Forms of Guerilla Bathing -- Adventures, Experiments, Ideas?
 

Partial-body bathing is one approach, when showers are not available. Some freewheeling artists in San Francisco talked about this approach. You just take a couple of minutes to do a body part at a time. At a party, for example, it isn't too uncommon for people to spend several minutes at a time in a restroom. So while they are in the restroom (a 'normal' activity), they just use the sink and do partial-body washes. One trip it might be the trunk. Another might involve a leg or two, or the arms. Another might be the head. The feet might be on another stop.

These can be combined with conventional trips to the restroom; and it's still possible to stay well within reasonable time limits this way.

It seems that there is, or at least can be, something of an art to sink bathing, and partial-body sink bathing. Any ideas? It seems possible to get more and more efficient at it (or do more with less time), and this could be a useful skill to have on tour.

*******
Sprinklers? Hoses? Creeks? Rain? Hot springs? Lakes? Puddles? Water jugs? Churches? Fire stations? Snow? Ice? Oceans?

Ever heard of, tried, or imagined anything unusual?

Omnivorousness tends to be more adaptable. It seems like a good evolutionary strategy. It can be good to have a large quiver of possibilities to draw from -- especially on some tours, and in the wide range of situations and opportunities that can appear while on them.

Do you lie awake at night thinking up new ideas for threads? "Touring Antarctica?" "Food Poisoning?" "Guerrilla Bathing"? Just wondering.

I carry a washcloth and take it to the washroom with me when I haven't been able to shower. I can do a pretty good cleanup in just a few minutes!

watch for "Perfecting the Art of Anywhere-Anytime Speedbathing"

It would be great to develop that skill and have it down -- maybe continuing to refine it, taking it further, and getting better at it.

Microfiber towels could be a part of this.

I love those things.

There's a medical center study that gives some scientific backing to what you feel when using good microfiber towels (that they clean much better, and are great at removing oily residues on the skin somehow, and that you just feel cleaner),

UC Davis Medical Center made the switch from conventional loop mops to microfiber mops in patient-care areas after finding through testing that microfiber mops did a better job of penetrating surface pores and removing dust particles than conventional string mops and cloths. For example, after a surface was cleaned with conventional tools, a bacteria culture showed a 30-percent reduction, while microfiber materials reduced bacteria by 99 percent. Also, because they weigh much less than conventional....

30% vs 99% seems substantial, even surprising.

http://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/newsroo...mop6-2006.html

For the small amount of extra weight, I find it's worth carrying a packet of wet wipes. I probably end up smelling like a baby but that's OK ;)

If available I usually head for the "handicap toilet" (sorry if this is not the PC expression)... Usually a lock on the door, lots of space for the guerilla thang... and no "normal" time limit :)

p.s I really enjoy the "odder" topics, too many helmets, tires and "best bike" threads, hihi... Keep 'em coming Niles H. :D

For decades i have carried a small solar shower and more recently a 2 & 4 Liters platypus water container as my shower set up. You can buy or make a perforated extra cap for the platypus to act as a shower nozzle.
If necessary I heat up some water about 1/4th of the container and fill the rest with colder water to reach shower temperature. I then wet myself down in navy style shower mode. Then l lather up with a biodegradable soap and then rinse off with the remaining water.

I use an Absorber synthetic chamois to dry off completely. I wear light swim shorts if in a crowded camp ground. I shower far away from water sources. Done at almost no additional weight penalty.

Regarding your Adventures in Guerilla bathing question:

While circumnavigating Glacier bay NP in my kayak I pulled in near a remote waterfall of melt water from a glacier to take a shower after two weeks on the water. Halfway through the shower I heard noises behind me from the water. I was accidentally mooning a cruise ship that had quietly pulled in behind me.
I have been memorialized as a specimen of native culture in video or photo albums somewhere.

This works really well and is compact.
http://www.rei.com/product/758045

I have also used wet wipes but it's nice to use warm water.

I love thinking that out of all the various and sundry skills in the world someone might choose this as thhe one to train and hone.

i use my hat to spongebathe. washes my hat and keeps me cool for a bit

If you`re in "civilization", what`s wrong with showers in truckstops, YMCA gyms, or at beaches?

If you`re in the boodocks, who cares? Either don`t bother or just bathe where you please. Watch out for cruise ships, of course.

Niles ... you desperately need to get out of your living room and go on a tour. When was the last time you were on a tour? When was the last time you rode your bicycle? Posts like this would indicate to me that it has been a very long time since you've spent any time on the road.



As it happens, Rowan and I don't live in the pristine environment you apparently live in. In our world ... our post bushfire world ... we have very limited water and do not have a readily available shower. We have a cast iron bathtub in the corner of the living room where we take baths about once a week ... just like they used to do in the "good ol days". On the other days we use other methods to maintain some semblance of cleanliness ... but washing individual body parts at parties isn't one of them.

Have we "imagined anything unusual" ... like you do? No. We live the unusual. It's not imagination. It's real life.

Machka, frankly I don't think your post adds value to this thread. Disparaging the OP for raising a perfectly valid issue is not helpful. And how is it in any way relevant that you and Rowan are short of water? I feel very, very sorry for the victims of the Victorian bushfires -- and personally arranged an appeal that collected a significant amount of relief supplies -- however using that misfortune to dump on the OP?? You've had a lot of touring experience and you have the ability to make a positive contribution to this thread.

Machka is The Most Helpful Rider on BF.
Go ride your bike.

I did something like this on a solo bike tour. Due to some rather messy geohashing the day before, I arrived at a restaurant (the only place open) in a small town completely filthy. I mean, covered in dirt, mud, and BO. After ordering, I snuck into the bathroom and used paper towel, soap and water to get vaguely cleaner, and put thermals over my knicks and jersey. I can't say I was really presentable afterwards, but perhaps I was no longer putting other patrons off their meals...

>Do you lie awake at night thinking up new ideas for threads?

Why not, it's happened to me...

You're quite right but it is precisely because a forum member carries the status you describe that he or she needs to be more wary of dumping on other members who are simply raising their issues or questions.

Last kayak tour: at the end of the day, a dip (without soap) in whatever body of water I had paddled along into the camp. Every other day I'd carry a couple of litres of water a good distance from source, then wash myself quickly with soap there.

Kayak trips are easy, one obviously has water readily available. I don't care if it's sea, lake or creek water, for washing purposes it's all good around here. Bike tours can be more complicated. I'll brush my teeth with the fresh drinking water I have in bottles, but that's about it. I carry wipes, swim when I feel like it and there's a chance, camp by a natural water source / get a proper shower every couple of days at least.

Proper bathing around here requires a sauna, definitely. Guerilla saunas deserve a thread of their own. :D

--J

Actually I applaud Machka for having the guts to come out and say what a lot of other people have been thinking. I was personally holding out for the "anyone ever tour on the moon" thread....but this one was close enough.

Brava! Brava Machka!

I thought the 'any male cyclists get sexually harassed on tour' thread two years ago was proof Niles needed to get out more... or seek help.

Holey moley. If you guys don't like the subject of a thread, there's no reason for you to read it much less to respond to it. Frankly, I appreciate creative threads and have sometimes generated my own share of controversy - on purpose - with the ones I have initiated.

I think if we are to learn, we need to push the envelope. And at the same time we need to be tolerant of others' writing styles: we are a diverse group that doesn't always communicate effectively. But saying that someone "needs help" because he/she intitiated a controversial thread is over the top and warrants an apology.