RWBlue01

This is probably in another thread. Just point me to it.

So you are on tour. How many days can you wear the same jersey and bicycle shorts?

I sweat. I meant I really sweat.

cyclist2000

I wash clothes every night. cycling clothes I normally bring 2 sets, incase last nights wash is not dry.

MarkvW

When you ride, you chafe your buttocks and thighs, creating marvelous open doors for bacteria. And cycle shorts are a Garden of Eden for bacteria. And your feet can become a perfect swamp for bacterial growth. Saddle sores, infected pores, yech.

I wash my clothes every night, right after I get in the hotel room and before I do anything else. Get some biodegradable liquid soap. Go as polyester as you possibly can. Cycling shorts, jerseys, and thin polyester socks will dry out overnight in the room. Other stuff will either dry out during the next day's ride or will dry out during the next night.

If you're camping in dry weather, you ought to be able to find a faucet and wash your clothes there.

If you're riding and camping in wet weather . . . I'd be interested in hearing what the more experienced people have to say.

Bekologist

I push overnights in one pair of shorts.

on longer tours, wash and change shorts every day.

I wear wool, and have worn a jersey for five days straight - i even wore it off the bike - in 100 degree weather. it was pretty salty by the fifth day. Generally, i wash my jerseys about half as much, usually get 2-3 days out of a wool jersey before i wash it.

I do bring 3 pair of shorts on traditional trips, and rotate thru. wear 1 pair, 1 dry pair in panniers, 1 pair drying on top rack (if needed), otherwise packed. Ultralite trips, its 1 extra pair.

wahoonc

This is pretty much my routine, I don't recall pushing a wool jersey to 5 days though...

Aaron

mulveyr 

Especially a couple of years ago when I was 40 pounds heavier, I sweated like a pig. I absolutely needed to wash my synthetic jersey and shorts every day.

Now that I mostly wear wool, I can get two days, and could probably even get three out of a jersey, but I'd still swap the shorts every day.

staehpj1

I wash them as often as is convenient, but lately I have started to take only one pair of shorts and one jersey. That said both have probably gone at least 5 days between washings when water was scarce and I was wild camping. When not able to wash them for an extended period, I try to at least turn the shorts inside out and lay them out in the sun for a while in camp. The UV exposure is probably more effective at killing what might grow there than washing is. I find it important to get out of my bike shorts and into something that lets me air out a bit. Running shorts work well for that as well as for sleepwear.

I have not had major issues with chafing or saddle sores on tour despite having done some month long and multi month tours. I do put Balmex or some other zinc oxide based diaper cream on any minor chafed spots before they become a problem. I usually do that when I am off the bike for the day and find that it works magic overnight.

Oh, BTW I hate wool and avoid it like the plague. It hold more moisture, dries slowly and in my experience stink as bad or worse than most of my synthetics. Granted a few of my synthetic garments do get stinky faster and worse, but others do not. I don't take the problematic ones on tour.

andrewclaus

I bring just one set of cycling clothing on a long tour. Typically I wash it in a public restroom during the day, put it back on wet, and wear it dry. That's often quicker (and more refreshing) than a laundromat dryer. If it's cold enough that I don't want to do that, I'm not too worried about the sweat and filth and may skip a day or two, or look for a laundry facility in town. In hot arid conditions I'll do the UV trick as mentioned above.

dellwilson

I would not want to go more than two days on my bike shorts. Honestly, I wouldn't want to put more than two days into a jersey, but the risk there is simply stink while the risk on the shorts is saddle sores.

Getting kit clean it not a big deal if you have access to plenty of water. I carry Wilderness Wash or Camp Sudz (Walmart) and use that on myself, pots/pans, and clothing. Works well.

In the southeastern U.S., the problem is getting your kit to dry in the humidity. Here in Alabama, we average humidity in the 60% range and clothing will not dry overnight without help.

If you have a sunny day and can get to camp early enough to have hours of sunlight left, wash the kit early and get it on a line in the sun. Strong sunlight will dry polyester even in humid conditions. If you're in a wooded area, you may need to move things as the sun moves trhough the trees. I always carry line for which my most common use is laundry.

If you have access to an air conditioned space nearby, you might hang your kit in there overnight depending on your assessment of the security. I camped in a state park recently that had a/c in the bathrooms and I hung my kit in there overnight and all was well the next morning.

Of course, if you're in a place that has coin laundry, you're gold. I like to take full advantage of those when available becuase the next few venues may not offer anything.

Understand that I really, really hate crawling into wet clothing in the morning. But given the choice of riding more than two days in a pair of shorts and putting on clean, wet shorts, I'd definitely take the latter.

BTW. If I didn't have access to plenty of water for washing, I'd consider using the alcohol intended for my camp stove to sterilize my chamois. However, I've never been in that situation so I can't profess experience with this.

fietsbob

I bring 3 pair of shorts so I have a clean pair every morning.. and scrub my sitsplaces skin,
wash 1 , dry one and wear one.

to keep from getting carbuncle/saddle sores..

surgeon's anti bacterial scrub, soap

imi

Cotton! I ride in cotton t-shirts with the arms cut off and regular cotton underpants under nylon running shorts and cotton socks.

