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Realise this is very dependant on how hard you ride, how smelly you are etc but interested to know how far people feel they need to ride to justify a shower when they get in.
I've got a 13 mile commute that I only do on the return leg (get train in) because it's not possible to have a shower when I get to work. Is cycling in 13 miles (fairly hilly) and not having a shower acceptable.
When I worked in London I'd cycle 5 miles across town and never dream of needing a shower...
13 fairly hilly miles and considering skipping the shower..? You complete minger....
Depends how sweaty I get, my cycling commute is 8miles and I generally attack it and sweat a boat load. If it was less and I could take it easy then I wouldnt worry.
5 miles passable, 13 miles is taking the piss!
get an ebike and do it both directions. turbo, brrrrrrmmmmm, sorted! 😆
Spanish shower, clean clothes on, no problem. Just make sure you shower at home
My commute was 21km but it was generally downhill and I just took it steady. No shower at work, just waited a while to cool down then baby wipes and a bit of deodorant and put on clean clothes.
Shower beforehand and I'd be fine with that I reckon - might have a think about what base layer I was wearing but I'm not smelly in general (some folk just are, let's face it). No place to get changed outside of the bogs is a bit of a ballache, if that is your situation, but plenty of folk improvise with that, towel down, use wetwipes etc.
If you're bike fit you can tick that over at pretty low effort, minimal sweat in our climate. Depends on what you're used to - if I ran to work I'd be sweating buckets and wanting a shower,.
Yeah, maybe it's all about relative effort. If i keep it at 60% threshold on the way in and then ramp it up to 80% on way home maybe baby wipes and spray are the way ahead...Problem is it's uphill on way in 🙁
If you shower before leaving and put clean clothes on for (and after) every commute, you might get away with it. Using neutral unperfumed soaps and minimal deodorant can also help.
Is cycling in 13 miles (fairly hilly) and not having a shower acceptable.
If I want the commute to take an hour rather than 2 then yes, I'd need a shower.
That said, I sweat at the earliest opportunity...
it would work if you are showered before putting on clean riding gear and keeping the intensity low, also you could take a flannel with a Ziploc bag and give yourself a stand-up wash afterwards. Not babywipes as they are fatberg-tastic and kinda greasy.
I used to commute 15 miles in. Shower before you go, sink wash when you get there and clean clothes, no problem.
15 miles each way no shower here.
I've even done a 50 miler into work a couple of times without a shower.
Shower before leaving, then quick wash over sink, clean clothes and deodorant.
Panniers or rucksack? Smart or casual? I ride 5 miles and always arrive a sweaty mess. I think panniers would help but I don’t like them. I also take a long time to cool down so would be sweaty again soon after a quick wash.
I probably wouldn't but I am a sweaty bugger. Why not give it a try? Shower in the morning, clean cycling kit and baby wipes and deo when you get to work.
I ride 20 miles and if I keep it steady then I often don't have a shower because I haven't perspired at all. I think people over play the whole need a shower thing, because they think cycling is "exercising" and you shower after exercise. You wouldn't shower after walking down the street, you would if you go out running. Just don't go race pace and change clothes and you'll be fine so long as you are a generally clean person anyway.
(And people can sweat more in your car with the stress of driving but then wouldn't have a shower from it.)
I usually only start sweating when I stop riding and go inside a heated building (especially this time of year), so like to have a shower and change.
And, really, I don't base what I do on anyone else's behaviour! Some arrive and go straight in the shower, I sit around until I've cooled down. Everyone's different.
Six miles is the threshold distance for shower or no shower. Slow and no shower wins below this, fast and shower above. Assuming you don’t spend ages on the shower of course.
You’d have to ride very slowly, or use a load of the Devil’s wipes to freshen up. Blocking their toilets is one way of asking for better facilities.
You don't have to ride the whole ride slowly just ride at a reasonable pace and slow down for the last five or ten minutes. Also open zips up a bit to help cool things down. Once in the office give yourself time to cool down further - I used to take at least fifteen minutes but it does depend on your work, if your boss shouts at you to get changed, well ...
