Hi All,

I have been looking at this forum and found it incredibly useful. I have recently just started commuting by bike into work (although a much longer distance than what I have previously done).

On arrival I take a shower and change into normal clothes. However the problem I am facing is that once this is done, I don't know what the best way of dealing with my sweaty commuter clothes is since there isn't really a storage place for clothes, I can't really leave them to air out in the office since it won't be pleasant for anyone else. If I keep them in my bag, they are still wet for when I cycle back home.

I was wondering what people do in similar situations.

Thanks a lot.

Nehal

1. Wear wool- virtually no odor
2. Make friends with the custodial staff- they know all the best out of the way places.

I've never found commuting clothes to be an attack on the sense of smell. "Sweat" does not necessarily stink. If your office layout is such that you cannot find a place to air your riding clothes without looking like a squatter, I'd suggest bringing an extra set for the ride home. Definately do NOT store used riding clothes packed all day; that's how penicillin was accidentally discovered.

I work for 2-3 hour blocks at up to 3 different places a day. I usually ask if there is out of the way place to put my gear. Most places have something be it a closet or a room thats not being used. At worst it gets stuffed into the bag and worn as is. Not pleasent, but what else is there to do? Actually I did find one way. if you park the bike in a secure out of the way location it makes a good clothes line.

I've strung stuff out under my desk, hanging clothesline style on phone and computer cords. That's especially effective if you have a space heater or fan under there.

As has been suggested, wear wool and you won't have to worry about smell. Baring that, take a shower before you leave for work and the sweat won't cause an odor.

You may have a place to park your bike such that you could use that as something to hang clothes from. There's more stuff to tend to in the winter or when it rains so you might have to take advantage of every bit of real estate you have available under some circumstances.

You said you shower at work. Is there not a locker available also? I don't keep valuables in lockers at work so I can leave mine open and have shirts and jackets inside and on hangers hooked on the open door as well.

Baring any of that, maybe there's space at the bottom of a stairwell that is out of site. Or a room with phone lines and electrical connections/routers and such. It's likely nobody goes in places like that much though you might need to ask for a key.

I hang my item under my desk with a space heater directed at them when I come in so they dry quickly and I put them away, I also hang things in a coat closet in our lobby that does not get that much daily use.

I asked my boss and together we found a place where I did put up hooks to hang everything to dry. It's in the staff break room and nobody ever complained about it.
I put my balaclava and hat and mitts on my computer tower and one of my coworker computer tower. The heat produced by the computer is enough to dry everything before I leave after work.

I'd ask your supervisor where the best location would be for your items. If your commuting clothes are sweaty, they won't stink if they are just 1-3 days old. Merino wool is highly odor resistant btw. I can wear the same sweater for 3 weeks without washing it.... If your clothes are wet from rain, that is no fun to have to put those pack on at the end of the day...but there has to be somewhere where you could hang them up, just ask someone who would know.

If you opt to hang dry your commuting clothes in the office, two words: air freshener.

I've been hanging my commuting clothes in a cube for years, ever since I lost my office. Start with clean clothes in the morning and they'll dry with minimal odor by 5:00. As MNbikeguy says, sweat by itself doesn't stink.

BTW, a big CRT made the most awesome glove and headband dryer ever. LCD monitors may save energy, but they're nowhere near as good for a bike commuter.

If you have room in your bag/pannier, you can bring in a second set of bike clothes for the ride home. This is easy in the summer, but it's a bit more in the winter obviously.

Or use a suit cover and a shoe dryer like these:

hhttps://www.custom-printedbags.com/p...or_storage.jpg
https://dryguy.net/drying.html

I don't know about you guys but for me sweat = stanky I change everything when I get to work even my socks ( and yes I shower and deodorize before I leave in the morning) re deodorize myself to stay presentable at work. Mostly I work out of my work vehicle so I spread the biking clothes out in there and keep the heater and AC on all day when I am driving to dry them out. At the end of the day I febreeze the vehicle.

If they're wet, I hang them on my cubicle walls with magnets. If not, they simply go in a pile in the corner of my cubicle. I haven't had any issues with them stinking.

THIS! Custodians and Administrative Assistants (a.k.a. secretaries) know all the little places to hide things.

Hi Again,

Thanks a lot for all the tips. I think asking the custodial staff seems like a great idea. Hopefully I can find some sort of store room.

I hang my clothes on my cubicle walls with hooks and hangers and hang my gloves, hats, balaclava, etc on my bike that also sits in my cube. I have a long narrow cube, so I can put bike and clothes at the other end an it sits 6ft away from me as I work.

Buy a used Gym locker and bring it in.

Find a place to hang your cycling clothes. I change in a storage room near the showers at work. After showering and dressing, I hang my cycling clothes on hangers from the wire racks in the storage room, and they are usually dry by noon time. In my old office, where I didn't have such a storage room, I would hang cycling items from the coat rack and drape them over empty boxes and my bike frame. If they clothes are clean when you leave home, they shouldn't smell too bad.

You are fortunate to have a shower!

As others have said, I hang mine on coat hooks in my cube. So far, after more than two years of bike commuting, nobody has complained. My method is just stay in my commuting clothes for an hour or so and "evaporate", then change into my office clothes. My commuter clothes aren't "bike clothes", but they are moisture-wicking clothes.

We're fortunate to have a locker room with showers so I normally leave them there. But they'll never dry out there in the locker. I've had the best results by hanging them on the cubical wall out of site under the desk.

I usually grab some hangers and hang my commuting clothes from my handlebars. We've got a bike rack in our warehouse, so they're back in a corner, out of everyone's way.

If you aren't that fortunate, then definitely ask the custodial staff if there's a place...

I just hang mine out in the cubicle. They almost always dry out by the end of the day (unless it's the middle of Summer). Six months and no complaints about any smells yet.

I commute in casual street shoes, clothes, and regular underwear. No cycling clothes at all.
I keep dress shoes, suits and dress shirts (which I rotate) at work.
When I get to work, I hang up my casual pants and my windbreaker shell and my top shirt.
Put on dress pants and dress shirt.
Reverse for the ride home.

Bad idea. Spraying air freshener to try to cover up smells is like splashing on perfume or cologne in lieu of bathing. It doesn't work--just makes the problem worse. And there's this:

Toxicity

Many air fresheners employ carcinogens, volatile organic compounds and known toxins such as phthalate esters in their formulas. A Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) study of 13 common household air fresheners found that most of the surveyed products contain chemicals that can aggravate asthma and affect reproductive development. The NRDC called for more rigorous supervision of the manufacturers and their products, which are widely assumed to be safe:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air_freshener#Toxicity