So I'm planning on commuting to school from now on but the only thing that's held me back is odor. It's not far, about 5 miles, each way but I don't want to smell bad in class. What secrets/tips do you have to not smell up the office/classroom? Thanks in advance!

With the cooler weather, this is less of a problem than in the summer.
Maintain a steady pace to avoid breaking a sweat if possible, are there
hills on your route? Some commuters say that if they shower before
they leave the house and wipe a bit when they get to their destination;
odor is not a problem. I have no experience in this area, I'm lucky to
have showers at work

This works for me. Let yourself cool down a bit, wipe off, and change clothes. If it's only five miles and you go at an easy pace, you may not even need to do this.

Shower every morning. I cycle to school with a jersey on or shirtless then wipe my torso down with a washcloth then just put on the shirt that was inside my backpack; I also wear baggy cycling shorts with chamois padding for comfort, I'm going to buy tighter shorts that I can wear them underneath my jeans during the winter. If your commute is through very slow streets you can probably ride there in your clothing without having noticeable sweat if you avoid wearing layers or dark clothing on hot days. Your sweat doesn't smell bad, it smells like you, the bacteria on dirty skin makes it smell bad.

Here, in detail:

https://nycbikecommuter.info/?p=218

Adam

Don't wear plastic or synthetic clothes - they stink. Wash your armpits and feet well every day. If you have to wear synthetic clothes, wear cotton underneath.

+1 Do NOT wear a cycling jersey.

-Jeremy

A five mile ride is pretty easy. Just don't pedal too hard, and ride slower for the last mile to gradually cool down.

Shower before you leave. This is important. And baby wipes are your friend. If you do get sweaty, wipe down your body with baby wipes in the bathroom. It's also handy to keep a spare clean shirt with you.

Secret... Strong enough for a man, but made for a woman.

+1 on showering before the ride in. Wear clean clothes for the ride; when you arrive wash your face to remove the salt and give yourself a chance to dry off.

Deodorant and a change of clothes. I have a short commute myself; unfortunately the last half of it is uphill so that's when all the sweat is generated. I arrive early, giving myself a chance to cool off. Wipe down with paper towel in the bathroom and put on my clean clothes.

I've heard this before, and have to wonder what I'm doing right that half the world isn't - my synthetic cycling jerseys never smell bad, and I don't after a hard, sweaty 8-mile ride. I shower in the morning, ride in, hang out long enough to cool down so I don't sweat all over my work clothes, then change and I'm good to go. My girlfriend, when I've met her for lunch, affirms that I don't smell, and neither does my jersey.

So, what gives? How do you manage to make synthetic clothes smell so bad?

You cannot compare yourself to other people. Some people just sweat more than others, and some people just smell worse than others.

I really don't sweat.

Some people will walk up a flight of stairs and already start to break a sweat.

For the question - Just don't ride hard enough to break a sweat if you are one of the people that sweat and smell easily.

I sweat a lot, and synthetic doesn't stink as long as a few conditions are met - take a shower before you leave for work, always wear clean clothes (that means one day of wearing, come back home, wash it asap and let it dry, ready for next day), and give yourself time to cool off and dry while wearing the clothes when you get to work. Don't change at once while you're still sweating, right after arriving. Doing it like this, synthetic never stinks. Cotton does, as it stays wet a lot longer. And cotton irritates the hell out of the skin when it's wet and rubbing on the wrong places.

Merino wool T shirts dont smell. They feel good all day. On tour I have used one for quite a few days without changing.
Shower before you leave,
Dont over-dress, start the ride cool. Ride at an easy pace. If you ride fast you take longer to cooldown.
Use the last section to roll along , undo some zips and cooldown. If you suddenly stop and dive into a heated building you will start to sweat.

If its cool but not raining, dont wear a waterproof. use a cheap windproof, the type without a membrane. All breathable waterproofs make you clammy.

Synthetic clothes and jersey's have improved in leaps and bounds since I was a kid. Back in the day they did smell horrible after a little sweat and then even after washing they continued to smell. This is not the case anymore. I've ridden over 15,000km in one of my jerseys this year and I challenge anyone of you to say it smells.

5 miles is not enough to break a sweat on assuming you have any sort of fitness level
don't hammer and you'll be fine

Try that in 95F/95% weather

use panniers. backpacks will lead to backsweat even on an easy 5 mile ride.

Biking 5 miles is sort of like walking 1 mile in terms of necessary exertion. People who take public transport are often doing this kind of thing anyway. Few of them are changing all their clothes or worrying much about odor if they just shower before they go. Take it easy on the bike, and five miles is normative activity for a short time. If it is truly flat, then cycling will actually cause less sweat per time than walking in hot weather because of the breeze created. Cyclists experience this when forced to stop is when it actually feels hotter. In a hot day, I may sweat more walking to and from the grocery store close to work at lunch, than riding in in the morning.

You sure you don't have access to a locker room with a shower? Many schools have them.

If not, +1 on taking a shower before the ride to school and wearing clean clothes. And Merino wool is terrific.

By the way, all that about trying not to sweat is nonsense.

Pheromones, its what the Female subconsciously finds attractive about the opposite Sex .

This is the answer. What school does not have locker room with showers? Just get to school early and shower when you get there.

here in Detroit we just finished one of our hottest summers on record- I am well acquainted with
heat/humidity however in the AM, when sweating is a concern it rarely gets above 70 degrees
keeping the speeds down under 14mph is usually enough, especially after 5 miles

In NYC it can be 90/90 at 7 am, although this Summer was milder than others.