Hang them over your bike or tent overnight they'll be fresh as newly washed by the morning. 5 days between washes no problem.

All you guys buying $100 smelly synthetic t-shirts that bacteria and funguses thrive in, crack me up. The sports industry has got you bent over!

My t-shirts cost like $5.

Flame away!!!

indyfabz

Putting stuff that's still a little damp in your sleeping bag at night can help dry it. I did that last week when a rain storm forced me to take down a bib that was air drying.

RWBlue01

I don't know. Maybe you don't sweat like I do. Maybe you are skinny.

All I know is I started with t-shirts. Then got one jersey. I will not go back. I am warmer on the cool days and cooler on the hot days.

Do what works for you, but....I am not going back to the t-shirt for riding.

RWBlue01

What laundry detergent/fabric softener?

I have never "washed" anything in the sink.
I have rinced items out, but never "washed" them.

imi

I use shampoo, either wearing my clothes in the shower, handwashing or in a washing machine.

wahoonc

I usually used Woolite or a similar liquid detergeant when hand washing things in the sink. Trick is not to use too much, makes it hard to rinse out.

My best laundry story was when I was on tour in the midwest. It had been cold and pouring rain for 4 days. We had been pushing to make mileage. I was wearing most of my clothes because it was cold. Pulled into this little town in Iowa, walked into the laundromat, picked a washing machine and loaded up, then started peeling off clothes and adding them to the washer. The lady running the place was watching with interest.... I got down to a T-shirt and a pair of running shorts... her comment "I was wondering if you were going to stop before you got to your birthday suit!"

Aaron

imi

^^ haha!
I've had funny looks in campsite laudromats when washing all my clothes dressed in nothing but my rain gear... on a beautiful sunny day :/

jbphilly

I'm skinny and don't sweat much but I'm with you. I'll never wear cotton again for athletic activity if I can avoid it...

MMACH 5

This is what I usually do. Just wear my cycling clothes into the shower, lather up, disrobe, rinse and wring.

spinnaker

Make sure you take your cell phone out of your jersey pocket first! Don't ask me how I know this.


I usually take 2+ sets of bike clothes. Depending on the possibility of cool weather I will add a long sleeve jersey or two if I know it will be cold the whole tour.

One set is rinsed at night and dried. Hang on bags in morning if still not dry.

I have off bike clothes too. I usually take 2 pair of pants and 2 or 3 jerseys / tshirts. I use those pants that zip off at the legs so they can double as shorts.

I'll take a comfortable pair of shorts for sleeping and wear them when doing laundry on longer tours.

If I know it is going to be warm I just bring a pair of sandals that double as shower sandals. If it is going to be cool then a light weight pair of shoes. Gives the bike shoes a chance to air out.

mcallaghan

What does one do when lots of rain is expected and thus air drying clothes on back of bike is not an option? I've brought plenty of clothes with me to Ireland - my tour starts on monday - and will obviously not be taking them all with me on my tour. Trying to figure out how many jerseys/bibs I should bring given the expected deluges.

stevepusser

Actually, one can pick up synthetic shirts for $5 at some clothing liquidation stores around town here. Soccer jerseys are brightly colored, but I also like nice loud and ugly Hawaiian rayon shirts in warm weather. I can pick up nice synthetic athletic socks at the dollar store, but since I'm usually riding with no socks in Shimano SPD sandals, I really look like the "ugly American". I draw the line at plaid Bermuda shorts, though.

I also know of a cycling wear manufacturer here in Santee, CA, where I can pick up nice shorts and jerseys at around 1/4 to 1/3 the price in shops, for my Sierra touring, about 1.5 mile south of the ACA southern tier route, but it's mine...my precious... OK, a hint, it's very near the Chemtronics duck pond.

andrewclaus

And this edges on another popular discussion--do you try to stay dry, or just get wet and try to stay warm? I fall into the latter camp. And that's another reason I don't wash clothes at night--I just wash them during the day and put them back on wet. If it's raining, so what? At least I'm clean and wet. My last ride in the North Cascades in the US, where I had nine consecutive days of rain and snow, I still only needed one set of cycling clothing. I was sometimes able to dry, or mostly dry, my clothing overnight in my tent (that's hard in 100% relative humidity, i.e. fog), but putting wet clothing on in the morning is only a problem for a few minutes. Every few days I'd get to a laundromat or a host's house and that was luxury.

indyfabz

Heh. Also make sure you take it out before you take a dip in that roadside lake on a hot day. Don't ask me how I know this.

staehpj1

Even if you go full price, Target has Champion tech tees for under $10. I wear mostly Nike DriFit or Under Armor Heat Gear always bought on sale for pretty cheap, some as low as $5. Places like Ross usually have some really cheap. I find that cotton winds up getting wet quickly and never dries in humid conditions. It works well in hot dry conditions, but I never take any cotton clothes on tour.