Originally Posted by
beebe
As a rather sweaty person myself, I'm not sure I understand why you're having such a large problem dealing with sweat. I ride six miles to school with either wool or athletic polyester clothing and a backpack. When I arrive I am usually sweating, but within five to ten minutes of getting off my bike, I'm well on my way to being dry. I don't have an issue with going into class wearing an athletic shirt or a wool sweater, and I seldom smell even if I'm still a little bit sweaty.
I say to just dress light, ride a reasonable pace, and keep your clothes on when you arrive and let the sweat evaporate. That's the point of sweat, and also the point of wearing clothing that wicks away moisture.
Sorry but that doesn't work for some of us. I've had commutes of around 5 miles downhill and still have to let my clothes hang to dry because of how much I sweat. And I live in very dry Colorado. I don't wear 'regular' clothes for this reason...partly.
Originally Posted by
WalksOn2Wheels
Ok, let me try and put it into perspective:
This is Texas. We're talking southwest humidity. If I sweat a good bit in the cold in Texas, the driest time of the year, just imagine me in the high 90's with brutal humidity. Even on days in the high 70's I'm usually already sweating after having just taken a shower and riding back across campus to where I park my bike at (close to my other classes). And with that in mind, remember that it can be 10 at night in the summers here and still be in the high 90's.
And when I say bike specific clothes, I guess I'm being a little misleading. I don't always wear padded shorts, and I'm rocking pedals with toe clips, so no special shoes or anything, but I'm often in a wool jersey and wearing tights if it's cold enough. I need to get some lightweight wool T's or jerseys, but for now I'll have to run with thin polyester stuff in the summer. Basically, it's just stuff I wouldn't want to wear to class. I understand this may work for others, but seriously, if I rode 7 miles and wore the same polyester gym shorts all day, people wouldn't want to be in the same room with me and would talk about me behind my back. I can shower 3 times a day, but 30 minutes of good riding in polyester and that stuff just gets funky on me. This is why I stick to wool whenever I can. Not everyone has this same problem with polyester.
So yes, I understand that wal-mart shorts and poly tees work for short rides for many of you and can wear the same stuff all day. This just isn't an option for me, unfortunately. Trust me, I'd LOVE to be a generally less sweaty person. I guess it's glandular...
The best way to get your clothes dry for the ride home would be to hang them up somewhere. Can you find some one who would let you hang them in a office closet or cabinet? If you use synthetics, you could run them through a dryer if you can find access to one or if there is a coin-op laundry near the campus. Keep the temperature low and it won't damage synthetics.
Alternatively, how about carrying two changes of bike clothes? Change into the dry stuff for the ride home. I know this is a hassle but it beats riding home in cold wet clothes.
Further, you could just HTFU, as our friends over in the Road forum always say, and put on the wet stuff. It's cold and wet for a while but it warms up as you pour more sweat into it. I don't like to do this. I know most people don't but it better than riding naked
Although that would depend on the rider
