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Biking to Work - Sweaty
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I bike to work every morning and regardless of how easily I bike, I'm always sweating by the time I get there. Then I feel gross for the rest of the day. It's a shame because I feel like Patrick Bateman when I walk out the door. I've started biking there wearing gym shorts and a breathable tee shirt and changing when I get there, but still no luck. What do you guys do?
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Re: Biking to Work - Sweaty [jmjtri] [ In reply to ]
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If you're wearing a back-pack, and your back is getting sweaty, try using saddle bag/paniers instead to carry your stuff (if they are compatible with your bike).
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Re: Biking to Work - Sweaty [jmjtri] [ In reply to ]
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I have no showers at work. Montreal area, so pretty hot and humid during summer. I usually make sure to arrive way at least 30min early. Find shade, cooldown in shade. Make sure I have towels / towelettes in office to freshen up, deodorant, clean clothes. If you don't bike every day (which is my case, I sometimes have need of my car at work), take the opportunity to bring stacks of towels / clothes / food etc. for the whole week.
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Re: Biking to Work - Sweaty [jmjtri] [ In reply to ]
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what is the distance? I've done commutes of 12 and 19 miles each way as a fairly heavy sweater; for the current job (19 miles) there is a shower available and for the 12 mile commute I would take a "baby-wipe shower" as no real shower was available. I wouldn't dare not attempt to clean off in some way, I would wipe off when you get dressed for work.
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Re: Biking to Work - Sweaty [tylerwal] [ In reply to ]
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tylerwal wrote:
what is the distance? I've done commutes of 12 and 19 miles each way as a fairly heavy sweater; for the current job (19 miles) there is a shower available and for the 12 mile commute I would take a "baby-wipe shower" as no real shower was available. I wouldn't dare not attempt to clean off in some way, I would wipe off when you get dressed for work.


It's a 9 min bike ride.
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Re: Biking to Work - Sweaty [jmjtri] [ In reply to ]
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Buy an e-bike
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Re: Biking to Work - Sweaty [jmjtri] [ In reply to ]
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There are some "no rinse" body washes out there which may help. Some of them come in spray form and some of them are wipes.

e.g. https://muc-off.com/...?variant=23272433159

Also, have you considered baby powder?
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Re: Biking to Work - Sweaty [jmjtri] [ In reply to ]
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You can totally just deal with the sweat by drying off at the end of the ride and cooling down.

I did this for a year when I was bike commuting 2 days per week, 18 miles each way. I showered BEFORE I did the commute, and used only freshly laundered bike clothing.

Rode my tail off for those 18 miles, full sweat and workout galore. Giant sweaty mess.

Easy pedaled the last 5 mins of the ride to cool down on the bike. Still super sweaty when I parked/locked my bike, but not generating a ton of new sweat anymore.

Go into regular mens bathroom, wipe down extra sweat with a small hand towel, and put on work clothes (shirt and tie kind of place). Deodorant was optional - I never had any issues without it.

The pre-ride shower and clean clothes are the trick. You will not need a shower at work. Trust me - I sweat buckets - I've poured out over a cup of sweat from my Cycleops stationary bike riser in an indoor training session, so if it works for me, you'll be fine.
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Re: Biking to Work - Sweaty [jmjtri] [ In reply to ]
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My ride is two hours each way (so I only do it once a week) and I am lucky enough to have showers and a locker room at work.
That aside, you could do what campers do to clean up--baby wipes. They are convenient, cheap, and effective. Also, to help cool off, I keep a fan at my desk that blows on the back of my neck--it will be useful today after I run during lunch, because the shower just won't do the job of effectively cooling me in the heat.
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Re: Biking to Work - Sweaty [lightheir] [ In reply to ]
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lightheir wrote:
Deodorant was optional - I never had any issues without it.

Are you sure, or do you just have polite coworkers?
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Re: Biking to Work - Sweaty [jmjtri] [ In reply to ]
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9 mile morning ride...and too sweaty/feel gross all day? Hmmm.....ok. I think you probably have pretty high standards, then. I'm also assuming you don't have access to a shower (otherwise I'd guess you wouldn't feel sweaty/gross).

I live in Dallas and do my long run at lunch in summer heat. I'm guessing my "gross" standard is more lax than yours. However, same advice as I've given before (some has already been given here):

I have a private bathroom available at our office (not a personal bathroom....just a single public bathroom with a door, not stalls).

1. Have a water bottle filled with ICE water. Drink entire thing while you are changing---refill.
2. Use a cold wet washcloth to wipe off, rinse hair in sink.
3. Stand in bathroom and air dry as long as possible (will aid in some cooling).
4. I have a desk fan in my office which I blow straight at me until I'm cooled off.
5. Drink more ICE water.

I also find just walking through the air conditioned building helps to cool me off.

-tch
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Re: Biking to Work - Sweaty [jmjtri] [ In reply to ]
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Make sure you're fully cooled down before changing. If you can chill in your office or in shade great.

Once cooled down I like to do a quick wipe down before putting on work clothes. I like these a lot:

HyperGo After Sport Wipes, 3 Pack https://www.amazon.com/...cp_api_iZ4Bzb5ATQRKF

Like baby wipes but larger. They help me feel a little cleaner. Then some deodorant and you're good to go.
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Re: Biking to Work - Sweaty [happyscientist] [ In reply to ]
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happyscientist wrote:
My ride is two hours each way (so I only do it once a week) and I am lucky enough to have showers and a locker room at work.
That aside, you could do what campers do to clean up--baby wipes. They are convenient, cheap, and effective. Also, to help cool off, I keep a fan at my desk that blows on the back of my neck--it will be useful today after I run during lunch, because the shower just won't do the job of effectively cooling me in the heat.

This^^. The fan is a brilliant idea (which I will now steal) and baby wipes + deordorant + body spray of some sort. My wife has the most sensitive nose of any human being I've ever met and she hasn't complained about my smell at work after taking all of these steps. If it gets past her sniff test, it'll get past anyone.

"One does not discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time."
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Re: Biking to Work - Sweaty [jmjtri] [ In reply to ]
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I ran 2.5 miles to work this morning and regularly ride 28 miles to work once a week in the summer. Lots of sweating. A washcloth, liquid Dr. Bronner's, a towel and deodorant that I keep in my office works for me.

I prefer to smell like a peppermint stick - https://shop.drbronner.com/...id-soap#scent=Citrus
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Re: Biking to Work - Sweaty [jmjtri] [ In reply to ]
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jmjtri wrote:
It's a 9 min bike ride.

9 minutes? Leave 10 minutes earlier and ride a lot slower.
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Re: Biking to Work - Sweaty [jmjtri] [ In reply to ]
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30 mile ride for me. 1:39 this morning, left just after sunrise so leaving too much earlier is not an option. it was very muggy, so high sweat factor. I currently have a shower, but when we move offices in a month I will have to switch to just toweling off since the new building lacks showers.
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Re: Biking to Work - Sweaty [torrey] [ In reply to ]
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torrey wrote:
lightheir wrote:
Deodorant was optional - I never had any issues without it.


Are you sure, or do you just have polite coworkers?

100% sure. Seriously.

We got confidental 360-degree work reviews every quarter, and one of the areas they actually did evaluate for real was 'clothing/hygiene'. And yes, several of my colleagues got dings for inappropriate clothing or inattention to hygiene! I was afraid I'd get dinged not for smelling, but for showing up to work in 'inappropriate cycling clothes' since I entered the building with them before I changed, but apparently I was discreet enough that nobody dinged me for it.

So yes, 100% sure.
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Re: Biking to Work - Sweaty [jmjtri] [ In reply to ]
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jmjtri wrote:
tylerwal wrote:
what is the distance? I've done commutes of 12 and 19 miles each way as a fairly heavy sweater; for the current job (19 miles) there is a shower available and for the 12 mile commute I would take a "baby-wipe shower" as no real shower was available. I wouldn't dare not attempt to clean off in some way, I would wipe off when you get dressed for work.


It's a 9 min bike ride.

Ok, that's too short to worry about sweating. I thought you had a 9 MILE commute.

For a measly 9 mins, ride slow and minimize getting sweaty. At most, you'll turn a 9 min ride into a 13 minute one, and that's with SUPER soft pedaling.
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Re: Biking to Work - Sweaty [lightheir] [ In reply to ]
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lightheir wrote:
.... and used only freshly laundered bike clothing....

I would hope that EVERYONE does this for EVERY ride. Am I off base here?
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Re: Biking to Work - Sweaty [jmjtri] [ In reply to ]
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Shower Pill wipes are the bomb, as far as I'm concerned. I discovered them after my third Ragnar leg and could have kicked myself for not stealing one from a vanmate sooner.
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Re: Biking to Work - Sweaty [UK2ME] [ In reply to ]
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UK2ME wrote:
Shower Pill wipes are the bomb, as far as I'm concerned. I discovered them after my third Ragnar leg and could have kicked myself for not stealing one from a vanmate sooner.

Oh man, i had high hopes for those - I bought them for use after a marathon earlier this year since I knew I'd be checked out of my hotel and no shower access.

Maybe I got the wrong ones, but I thought they sucked! The ones I had were quite small - I needed 3 of them to cover most of my body. But the worst part was the smell - it wasn't a nice fragrance like a baby wipe (which i would have been fine with) - it was some weird chemical smell that was so bizarre that I literally had to wash my face in a washroom afterwards since it was driving me nuts (and I'm not super sensitive to smells at all.)

I honestly would have MUCH preferred a simple cotton hand towel and deodorant to that Shower Pill wipe. Or baby wipes.
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Re: Biking to Work - Sweaty [lightheir] [ In reply to ]
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lightheir wrote:
jmjtri wrote:
tylerwal wrote:
what is the distance? I've done commutes of 12 and 19 miles each way as a fairly heavy sweater; for the current job (19 miles) there is a shower available and for the 12 mile commute I would take a "baby-wipe shower" as no real shower was available. I wouldn't dare not attempt to clean off in some way, I would wipe off when you get dressed for work.


It's a 9 min bike ride.


Ok, that's too short to worry about sweating. I thought you had a 9 MILE commute.

For a measly 9 mins, ride slow and minimize getting sweaty. At most, you'll turn a 9 min ride into a 13 minute one, and that's with SUPER soft pedaling.

9 minutes? HA. I bet it is downhill most of the way too.
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Re: Biking to Work - Sweaty [jmjtri] [ In reply to ]
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I have a 40 min commute in dewpoints that exceed 70 in the spring and summer. Dry off, baby wipes, change clothes, done.

Really not complicated.
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Re: Biking to Work - Sweaty [jmjtri] [ In reply to ]
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Paper shower is your friend.
https://www.amazon.com/Paper-Shower-Large-Body-Wipes/dp/B00CWO9YUO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1500565897&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=paper%2Bshower&th=1


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Re: Biking to Work - Sweaty [jmjtri] [ In reply to ]
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jmjtri wrote:
tylerwal wrote:
what is the distance? I've done commutes of 12 and 19 miles each way as a fairly heavy sweater; for the current job (19 miles) there is a shower available and for the 12 mile commute I would take a "baby-wipe shower" as no real shower was available. I wouldn't dare not attempt to clean off in some way, I would wipe off when you get dressed for work.


It's a 9 min bike ride.

Did you mean 9 minutes or 9 miles?
If you get a big sweat in 9 minutes, you've got overactive sweat glands!
There are products for wiping yourself down https://www.dudeproducts.com/...tUDM_6hoCbTYQAvD_BwE

Or get a membership at a nearby gym...

res, non verba
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