temperate climate, make sure you are not overdressed.
I used to use a damp sponge then towel down before I had showers at work.

I don't have a shower at work and doubt I would use it if I did. I shower before leaving the morning and take it easy on my ride in of 10-12 miles. I live in the southeastern US and it gets pretty warm in the summer months. During these times, I usually wipe off with baby wipes and deorderant. I've never had a problem with this approach.

Going showerless saves a lot of time and trouble. No towels, soap, etc to haul around. No getting athelete's foot in a public shower.

Dave

I have seen ads for larger size wipes than your standard baby wipes, but can never remember the brand name when I am in a store. Anyone seen anything like this?

I've found the larger wipes in the soap section of drug stores, also in elderly care sections. I use the larger wipes plus a spash bath in the sink. If your work place has a handicaper restroom check it out. They often have a larger sink, plus you can clean up in private (unless there is actually a handicaper in your work place who needs to go!).

shower in a can: deodorant. i dab the sweat away with a towel and then apply old spice deodorant. fresh clothes from my panniers top things off (so to speak). no one has fainted yet and no one's eyes have crossed, so i think it's ok. just to be safe i always position myself down-wind in closed-door meetings.

;)

I keep those baby wipe things in the fridge at home and work, very refreshing! In terms of the size, I acually prefer the smaller ones so I use fresh sheets for the different parts of the body, I get the store brand generic type.

I agree with many others here -- baby wipes. Kimberly-Clark makes a nice big one, but I prefer the little ones too.

The baby wipes are great for bathroom wipes, especially during longer rides to reduce bacteria and saddle sore. For me, this REALLY reduces chafing on longer rides.

Mary Ann