How far until you need a shower?
 

Hi folks,
After moving house I am again considering cycling to and from work. The trip is now only ~5Km each way, which is a bonus.

I'm sure I can figure out a way to do bring in work clothes etc however I would like your opinion on whether I will need a shower after this trip? I can shower at home before the ride which I have heard still helps. I can also not rush the ride so I don't sweat too much.

Basically I am trying to avoid also bringing in to work the gear needed to shower, especially the towel and finding somewhere to hang it to dry, which is frowned upon if it's somewhere at the office.

There's no reason you should need to shower with that short of a ride. You might work up a small sweat but it's such a short ride I wouldn't worry about it

I've never really asked, but no one's volunteered in a "nothing sacred" small office environment; so I assume I'm not creating too bad of a stink. Also, I do actually have an office vs cube farm. I shower before ride. I ride 17m, arriving somewhat early. Eat breakfast while I cool down. Change/wipe down in bathroom. Hang clothes on tree rack. I think most of the grime comes off with the clothes. As long as your not wearing the same stuff everyday, the clothing doesn't seem to get too bad. I have better luck with lightweight merino wool vs synthetic options. And I keep an extra stick of deodorant in the desk drawer.

There's a theory that deodorant and antiperspirant are more effective when applied the night before. So even if you shower in the morning before riding to work, trying applying the underarm funk neutralizers before bed. Supposedly it doesn't wash out easily, so even if you shower and scrub the residual anti-funk stuff will still be effective.

Applying scented deodorant/antiperspirant at work probably won't fool anyone, but they'll probably be too polite to say anything. Applying that over sweat just smells even stronger of a combination of body odor and chemical funk.

One of my co-workers years ago became very self conscious about body odor after she'd developed renal failure. She didn't really smell bad at all, but I was accustomed to patients with kidney failure. But she thought she smelled bad and applied deodorant at work. The interaction just produced an almost overwhelming chemical odor. But nobody said anything. And it cleared up after she recovered from the bout with renal failure.

Sweat doesn't stink. Assuming starting the day clean and deodorized prior to the commute.

Shower before you leave, get there early enough to wash off in a bathroom and cool down, apply deodorant and go about your day. With that short of a ride, you could simply wait for the sweat to dry naturally and you'd be okay. Enjoy and don't overthink it.

What kind of temps and dew points?

This.
Over the course of the year I can ride in to work at 80F with 70's dew points and sweat in the first block or 15F and be cold after 6 miles.

Shower before you leave and wipe off at work. I've used this for commutes up to 10 miles, although over 5 miles a shower is welcome (to me, at least!). 15 miles needs a shower, IME.

I routinely commute with temps in the high 90's and dew points of 75+. Once I get on the road, the temps often are around 105F due to the heat radiating off the asphalt. Today the dew point is 78%. I have large hills since I live in Southern Missouri in the Ozarks, and I arrive soaked in sweat, but still, as long as I shower before I leave, and clean up with water on a washcloth when I get there, and apply deodorant, I am fine.

that's a very short ride, a shower should not be in order. It you're concern just take some baby wipes and wipe down your armpits, neck, chest, and crotch (last of course); then apply some deodorant or antiperspirant if you have a bad case of underarm sweat going on.

Slow down before you start sweating. It's the same with walking in the heat, if you get hot you can't cool down, but it is possible not to get hot. Actually cycling is cooler than walking, because you have much more airflow with the same energy input.

Today it would have been about one block. I was sweating just walking down the steps from my house. Took the subway, maybe later I'll ride home on a Citibike.

Hopefully you'll be fine with the strategies you've suggested yourself.

I would choose one co-worker that sits right adjacent, and you're friendly enough to chat with, privately pull them aside, tell them you are cycling to work, you don't want to offend anybody by stinking, so please help out and let me know if you ever smell anything and I will take care of it right away.

If you want to bring a towel, look around for an out-of-the way place to hang it, like is there a janitor's closet or storage area you can ask to have a hook put on the wall? Also it doesn't have to be a giant, fluffy towel, those take ages to dry. Consider something like this microfiber towel, very small and portable, dries super quick, comes with a loop for hanging and a bag for storage. The smaller ones (16x32"?) will dry your whole body surprisingly well.

there's a shower at the office and you're worried about your towel? what do they expect ppl to do with their towel?

Good point, if they have a shower, they should have a place for towels...

Are you hairy?

No, but thank you for asking. Plot twist - I'm female.

I'm trying to quickly look up the yearly weather for where I am, but no luck with such a quick search. It's winter here at the moment (Australia) with daily maxes around 18 degree Celsius with a dew point of around 10. It's probably chilly enough to wear a light and/or windproof jacket, especially if I'm trying not to work up too much of a sweat.

Coming into summer things might be a bit more hectic as it will get hot and humid. But I won't think about that too seriously for now.

