What do you do about...

butcher of bakersfield
butcher of bakersfield Posts: 1,233
edited April 2009 in Commuting chat
Sweaty pits, muddy helmet hair, soaking wet clothes and trailing filth into the office?

I mean, when I get in from a usual ride, Mrs Bakersfield worries about letting me into the house, and once in, minus a few garments, I'm not allowed to touch anything in case I spread my infectious filth. I'm not my most presentable after most rides, and I cringe at the thought of even walking into a shop without them seeing me park up my bike outside just so I can offer them reassurance that I'm not some red-faced, sweaty psycho.

So, when you get to work and you have to deal with clients, etc, how the hell do you turn up looking composed after a 12 mile commute. Which is what I've been saying I'm gonna do once the weather's fine. And, well, it's been fine for a while. In which case I better get started soon before the next winter rolls in and gives me an excuse to put it off for another year.

If you're one of the lucky few that has a shower at work, then it's self explanatory. But surely that can't be common, so how do the rest of us manage?

Comments

  • cjcp
    cjcp Posts: 13,345
    Buy a road bike. Much more civilised. :wink:

    I have an off-peak (post-9am) membership only at a nearby gym, which is still significantly cheaper than buying a season ticket, so I shower.
    FCN 2-4.

    "What happens when the hammer goes down, kids?"
    "It stays down, Daddy."
    "Exactly."
  • always_tyred
    always_tyred Posts: 4,965
    How come you are covered in filth?

    If your office has a disabled toilet, annex it for 10 minutes in the morning. If you put your head down the toilet and flush it a couple of times, it will freshen up your hair.... of use a sink.....and you can take a view on the required extensiveness with which you need to freshen up other body parts.

    IS there anywhere to dry your clothes? If not, you will have to put up with wet shoes, but I keep a spare pair of shorts and a base layer in the desk drawer and I've carried spare cycling gear in the past, on mornings when it appears likely that I'll get a soaking. Its not that common that it is actually raining when you are cycling in, maybe 10-20 times a year here in Edbug.

    Get used to donning sweaty gear in the evenings, though. No escape unless you have a drying option. I cover my bike (which is in a lower ground floor courtyard, visible from the road) and hang my clothes off the frame for the day. They rarely dry, but they are aired and pre-chilled come evening. No, its not great, but 5 minutes into the evening ride, they just feel like they would have done 1 hour and 5 minutes into the morning ride. I figure that if I'd have been riding to work and back in one go, I wouln't stop and get changed half way through....

    Other than that, get overshoes and get some mudguards so you won't end up simulating pouring rain on the far more frequent days when there is standing water on the roads .

    They aren't cool, but once you are at work, neither is the "hell of the north" look.
  • brushed
    brushed Posts: 63
    What kind of clobber is required in your office?

    Thankfully my office is pretty relaxed so I leave shoes and jumper in office and carry boxers/ jeans/shirts in a rucksack 20 litres is about the right size for this. Leaves room for food / tools / wallet / keys / pump

    I wear full lycra cycle kit as it dries more quickly even stashed under my desk on hangers.

    There is no shower but I spent a few minutes stretching in the loo which helps with the cooling off. I do a complete change of clothes. The theory is fresh sweat doesnt smell but old sweat does.Seems to work for me.

    There are a number of cyclists and motorbikers in the office so its ok for kit to be around. I guess I am lucky in that respect

    Mudguards with a an effective mudflap and overshoes are a must in the winter - obviously bad for you FCN - but you arrive alot cleaner.

    Try to warm down / slow down as you get close to your destination to reduce that red faced out of breath look. I take off my helmet for 10 metres before I stop for a quick blast of fresh air to the bonch.
    FCN 4 summer
    FCN 6 Winter

    'Strong, Light, Cheap : choose two' Keith Bontrager
  • chuckcork
    chuckcork Posts: 1,471
    Always Tyred wrote:
    How come you are covered in filth?

    Get used to donning sweaty gear in the evenings, though. No escape unless you have a drying option.

    Um, spare shirt in the pack for that ride home is the obvious answer to this? Not as if they take up that much space in a backpack.

    For drying shorts, if you work in an office hand it over the back of your PC (if under the desk) the PC fans will dry it nicely.

    Otherwise what everyone else has said, keep shoes at work, bring in trousers once or twice a week, take in a daily shirt/jocks/etc, ride a bike with mudguards, and get changed into the fresh clothes before you start after a face wash, maybe if your a heavy sweater do a wipe down with a baby wipe or similar too.

    Oh, and maybe not obvious, wear proper roadie cycle gear, tends not to soak up sweat (unlike cotton T-shirts) and breathes way better than heavy non-cycling specific clothing, you'll bemore comfortable.

    Pretty simple really!
    'Twas Mulga Bill, from Eaglehawk, that caught the cycling craze....
  • butcher of bakersfield
    butcher of bakersfield Posts: 1,233
    brushed wrote:
    What kind of clobber is required in your office?

    To be fair it's pretty relaxed, just my everyday clothes, but we do have clients coming in so a muddy face and all your dirty garments slung over the radiator won't win me employee of the month. I'm sure I'll manage though, just wondered how other people went through their routine...

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