Commuting but no shower at work?
 

Hi Everyone,
the idea of commuting on the bike is definitely sounding more enjoyable to me.
My only concern is there is no shower at my work, but I could definitely "freshen up" in the one of the bathroom stalls. Is there any tips or products out there?
I'm a bigger guy so when I ride I tend to sweat pretty heavily. However I would definitely want to freshen up as I share an office and don't want to be dragged outside and hosed off.

Thanks!
Johnny

Duck bath. Take off shirt and use the sink. Splash cold water on face, head and chest. Use wet paper towels to wipe chest and underarms. Then dry off. Bring underarm deoderant, aftershave lotion and a hair brush/comb. Then dress for work.
We have showers but I never have time for a second shower.
Ernest

Yeah, there's lots you can do to freshen up. I'm in Texas and commute through the summer. My routine:

1. Take a shower at home before leaving.
2. Carry a change of clothes with me.
3. Change. In my case, I keep my bike in a file closet with a lock so I can change in there.
4. I mop down with my t-shirt, then use deodorant and baby powder. Some people like cleaning up with baby wipes.
5. I get dressed, then hop into the bathroom and wash up my face with a wash cloth and towel I keep at work.
6. Hang up the towel and wash cloth to dry to use it the next day.

No complaints in a year and a half of commuting.

My new shop doesn't have a shower either. I just coast as much as possible and try not to sweat --just kidding. It's already cold here, so I don't get too sweaty anyway. When summer gets here we'll see.

Much to my surprise, showering before riding is pretty effective. For my post ride clean up, I prefer rubbing alcohol (isopropyl, 91%). I even use that as my usual deodorant.

I usually don't need to get too dressed up at work (i.e. hospital scrub suit). When I need to wear coat and tie, I prefer to shower though.

This comes up from time to time. You can "Search the Forums " here but here's my take : Bear in mind no matter how svatchy you (or the wife) thinks you are. Even after riding, having taken a shower before hand, you'll sweat "clean"...Really !

a number of products are out ther, wipes and such; even cycling/sports specific..

My biggest (only) "issue" in this regard is my hair. I'm not vain but have crappy hair... My solution is simply to use a special "grow yer hair back stuff" ( 2 stage) as it also has a foam thing to slick the hair back; I rewet it when I .. just re-comb.
The hair looks no worse than it ever does, which is not good anyway. Nobody says I stink . There not just being polite either.

Wow
I wasn't expecting so many responses so soon, you guys are good!
unfortunately I really can't do the bath in the sink as it's a public restroom and it doesn't lock.
Would be a little awkward with an owner of our company walking in while I'm scrubbing away.
As for hair, I'm good, I keep my head buzzed (I'm one of those guys that has thick curly hair, and I hate it!
no matter how much glue/gel I put in my hair it goes back into an afro).
Is there any baby wipe that is preferred over another, (Could I just go to costco and get the gigantic case of baby wipes and keep some in my desk, or backpack?)
Sorry for all the newb questions, to quote Jeff Foxworthy "I are one".

I use a hair gel by J. Crew. I can comb out helmet hair nicely.

I just do a hobo-wash in the stalls at school. Sadly, this is a satellite campus, so there are no athletic facilities to take advantage of. I shower before I leave, use powder, baby wipes, deodorant, and a small towel to clean up as I change from bike gear to street clothes. As for hair, nobody expects grad students to look too nice (especially not my variety), so I tend to get away with wearing a ball cap, but I imagine that's not an option at work for you.

1) Shower before I leave
2) Change of clothes in the bag
3) Generic Target brand baby wipes to wipe down
4) Deodorant
5) Axe body spray

I also keep my head shaved, so the hair isn't an issue.

I keep the baby wipes in my desk along with the deodorant and axe body spray so that I don't have to take them back and forth in my bag.

This has worked well for me this summer in Tucson and I can't seem to go slow and avoid sweating.

I don't have a shower here. I shower at home, then just wash up in the sink when I get to work.

As far as baby wipes go get the scent you like the best. Otherwise wiping yourself off using the sink would be the best option. I've also heard of people using witch hazel or rubbing alcohol although I think rubbing alcohol dries your skin.

I was lucky we had a shower. Once the shower was down due to pipeline repairs.. Duck bath does not really make you feel refreshed and ready to go.. Sweat feels not completely gone..
. To assist making it feel gone, supplement that duck bath with a body size body wipe.. Those make you feel pretty zesty clean and ready to go.
. The second time the shower was down I had along my body wipes and I felt pretty good.

+1 Pretty much what I do but I wish I could bring my bike inside and I use (gasp) the handicapped washroom to change.

