Do you guys stink after the ride if you commute to work?
 

If you guys don't have showers at your work, won't you guys kind of stink the rest of the day. That would be really uncomfortable no?

Um no, I workout in my gym,take my shower and then ride 10 miles into work. I clean up in the bathroom,fix my hair, apply fresh deodorant and change my cloths.

Baby wipes work amazingly well.

So does 91% isopropanol (rubbing alcohol), and leaves no perfumed scent. Also as described above it's a good idea to shower before the ride. I do think that if I need to get really dressed up, I would feel uncomfortable without a post-ride shower.

No. Half the time I shower, the other half I don't after my 7 mile commute. I feel fresh either way, but if I don't shower I need to cool down and wipe up for about 15 to 20 minutes afterwards. Then I typically change tees and I'm fine.

Rubbing alcohol is drying to the skin. You can get unscented baby wipes. That's what I use.

*sniff sniff* Uh... No one's said anything yet...:innocent:

I bring an extra change in clothes and get some towels to dry up. but usually my routine is come in dry up and then cool down first for 10 mins then change else my clean stuff gets sweaty cause my riding shirt is those sweat wicking biker stuff so it works great to cool me down fast and change with a baby wipe *BAM* freshness! :)

Some of us are blessed with non-stinkiness. ;) I don't know if it's genetics, or what we eat.

Sometimes my wife tells me I smell "hot" (not in that way) when I get home, but not offensive.

No. When people stink, it's usually a problem of too little hygiene (and sometimes a bad diet) rather than too much exercise.

No. I shower before I commute to work. My commute is about 11.5 miles long. I use these: http://www.playtexproductsinc.com/we...wo_bigOnes.asp and this: http://www.oldspice.com/products/pro...Spray_Swagger/ to freshen up and kill bacteria that causes odor when I get to work and change into my work cloths. Bacteria, if left alone is what causes the odor. Using anti-bacteria wipes and an alcohol based body spray helps kill clean the bacteria off.

Thanks for the reply, but that's not been a problem for me. I do however use it on normally "moist" areas. Say no more. :o

Rubbing (isopropyl) alcohol is used by Medical Labs to clean the skin before drawing blood and prevent intrduction of bacteria into the specimen or the patient.

When I ride the next day after indulging in "bad" food and drink, I think of the extra sweating when cycling as a mechanism to detoxify by excreting those "bad" metabolites, so I'm not bothered by it, but I do try to be hygenic. :D

month 10 into commuting.. Here's my take on it.

Shower before leaving for work
Freshly washed bike clothing
In at work, wait 15-20min for cool down (underarmor is pretty dry at this point and I sweat a lot)
change into fresh clothes, wipe down, fresh deoderant. etc

Then I'm good for the day. Now the kicker is, when I get home I'm on the downside of fresh. I think it's due to wearing the not so fresh under armor a second time. and general sweat through the day. I THINK I smell less when I stay better hydrated. Which makes sense.

I always shower before bed. Incredible waste of money showering twice but a neccessary evil.

I get unscented wipes with a slight alcohol content, but that's for feeling clean than smelling clean.

I thought I was stinking once, but it turned out to be my riding gloves were sitting on top of my pc tower, reeking.

I also shower before I leave the house. Once I get to work, I turn on the fan at my desk and sit for 15 - 20 minutes answering emails, etc. while I cool down. I then go into one of the stalls in the bathroom and use a "Fresh Bath" wipe and a hand towel to wipe off a bit, then apply deodorant. This helps me to freshen up a bit. I also have very short hair and very little hair (balding will do that), so I don't need to anything there. I sweat like crazy, so I need the time to cool down, and no one has complained that I stink :p

It varies a lot for me. During the cooler months, I could probably wear my work clothes while I ride. During the summer, I'll have to wash up in the restroom about half the time. The other half, I just cool down and change clothes. I don't find that stinking is a problem because I shower every day (usually after I get home from work).

my hair smells a little sweaty if you get up REALLY close, or so says the boyfriend by the time i make the homeward commute... but if my co-workers were regularly coming up to smell my hair, we'd have bigger workplace issues!

Zinc oxide powder is antibacterial and works wonders. It's sold mixed with talc as antidiaper rash baby powder because corn starch based powders feed bacteria.

I shower once a day and rub it everywhere I might sweat. Zinc oxide is the same "natural" stuff used in the nonchemical mechanical sunblocks such as Blue Lizard and some hippy types mix it with witch hazel for deodorant. I don't even use any other deodorant (just the powder, no witch hazel either).

Sweat doesn't stink. Sweat interacting with bacteria on your skin does. I shower, I change and get on the bike within a half hour. I ride in bike gear with a full change of clothing once I get to the office, quick wipe if I got terribly sweaty, air dry and/or dunk head in cold water to turn the thermostat down ... no stink as there is no bacteria on my skin. If I ride at lunch I'll shower afterwards.

I shower in the morning. Then at work I use a Dickinson's Witch Hazel wipe in addition to wet and soapy paper towels, re-apply deodorant and all is fine. I also use a synthetic undershirt and remove that at work.

+1. Taking the time to cool down in my synthetic shirt seems to dry it with my body heat, while still wicking moisture from my skin. I then change into a fresh set of clothes. (high school teacher "nerd causal" -- tie and khakis. I keep my shoes at work.)

I have yet to need to reapply deodorant, but I keep to a very natural and balanced diet, and consume enough onions and garlic on a regular basis that my body is fully adjusted to these and does not sweat them out.

The shower before and the clean riding clothes are key.

If you live north of the mason dixon then you can just take your shirt off and don't pedal too hard on the last mile for 9 months out of the year and you'll be nice and sweat free. Even better if it's raining because you get a free shower.

As others have posted. Proper hygiene to disrupt the growth of bacteria is key. Use soap and washcloth to give a little more attention in those problem areas such as chest and underarms before the ride to work. Cool down the last couple of miles. Cool down with some water from a sink at work. Change to a clean shirt after sweating is over. There are extra strength underarm deodorants available as well.

No worse than usual.

Now, get out there and ride.

No. Shower before.

Consider this excuse busted.

Next excuse**********?