Cleaning up for work after commute
 

Hello all, I am going to start commuting 7 miles each way to my new teaching gig. Showers are not going to be an option in the morning, so I'm wonder what you do to clean up quickly and look professional if showers are not available. Last thing I want is to dress up in a shirt and tie and walk into the classroom or meeting still sweating (Seinfeld, anybody?).

This has probably already been a thread, but I couldn't find it so please direct me to the old one if you know where it is. Thanks for all your help.

The subject is covered a lot, and will be for as long as new riders start commuting.

The basics are:

1. Shower just before leaving.
2. Wear clean kit.
3. Cool down on arrival.
4. Take a birdbath in the sink.
5. Change into work clothes.

I find that no matter the weather, I need 15 minutes to cool down and stop sweating. Even in January. It seems to take no longer in July either. There's no point in starting to wash up until after that's done.

Then I can take my birdbath. Lots of people use wet wipes, but their single-use disposable nature bothers my inner green. I use the sink and the provided anti-bacterial foam soap. Rinse, dry with the towel I keep at work, slap on a coat of deodorant and get changed.

I work the Circ desk at the library and have yet to hear a complaint about BO from either staff or patrons. And lemme tell ya, we have some patrons who will complain about anything. :twitchy:

Edit: I shoot for arriving 30-35 minutes before work. That gives me an extra ten minutes or so in case I have a flat.

As tsl says, the keys for me are keeping clean and arriving early so I can cool down before dressing. I also wear clean clothes most every day, which helps keep down the odor issues.

That's the whole kettle of fish in a nutshell. :D

For my birdbath, I do a cold water sink shampoo (fully dressed), then fill a very small bucket with clean cold water and retreat to a handicap bathroom stall to finish the rest of the spongebath and clothing change in privacy. I use one microfiber washrag to soap up and scrub, then a clean washrag to "rinse" with. Travel towels pack small and dry fast. On arrival to the office I am typically tip-to-toe sweat-drenched but the birdbath gets me completely clean and dry even if it isn't as pleasurable as a real shower. I arrive early to allow a few minutes to sit and cool down before my 15 minute cleanup.

I also have a 7 miles commute, and I do have to say the whole hygiene issue is greatly over-blown. I use a rubbing alcohol-witch hazel mix with I spray on myself. I always feel that I am the freshest-smelling person in the office after that. (cooling down is very important so, give it 10-15 mins). Also, check out this (including the responses: http://commutebybike.com/2007/03/28/...g-up-your-act/)

Assuming you wear separate clothes to ride, and change to work clothes when you get to work, I'd agree that the concern over sweat is overblown.

I live in the Northeast, where summers can be very hot and humid; some say even worse than a few states down. But riding a bike, you almost always have a breeze and, apart from some dampness from wearing a backpack, only sweat for about 5 or 10 minutes after you arrive. It's not the kind of deep, sticky sweat you get from working in the yard. It's sort of a clean dampness that goes away after a few minutes, and you aren't really dying for a shower all day as one might expect.

All I do is change my clothes, wash my face in the sink, and I feel almost as clean as when I left the house in the morning. As long as I hang my clothes out to dry, they are relatively fresh after they dry.

If your riding clothes get too damp to store effectively, look around for a hot-air hand-dryer in a bathroom. Does a quick job of drying my riding outfit if I've sweated a lot.

I've heard running your hands under cold water helps cool your body off quickly. I do it, and in my opinion it works.

I commute 4 miles to classes. All I do is cool down until I stop sweating then change shirts. I don't really sweat very much though or have problems with BO.

I think a lot of it has to do with both how your body regulates head and also how you ride. I tend to sweat a lot and arrive at work dripping wet (I'm in good shape and not overweight). But then again, I ride pretty hard since I try to make my commute more of a workout than a casual ride. Same thing at the gym. I see people doing roughly the same type of workout as I do and they seem bone dry whereas I'm sweating.

If I didn't have a shower at work that I could use, I don't think I could bike to work. It'd just be too nasty. I have a couple coworkers who also bike to work but they don't shower and have never had an issue with BO. Some complaints of smelly shoes, but not BO. :)

I agree that a cool down period is key. I wait ten minutes then I do a little bird bath shower in the sink, baby wipe the underarms, reapply some fresh deodorant and change into fresh clothing. Then I'm good to go, fresh as a daisy.