Dry yourself down with a towel, wait a minute or so and dry some more. Wet wipes on limited areas, a bit of deodorant on armpits, get dressed.
ISTR the last time we had this discussion someone mentioned that fresh sweat didn't smell, only old stale sweat.
depends what you do at work too, i could do 50miles at i want to throw up intensity and work in our factory and i don't think anyone would care (I'm not sure some of them own soap).
In the office i do 9 miles each way on an ss mtb in about 35 mins and I'm ok with shower at home, clean clothes no shower at the office.
If I've got customers in then it's drive or a slower pedal.
Used to commute 8 miles. It was mostly downhill on the way there and I just took it easy. Attacked the ride on the way home.
I think people over play the whole need a shower thing, because they think cycling is “exercising” and you shower after exercise. You wouldn’t shower after walking down the street, you would if you go out running. Just don’t go race pace and change clothes and you’ll be fine so long as you are a generally clean person anyway.
Indeed. I think you can cover pretty much any distance over flat terrain so long as you ride steady. If it's very hilly a harder effort may be inevitable. Personally, at this time of year, I can ride at a good pace and barely sweat at all.
Conversely, my brother used to be a driving instructor, and he had to get one of those beaded seat covers, because some of his clients would sweat so bad on hot days that the seat would be damp when he got back in it. I bet they don't shower at work.
Clean jersey to cycle to work in (so no stale sweat) clean shirt at work, occasional flannel wash when changing, no reported problems from co-workers - I work with my sister in law and I'm pretty sure she'd tell me she's vocal on my other failings...
I'm really dripping if I run to work especially in the summer, no shower here just a wipe down with blue roll. Never a problem but then I've a pair of bib shorts down in the warehouse that have done 2 turbo sessions this week and still smell of washing powder so I don't think I've got bacteria friendly sweat.
It's stale sweat that smells, so a shower before I ride plus good antiperspirant and then a clean change of clothes is fine for my 13mile commute to an office.
I cycle 7 miles into work on a single speed and pretty much ride as fast as I can, sweat quite a bit as I have a rucksack regardless of what the weather is doing. No shower in work so just give myself a good wash (baby wipes are perfect), fresh clothes and I'm OK. Despite that I've been pushing for a shower but it's fallen on deaf ears so far...
As above, sweat doesn't smell, it's the bacteria that grow on it that make the smell. So either remove the sweat after riding or remove the bacteria.
This means shower at home, good wicking and clean cycle gear on the way in, dry off before getting changed into clean clothes and.youll be fine... At least I am.
The bike clothes can end up stinking after a day in the office though so if it's going to be hot or sweaty I take a second top so I don't have to stink the place out as I walk through.
My old workplace was an open plan office and the ride in was 15 miles; either a mix of on/off road (inc canal towpaths and a few hills) or all on fairly busy main roads which meant riding accordingly (ie fast enough to be part of the traffic) which meant proper cycling gear and a brisk pace so I'd always need a shower.
Thankfully, work had excellent showers, drying room, secure bike storage etc so it was never an issue.
Previous places were chemical labs so the entire place smelt and a slightly smelly person made no difference!
Commute 12 miles each way. Shower before I go in in the morning, 2-3 baby wipes when I get in to work. Never noticed or been told of a problem in 16 years.
The people to ask about this are your colleagues. Note to anyone who doesn’t smell. Nobody thinks they themselves actually smell.
I've done a 40 mile round trip for the last 3 years and I think I've had one shower at work in that time. And that was only because it was cold and I wanted to bring my limbs back to life.
I reckon I’m going to give it a go. I’m fortunate enough to have my own office so it’s only the poor buggers coming to meet me who would smell any stale sweat 😉
Think the tip about showering first and always wearing fresh gear makes sense.
Not been working there long so not sure how honest my colleagues would be!
I’m a mechanic so generally don’t bother showering until I finish work.