A commuter question

[Cully_J]

Hello all,

I'm curious about what commuters - especially ones who wear suits - do to
wash up when they get to work.

Cully_J

[Eric Babula]

"Cully_J" > wrote in
:

> Hello all,
>
> I'm curious about what commuters - especially ones who wear suits -
> do to wash up when they get to work.
>
> Cully_J
>
>
>

I don't wear suits, but do have to dress relatively nicely (business
casual, usually).

I have about a 14-mile one-way commute, by bike. I shower in the
morning, before leaving the house. I usually get to work around 5:30am
(most of office starts around 8:00am), but you wouldn't have to get in
quite that early. I sit at my desk for about 1/2 hour to 45 minutes, to
let my body stop sweating (and I sweat quite a bit! - be sure to put
something between your butt and the office chair!). We do not have a
shower at work, so, I go into the bathroom (handicap stall), get out of
my bicycle clothing, wipe up with Old Spice Cool Contact refreshment
towels (similar to Wet Ones, or other wipes), let dry, apply a little
deoderant/antiperspirant, put on my work clothes, and fix my hair (don't
want h*lmet head all day!). If you wish, you could apply some
cologne/perfume, too.

Since 2000, I have not had ANY complaints about smelling badly at work.

YMMV. Good luck!

--
Eric Babula
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA

Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention
of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body.
But rather, it’s to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up,
totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming, 'Wow! What a ride!!!'

[Ron Hardin]

Cully_J wrote:
>
> Hello all,
>
> I'm curious about what commuters - especially ones who wear suits - do to
> wash up when they get to work.
>
> Cully_J

I started the informal dress for engineers custom, myself, back in the late
60s. Bermudas and a golf shirt. I'm don't think it ever caught on 100%
but it worked for me. The company was so big that nobody thought it was
his duty to fix it.

You don't do anything special other than keep clean enough so you don't smell
when you sweat ; no other clothes or extra shower or anything.

Sweat doesn't smell, in itself.

--
Ron Hardin


On the internet, nobody knows you're a jerk.

[Matt O'Toole]

On Thu, 05 Jan 2006 21:39:28 +0000, Cully_J wrote:

> I'm curious about what commuters - especially ones who wear suits - do
> to wash up when they get to work.

Most of the ones I know who have to look *that* good visit a gym within
walking distance of work, and shower there. Many companies have shower
facilities in-house these days too.

If you don't have such facilities nearby, then you can clean up in the
bathroom. If you don't want to bother with soap and water, rubbing
alcohol is an old standby, but these days baby wipes are handy too.

Low maintenance hairstyles are an asset. Shave it if you have to.

Practiced campers, sailors, ex-military folks, and people who have to step
out of a dirty jobsite and into a conference room are generally more
practiced at this. I pity anyone so enmeshed with their private bathroom
routine that they can't be flexible enough to enjoy bike commuting.

As others have mentioned, if you're clean before you start, your sweat
won't stink.

Matt O.

[Gooserider]

"Eric Babula" > wrote in message
1...
> "Cully_J" > wrote in
> :
>
>> Hello all,
>>
>> I'm curious about what commuters - especially ones who wear suits -
>> do to wash up when they get to work.
>>
>> Cully_J
>>
>>
>>
>
> I don't wear suits, but do have to dress relatively nicely (business
> casual, usually).
>
> I have about a 14-mile one-way commute, by bike. I shower in the
> morning, before leaving the house. I usually get to work around 5:30am
> (most of office starts around 8:00am), but you wouldn't have to get in
> quite that early. I sit at my desk for about 1/2 hour to 45 minutes, to
> let my body stop sweating (and I sweat quite a bit! - be sure to put
> something between your butt and the office chair!). We do not have a
> shower at work, so, I go into the bathroom (handicap stall), get out of
> my bicycle clothing, wipe up with Old Spice Cool Contact refreshment
> towels (similar to Wet Ones, or other wipes), let dry, apply a little
> deoderant/antiperspirant, put on my work clothes, and fix my hair (don't
> want h*lmet head all day!). If you wish, you could apply some
> cologne/perfume, too.
>
> Since 2000, I have not had ANY complaints about smelling badly at work.
>
> YMMV. Good luck!

I do exactly the same thing. I have a shaved head so I don't have to worry
about hair. The new deodorant body sprays(Axe, Tag, etc) are very useful
too.I commute in Florida, so the summers are very sweaty, but I don't stink.
Putting on cold damp shorts in the afternoon is not good though. :-)

[Cully_J]

"Eric Babula" > wrote in message
1...