Guess I'm the only one who rides into work right off the bike, changes, and then goes to work without a cooldown or bird bath. To be fair, however, I work in a chemistry lab with a lot of smelly samples so a little sweat doesn't get noticed.

It's not just about the sweat. I arrive very gritty and have bugs, dirt and dust stuck in the sweat, then the sweat tends to crystalize too. All of it feels very sticky and like sandpaper when it dries, so I find it necessary to do a good cleanup for my own comfort. I'm sweating out about 2-3# on my ride in, more on the way home when temps are 95F and up. YMMV.

Awesome, thanks everybody for chiming in. I'm getting excited about this, and now I know cleaning up will be a breeze. I sweat a lot, but I tried the commute today for kicks and a 15 minute cool down will do the trick. I went out today and started getting supplies, and Wallgreens had an awesome sale on "Body Spray", it was 75% off so I couldn't resist and bought it. I've never used any body sprays (Axe or similar products), but it seems like it might help. Any experience?

IMHO Axe is oder over-kill. You can smell it three floors down. Some axe flavors are actually worse than BO. Personally, I like Bigelow mens products found at Bath & Body Works. But I'm old. heh.
I also keep deodorant, a large pack of wet wipes, and a towel at work. (sorry tsl)
If you're into the green thing, you could get the smaller ones in the bio-degradable package rather than the big plastic tub. I know many of you do the sink thing, but I found it a time consuming grind every day.

I sweat alot, like my dad. It takes only a few minutes of light activity and I am drenched head to foot, I'm talking strangers stop me to ask if I'm okay while i'm walking around campus. For biking: best is of course a shower, I used to have a health club near work, god that was wonderful.

Now the regimen is: shower before I leave and use a heavy dose of deodorant and body powder on the nether regions, get to my office, check that the blinds are closed and the door is locked (learned that the hard way :O ), strip naked, log in to my computer and check mail while standing and drying with a towel I keep in my office, hang up the kit in the corner behind the door, wipe off with alcohol on a wash cloth, put on clean clothes, apply a second heavy dose of deodorant and body powder to the nether regions, final step is a blast of foot powder into each shoe (I keep shoes, belt, towel, and emergency underwear, socks, and a shirt at the office, things I've forgotten many times).

I'm a little surprised no one has mentioned this, but: slow down. If I know I'm not going to have time to lift weights and shower when I get to work, it helps a lot if I'm not doing stoplight HIIT all the way there.

what do you all mean by cool down? As in coast in? Say if you don't do the "cool down" phase, would you not gain extra time and then use that time thoroughly clean yourself? I think 15mins is alot of cooling down. But YMMV.

I do similar to tsl, though I also run my head under the water to cool it down, and remove sweat from my scalp and it cures helmet head after combing.

the cool down is because after u stop riding most people start to sweat more because they are still hot but have no breeze.

i just try to take it easy ont he way to work. I bring a change of clothes, a wash clothe in a baggy, and a deodorant. Wipe down in bathroom change through ride clothes in a plastic bag to fester till i ride home. haha.

I was chatting with a coworker yesterday and a related question came up: what do you all do with your bike clothes at work? One guy that works in our office apparently lays his clothes out in his office to let them dry. I tend to keep mine in my backpack during the day which leads to them being damp when I ride home (so far this hasn't really bothered me). I just worry about any smell from sweaty bike clothes in the office. Curious to hear what other folks do.

I have a 12 mile commute in Tucson, Az and this works well for me.

I would add that cold water from the sink over my hands and head do seem to help the cool down period. Also I leave my shoes at work in a drawer and hang my cycle kit on a hanger. I hang that on a wall in my cube. No complaints so far.

First day I commuted I didn't give myself time for a cool down period. It was a warm morning too which we get a lot in the summer here. So even my wipe down, face wash and towel off couldn't stop me from sweating before I got my work clothes on. After about 30 minutes in my work clothes I was fine and didn't smell or anything. Now I give myself 15 minutes to cool down before freshening up and changing like tsl suggested and have no problems with putting on dry work clothes as I'm not sweating by then. ymmv

I fire up the computer, check Email and do 30 mins work before I shower and change into regular work clothes.

one thing i did today is stand barefoot on the bathroom floor for a few minutes, this helped with the cool down and felt great.

today i also hand washed my shirt in the sink and hung it over my bike to dry, this way it doesn't stink.

There. Fixed it for you! :innocent: