Arriving at work sweaty

[Alan Whicker]

I have a 7 mile trip to work. When i arrive I usually stick on a fleece over my riding shirt until I've cooled down, then put on a clean shirt for the rest of the day. Apply deodorant if needed. I don't think I smell. Much.

+1 on a proper base layer, though. When I wear my Berghaus wicking shirt it makes a huge difference. I'm nowhere near as sweaty when I get to my desk.

One thing I have noticed though is that as my fitness levels rise, I don't sweat as much -and nobody says to me "God, Alan, are you OK? You're all red and sweaty. Is it swine flu?"

 

[knonist]

wear a good base layer and cycle below 12mph to avoid breaking sweat

 

[jimboalee]

wear a good base layer and cycle below 12mph to avoid breaking sweat

When an average man is breathing at 20 lungfulls per minute, he may be expelling about 100 mm^3 of H2O on his breath.

That is 0.1 cm^3 which is about 0.4 kCals/min CHO usage.

0.4 kCals/min for MOTION alone is about 10 kmh or 6 1/4 mph.

"10 kmh... No sweat"...

 

[threebikesmcginty]

Like most say - allow yourself the time to take it easy and you'll arrive less sweaty.

 

[jonny jeez]

What do ppl who do not have a shower at work do refresh themselves when they arrive wet and/or sweaty?
Someone mentioned to me that if there is no shower facilities available, wiping down with baby wipes works quite well.
Any other suggestions?

I know it's not the answer that you are looking for (sorry in advance) but until a year ago I worked for a firm that was only 9 miles from my house. They had no showers, very poor toilets, and no kitchens (just vending machines). I wanted to ride for 4 years and didn’t, simply because of this.

Importantly, I have a client facing role and have to look smart, crisp and not ruffled (or a little bedraggled) in any way and was never confident of pulling this off with the use of baby wipes and deodorant.

I left the firm last October and started with my current company (happy anniversary to me!!)I now have showers, Kitchen, boiler room, garage and secure storage, drying area, changing rooms, clothes storage...infact the only thing it doesn't have is an excuse for me not to cycle into work.

I now consider myself very fortunate, as for many years this was all that stopped me. The "pay back" is that the office is twice as far away now!!!

 

[brokenbetty]

There is an interesting thread including a home-made freshen up spray recipe here:

http://www.bikeforums.net/archive/index.php/t-339987.html

If our showers at work get too crowded to use (it's going that way) I am going to give it a shot.

 

[Brains]

There is a guy trying to put together a plan for a number of bike shed's with showers, lockers, shirt service etc

Not sure if it's off the drawing board yet

 

[paddy01]

I should probably take some inspiration from this thread. I avoid a full commute by bike simply because I can't be doing with the logistics of showering etc. when I get to work.

All I want to do when I get into work is get the kettle and toaster on

 

[Hacienda71]

If you make sure that you are clean and showered before you go smell should not be an issue. Fresh sweat is not very pungent, it is the bacteria in stale sweat that stinks.

 

[brokenbetty]

There is a guy trying to put together a plan for a number of bike shed's with showers, lockers, shirt service etc

Not sure if it's off the drawing board yet

My gut feeling is it won't be possible to do it cheap enough unless he is really lucky and finds space like railway arches which couldn't be used for offices.

 

[Trevrev]

I use getting to work hot and sweating to my advantage, I'm all nicely loosend up ready for my 200 pressups and 100 crunches. Then to the sink in my boxers and have a good wash down !!! Work clothes on, cup of green tea with a splash of lemon and off i go.

 

[SimonC]

When I lived near Brum a few years back, I had a 14 mile ride in to the city centre from the Bromsgove area, and no shower at work. So I got an enormous, sturdy cardboard box, put a huge bin liner in it, 'borrowed' my girlfirends rubber shower attachment thing that fitted onto the sink's taps in the disabled loo and I had a slightly crap, homemade shower. Worked a treat though.

'kin 'ell.

Respect.

 

[Sh4rkyBloke]

ride slower!

Huh? How's that work then?

 

[Tharg2007]

Huh? How's that work then?

haha, if I wanted to do 12mph I would take the car

 

[johnr]

I've been using Rocket Shower for about two weeks whilst our showers are being refurbished

It's not bad at all. Feels refreshing, seems to disperse the sweat and I've had no odour complaints. Has the added side effect of making your skin feel soft - not something I'm wholly comfortable discussing with complete strangers.

A bit pricey, but I recon a £14 bottle should last about 3 months on my skinny frame.