>We do not have a
> shower at work, so, I go into the bathroom (handicap stall), get out of
> my bicycle clothing, wipe up with Old Spice Cool Contact refreshment
> towels (similar to Wet Ones, or other wipes),

Wet wipes!?! Terrific idea, Eric. I'm definitely going to try that in the
summer...

Cully_J
Appleton, Wisconsin USA

[Mike Kruger]

"Cully_J" > wrote in message
...
>
> I'm curious about what commuters - especially ones who wear suits - do to
> wash up when they get to work.
>
Office is business casual now, but I used to keep a suit behind the door.
I'd ride in wearing bike clothing and carrying underwear and rolled-up
shirt, use the shower in the building, and put on the suit. There's a
cleaners a block and a half away, and I'd just take the suit there when
needed.

This worked nicely for my long (38 miles) but occasional (1x/week year
around) commute. If I did a daily commute, two suits would make the
logistics easier.

Under 7 miles or so one-way I would just shower at home and ride easy, and
would just wear khakis.

[Earl Bollinger]

"Cully_J" > wrote in message
...
> Hello all,
>
> I'm curious about what commuters - especially ones who wear suits - do to
> wash up when they get to work.
>
> Cully_J
>
>
I used to stage suits at work and clothes for a week or so. I used the
bathroom to freshen up and get dressed.
I had a washcloth, soap, deoderant, cologne and stuff, so i could be as
fresh as possible.
Currently my new place of employment has a gym with showers and we have gone
business casual, so I don't need suits, but I still stage clothes at work
anyway.
I change clothes out once a week, when I have to drive in on that day.

[frkrygow@gmail.com]

Cully_J wrote:
> Hello all,
>
> I'm curious about what commuters - especially ones who wear suits - do to
> wash up when they get to work.

For my seven miles, I ride a bit slow while wearing my "business
casual" clothes, after my morning shower at home. I'm lucky that the
route in is generally downhill. (I don't feel so lucky on the way
home.) I'll be moist for about ten minutes, but fine after that.

And as many have said, your sweat shouldn't stink. If it does, you've
got some obnoxious bacteria on your skin. Treat your underarms for a
few days with strong antibacterial soap, or with Listerine, and ditch
all your undershirts. It should fix it.

My schedule in summer is different, and I usually have to ride in at
the hottest part of the day. On those days, I may take a clean
undershirt. If I'm lucky enough to be doing a long recreational ride
that ends at the office, I'll ride in cycling clothes, then change at
work.

- Frank Krygowski

[POHB]

Easy, we have a shower at work so I save my morning's ablutions until I
arrive.

"Cully_J" > wrote in message
...
> Hello all,
>
> I'm curious about what commuters - especially ones who wear suits - do to
> wash up when they get to work.
>
> Cully_J
>
>

[dgk]

On Thu, 05 Jan 2006 21:39:28 GMT, "Cully_J" >
wrote:

>Hello all,
>
>I'm curious about what commuters - especially ones who wear suits - do to
>wash up when they get to work.
>
>Cully_J
>

I really thought that smelling would be a problem but it isn't. I
shower in the morning, use normal stick deodorant, and bike 14.2 miles
to work. Winter and summer. I usually bike in the pants that I wear at
work, which are nice black jeans or decent pants. I store five to ten
dress shirts at work and take off the base layer and put on a shirt.
Whenever it is really nasty weather and I come by train, I swap the
shirts for new ones.

I do suffer from helmet hair however.

One problem that I've noticed in winter is that I'm not really
equipped for going outside after I get to work. The three layers that
I wear for biking, with the outer one being just a bright yellow
(getting duller) Cannondale windbreaker, are not really suitable for
blustery cold days unless I'm generating a lot of heat. So walking
around the area finds me a bit underdressed. Folks just never believe
that I wear so little in the winter.

[Buck]

Cully_J wrote:
> Hello all,
>
> I'm curious about what commuters - especially ones who wear suits - do to
> wash up when they get to work.
>
> Cully_J

I used to just ride in my work clothes (work casual, five miles
one-way) and dry out in front of a fan once I got there. By starting
out clean and drying out quickly, I never developed any offensive
odors. But I did notice that the crotch of my nice pants would wear out
long before the rest of the garment.