The unscented baby wipes from Costco work really well, although they're not flushable (which may or may not matter to you).

I guess OP doesn't want to bird bath based on a privacy issue.. i do the bird bath, it only takes around 6 minutes face chest, bit of the arms, then i dry with a swimmers towel (fast dry) and then put a shirt on fast!...anyone can enter now because your finished, if another mate entered as im changing my pants, i would think neither of us would care much....unless they have some kind of insecurity. lol

I wait a few minutes after riding to freshen up; I keep sweating for a while after exercising, around 5 or 10 minutes.

NOT AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Just shower before and use deodorant after. Sweat doesn't smell, it's the bacteria which takes longer to come back. Next repeat question please.

I have done a sink shampoo fully attired; then retreat to a handicap stall with a small bucket of water, washrag, soap, and towel to strip down to do a sponge bath. I was able to keep the bucket, toiletries, towel at work close to the restroom. It worked perfectly even on the hottest TX humid mornings when I arrived all sweaty and slimy. My commute was an hour / 12+ miles with hills and some sprints to safely navigate in some traffic; and I typically arrived with road grit and gnats plastered on me. A good scrubbing was definitely in order. Elapsed time was similar to a "real" shower.

+1 I live in Tucson Arizona and this works for me.

Wet wipes are your friend.

Why would you need a SECOND shower? The obvious solution is to not shower at home. This would save time overall, since you only need to take two showers now, not a shower and a "duck bath".

Another commonly offered solution is to go to a gym near your work and arrange for some kind of "commuter" membership with them. Most gyms have some kind of arrangement for granting you access to changerooms and showers only at a significantly reduced price.

In my experience, though, a shower at work is not a strict necessity for a bike communter. Shower in the morning before you leave, arrive 10 mins early to give yourself time to cool off, dry off, and maybe freshen up with baby wips, and you should be good to go.

Amen to the "if you're clean, you'll sweat clean" comments. Stench is caused by accumulated oils and other biological detritus (which takes time) not by perspiration (which can be instantaneous).

Hair? I cut mine to 1mm... I don't have to style it. ;)

my 2 cents:

I would bring a small bottle of diluted shampoo, which I would empty into a plastic cup of water, then dump this on my head in the sink and rinse with more cups of water. It was just enough shampoo to do something and enough water to rinse. I would also bring a small hand towel for drying my hair and body.

For my body I would use diluted soap and an actual wash cloth in the key areas such as face; chest; armpits and crotch. I wold shower at home first to reduce the need for a thorough washing.

I would change all my clothes from head to toe; including socks underwear, etc. I brought a small plastic bag for the laundry and zipped that up in my rack trunk away from people.

I would stockpile clothes and food at work but always brought my laundry home every day and used fresh underwear and sicks everyday. Pants or shorts and some shirts can be reused. I like to wear shirt liners or t-shirts and change them every day.

It was a lot of work with or without a shower. I had access to a private bathroom and I also arrived at least an hour before anyone else.

For a couple of years I exercised at lunch too and had to redo the whole sequence mid-day. Yeah that's a lot of laundry to carry on a bike but I only commuted in the summer and wore as little as possible - very casual office.

I shower at home. Ride pretty hard to work. Wipe down with one of those super absorbent towels and change. I live in Atlanta (as in HotLanta) it's just a little humid here. Have ridden over a year doing this. No problems at work. the Shamwow towels (and products like it) are small but very absorbent. Space in pannier is a premium. I am not affiliated with the product just happy using them.

I started out using baby wipes, then I heard about Rocket Shower. IMO Rocket Shower is vastly superior to the baby wipes. With the baby wipes I felt slimy after I used them. With Rocket Shower, I feel cooled and refreshed. I also use a home made dry shampoo because I have long hair.

When I was in college, I learned to carry some deodorant powder (like Shower to Shower), wipe off in the bathroom sprinkle a little here and there and sometimes put a fresh shirt on. I'd refill a small seasoning bottle with a shaker top to make it more convenient to carry.

I have to enjoy it while I can; we're moving to a new location at the end of the year and the best I can hope for is that they'll put a bike rack in the parking garage. It may end up outside. They'll do whatever they want and hide behind the excuse of "the property company sez we have to do it this way." I hold out a little hope in that the site manager is kind of a fit guy and is well aware that I ride my bike most of the time. I lobbied for a shower but didn't get it. Maybe as a consolation prize they'll put the bike rack under cover in the parking garage.

I was using Shower to Shower brand, and when I got home the wife would say I smelled bad. I switched to good ol' fashioned baby powder and now she thinks I smell kind of fresh once I stop sweating. YMMV.