Regarding the towel thing, I've finally been given access to the end of trip facilities that I realised are at work. It's security access only (swipe card) and there are showers. A few bikes parked in there had towels and cycling clothing airing out on the bike, so that sounds like something I will copy rather than bring everything to my desk.

Thanks for the advice so far everyone.

Shower? It all depends on the weather and the terrain. 5K uphill in 90 degree temps and 90 percent humidity... you'll need a shower after the first 5 minutes. Most of my commutes are on an e-bike. That would probably help a lot on your commute. My commute into work is about 7 miles - most of it level or slightly down hill. If I don't put in a lot of effort, I can arrive at work without sweating at all (I don't believe I've ever ridden to work in the morning where the temperature was above 60 degrees.) I don't have access to a shower. Most days I still ride fairly hard, I don't use electric assist on the way in. The bike is heavy. 50-65 lbs. So, I sweat a bit. I sit in front of the fan for a few minutes before I change into work clothes.

Keep it with you at all times. A towel, after all, is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have... More importantly, a towel has immense psychological value. For some reason, if a strag (strag: non-hitch hiker) discovers that a hitchhiker has his towel with him, he will automatically assume that he is also in possession of a toothbrush, face flannel, soap, tin of biscuits, flask, compass, map, ball of string, gnat spray, wet weather gear, space suit etc., etc.

Slowing down helps a lot too. :)

I find that my face gets out before my armpits. So a cool cloth works great. But it isn't too serious. I find the worst is when the destination is too hot. Then I get hotter. Try to cool off for 5 minutes. The worst days for me is going straight from biking to the train station straight to a crowded subway car. I put on extra deodorant.

Drinking a cool glass of water at arrival does wonders.

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Originally Posted by damnable (Post 18943321)

Hi folks,
After moving house I am again considering cycling to and from work. The trip is now only ~5Km each way, which is a bonus.

I'm sure I can figure out a way to do bring in work clothes etc however I would like your opinion on whether I will need a shower after this trip? I can shower at home before the ride which I have heard still helps. I can also not rush the ride so I don't sweat too much…

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Originally Posted by phughes (Post 18943542)

Shower before you leave, get there early enough to wash off in a bathroom and cool down, apply deodorant and go about your day. With that short of a ride, you could simply wait for the sweat to dry naturally and you'd be okay. Enjoy and don't overthink it.

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Originally Posted by rekmeyata (Post 18944301)

that's a 66 very short ride, a shower should not be in order. It you're concern just take some baby wipes and wipe down your armpits, neck, chest, and crotch (last of course); then apply some deodorant or antiperspirant if you have a bad case of underarm sweat going on.

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I cycle commute at least 14 miles,and longer, one way for fitness, so sweat is unavoidable. I do have shower facilities available, including towels but because I’m very busy on arrival, and want to enjoy the enhanced mentality after the ride, I don’t shower at work.

I have previously posted about my seemingly unique step.

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Originally Posted by Jimfrom Boston (Post 18841842)

I have shower facilities and can store clean clothes at work, though usually I wear scrub shirts and pants, I don’t have much close interaction with staff, and they would let me know if I offended. But here’s my unique contribution.

I shower in the evening or the morning before the ride, and as my deodorant I use 91% rubbing alcohol. This is used to clean the skin prior to drawing blood and is an effective bactericide. It leaves no scent and evaporates quickly and refreshingly. It can also be used to clean “down there” to prevent lesions from the saddle.

If I have to wear regular clothes though, I always want to take a shower.

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I use this situation to gauge effectiveness.

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Originally Posted by gear64 (Post 18943384)

I've never really asked, but no one's volunteered in a "nothing sacred" small office environment; so I assume I'm not creating too bad of a stink…

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And I would be reprimanded too if I offended. I have even gone an extra day, with a second application of alcohol, and a change of clothes. And I disagree with this comment,

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Originally Posted by noglider (Post 18912543)

…But I would recommend against alcohol. If you use it, try witch hazel. It has thesame drying and cooling effect, but it doesn't dry your skin. Sometimes I put it on when I'm at home just to cool off, as we don't have A/C at home. It works great.

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5 kilometers is not far at all. My cycling distance to work is 6.34 miles. 10.3 KM. When I drive it (some days I have to go to clients from the office) it takes 20 minutes. When I ride, it takes 28 to 32 minutes is all and it takes that long because I ride an easy 80 rpm pace at 12 to 14 miles per hour and enjoy a relatively flat course. In the summer I get a bit sweaty around my collar and possibly a trickle down my back but no biggie as I shower each morning and use anti-antiperspirant/deodorant and that works well. 8 speed IGH hub, 700C wheels, steel frame. I wear a golf shirt and slacks to work each day. I keep rain gear in the front bag just in case, strictly for the ride in. On the way home I love a splash in a rain puddle or two. Carry a small towel, be prepared, have fun!

At 3 miles you shouldn't have to worry. Leave earlier and pedal in a lower gear so you don't break a sweat.

So it sounds like this is resolved. Best of luck on your commute. Ride safe