Now I have to wear a tie, so on Mondays I haul in a week's supply using
the kids trailer and hang them on the back of the office door. I wear
cycling gear for the ride. My dry-off routine hasn't changed, but I
found I dry much faster while wearing wicking fabrics. I then change
into the workday clothes. There is no smell to worry about. My bathroom
routine consists of changing clothes and combing my hair.

-Buck

[Claire Petersky]

"Cully_J" > wrote in message
...

> I'm curious about what commuters - especially ones who wear suits - do to
> wash up when they get to work.


We have a small shower room -- just big enough for a small shower stall and
for the door to open to get in.

I have a suit-and-pantyhose type job -- I keep my skirts, slacks, blazers,
nice blouses, etc. hung up in a closet. I stash my unmentionables and
scarves in one file drawer and pumps in another. From time to time I take
the bus and I haul clothes in and out. When there's a big seasonal change,
I'll drive in on the weekend to take out, say, all the wool skirts and fine
knit sweaters.

As for hair -- maybe it's not a big deal for guys, but it will be for many
women who think about bicycle commuting -- for a long time I had it very
short, so it was completely wash and wear. Now it's long. I wash it and then
put goo into it so it will retain some curls and not be a big frizzy mess. I
just let it air dry.

I don't wear make-up. I suppose it's possible I haven't advanced that much
in my job because I don't wear mascara or something, but I'm not going to
worry about it. Life's too short to spend much of it putting on lipstick.

--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
http://www.bicyclemeditations.org/
Personal page: http://www.geocities.com/cpetersky/
See the books I've set free at:
http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky

[Claire Petersky]

"dgk" > wrote in message
...
> So walking
> around the area finds me a bit underdressed.

I keep a warm coat at work for walking around outside of the office. It'd
feel a bit ridiculous to wear a hi-vis yellow windbreaker over a pinstripe
suit, and you're right, it isn't warm enough for just walking to get lunch,
go to the drug store, whatever.

--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
http://www.bicyclemeditations.org/
Personal page: http://www.geocities.com/cpetersky/
See the books I've set free at:
http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky

[dgk]

On Fri, 06 Jan 2006 15:16:45 GMT, "Claire Petersky"
> wrote:

>"dgk" > wrote in message
...
>> So walking
>> around the area finds me a bit underdressed.
>
>I keep a warm coat at work for walking around outside of the office. It'd
>feel a bit ridiculous to wear a hi-vis yellow windbreaker over a pinstripe
>suit, and you're right, it isn't warm enough for just walking to get lunch,
>go to the drug store, whatever.

It's really even worse. The windbreaker, for whatever reason possessed
Cannondale, doesn't have pockets. I guess to cut down wind resistance
(or cost) or something. I bought it when I was first getting into cold
weather biking a few years back and I didn't notice the lack of
pockets.

Good idea about bringing a jacket to leave at work. I just started a
new job and am in a cubicle for the time being but I can likely leave
it in the hall closet. No one else uses it; I had to bring in my own
hanger. There's now exactly one old, almost antique, wooden hanger in
that closet. I guess I can bring in another one.

[John_Kane@tricolour.queensu.ca]

Cully_J wrote:
> Hello all,
>
> I'm curious about what commuters - especially ones who wear suits - do to
> wash up when they get to work.
>
> Cully_J

Well often when I commuted to work I took a show when I arrived. Worked
well and I saved on the hot water bill at home. :) Of course I was
lucky to have showers and lockers available.
When going to school I and at some other jobs I just rode. At a
reasonable pace and under say 6-7 km I never saw a need for washing up.

John Kane, Kingston ON Canada

[Cully_J]

"dgk" > wrote in message
...
>
> I do suffer from helmet hair however.

A buzzed head will solve that problem, DJK.

[Cully_J]

"Claire Petersky" > wrote in message
ink.net...

> As for hair -- maybe it's not a big deal for guys, but it will be for many
> women who think about bicycle commuting -- for a long time I had it very
> short, so it was completely wash and wear. Now it's long. I wash it and
then
> put goo into it so it will retain some curls and not be a big frizzy mess.
I
> just let it air dry.

As for women having a shaved head: I always thought that the "Sinead
O'Conner look" pretty hot and sexy.

Cully_J

[Dane Buson]

Claire Petersky > wrote:
> "dgk" > wrote in message
> ...
>> So walking
>> around the area finds me a bit underdressed.
>
> I keep a warm coat at work for walking around outside of the office. It'd
> feel a bit ridiculous to wear a hi-vis yellow windbreaker over a pinstripe
> suit, and you're right, it isn't warm enough for just walking to get lunch,
> go to the drug store, whatever.

I've adopted the same practice. I have an old pre-cycling (hence too
large) denim shirt I've left stashed in my cube to use as a coat. Where
I work isn't particularly amenable to walking to stores, so I haven't
really needed anything heavier.

--
Dane Buson - z u v e m b i @ u n i x b i g o t s . o r g
"The Internet is totally out of control, impossible to map accurately, and
being used far beyond its original intentions. So far, so good."
-- Dr. Dobb's Journal May 1993

[Richard B]

"Cully_J" > wrote in
:

> Hello all,
>
> I'm curious about what commuters - especially ones who wear suits - do
> to wash up when they get to work.
>
> Cully_J
>
>

I ride 10 miles each way to work and home in So Cal, it usually does not
get cold enough to require any special cold weather attire.

Our office is business casual.

I ride in cycling shorts and a fluorescent yellow jersey (I like to be
very visible). I carry my rain jacket (this doubles as a windbreaker
until I get warmed up), change of clothes and shoes, laptop and
accessories etc. in panniers. I dry the sweat with paper towels and I
have a fan in my cubicle to help me cool off.

At the office I cool off in my cycling clothes (I arrive early) and then
change into business attire after I am cool and dry.

I just hang my damp cycling clothes on the cube wall until they are
completely dry.

I also have found that if you keep clean, odor does not become an issue.

Another suggestion I have seen is to drive in to the office once a week,
load your space with four sets of clothing for the week and remove last
weeks soiled attire; this would be a good plan for someone who must wear
a suit (no wrinkles).


Rich

[max]

In article >,
"Cully_J" > wrote:

> Hello all,
>
> I'm curious about what commuters - especially ones who wear suits - do to
> wash up when they get to work.
>
> Cully_J

No suit here, in general. i ride in wearing weather-appropriate bikie
clothes. I work in a pretty relaxed place, but i never ride in the clothes i
work in. I fab'ed a little clothes rack where i hang (on hangers) my bike
clothes and some of my work clothes. This keeps my bikie stuff from getting
smelly by assuring they dry quickly. i give myself a couple of minutes to
cool down if need be, no biggie; i don't bother with a towel or a shower,
it's not at all needed.

I have another out-of-the-way locker where i keep about 5~7 changes of
clothes. I also keep a couple of nice sport coats and a collection of nice
neckties for when Public Affairs photographers, hoi polloi, tours, or
powerful washington dignitaries visit.

I rotate and mix/match my stuff so i don't have to take my clothes home
every week.

Thus, i'm always neatly and smartly attired, don't smell like a goat and
dress better than most of my cow orkers. You would absolutely never suspect
i ride 9 miles at warp speed to work every day if you stopped in (except for
the bike glove tan lines i get in the summer).

The key is having a place to dry your bike clothes and a suitable place to
_hang_ your work clothes. Pretty easy.

..max

[Matt O'Toole]

On Sat, 07 Jan 2006 01:25:29 +0000, Richard B wrote:

> Another suggestion I have seen is to drive in to the office once a week,
> load your space with four sets of clothing for the week and remove last
> weeks soiled attire; this would be a good plan for someone who must wear a
> suit (no wrinkles).

I know several people who do this. Some also drive one way, and ride the
other, then the opposite the next day.

Matt O.

[Ron Wallenfang]

My practices are picked up by other reponses on this thread, so they need
not be belabored. My advice: just do it and you'll figure out how soon
enough!


"Cully_J" > wrote in message
...
> Hello all,
>
> I'm curious about what commuters - especially ones who wear suits - do to
> wash up when they get to work.
>
> Cully_J
>
>

[Tom Keats]

In article >,
"Ron Wallenfang" > writes:

> My practices are picked up by other reponses on this thread, so they need
> not be belabored. My advice: just do it and you'll figure out how soon
> enough!

That's pretty much how it works.
Necessity is a mother...


cheers,
Tom

--
-- Nothing is safe from me.
Above address is just a spam midden.
I'm really at: tkeats [curlicue] vcn [point] bc [point] ca

[Mike Kruger]

"Tom Keats" > wrote in message
...
> In article >,
> "Ron Wallenfang" > writes:
>
>> My practices are picked up by other reponses on this thread, so they need
>> not be belabored. My advice: just do it and you'll figure out how soon
>> enough!
>
> That's pretty much how it works.
> Necessity is a mother...
>
"Necessity is a mother...", Tom said inventively.


Mike
(yes, I should have resisted the urge to make this joke)