8 Mile Commute: No Showers, No Cycle parking

[ed_o_brain]

I have a serious prospect of a new job in Manchester City Centre.
The tram station is best part of two miles away and the bus service is less than reliable.

That makes cycling the obvious choice, except to say it's 8 Miles and there's nowhere to lock a bike and nowhere to shower at the end. (Aside from this, this company scores very highly as a place I'd like to work).

It's quite some considerable distance to go whilst staying below the sweat threshold, and I'm not sure I fancy bimbling along at 10mph in rush hour traffic. I would much prefer to hair along and have a shower at the end. But the fast acceleration that's required to stay afloat in each rush to the lights gets you quite warm and sweaty.

Anyone else had any experience of a similar commute?
Or is taking a folding bike on the tram a more viable solution?

[nuttycyclist]

My commute is between 7 and 8 miles to work.   No showers.  I don't like the official bike parking.


Shower before you leave and then just towel dry before getting changed.  I've been doing this for 8 years without a problem.

I now keep the bike in the storeroom, but you need to get your feet under the table/get to know the staff before you can try this.

[ed_o_brain]

So in toweling dry you are just wiping the sweat off?
Do you moderate your cycling intensity? (oo err!)

[epa611]

Baby wipes & lots of deodorant

[vorsprung]

It's tricky this kind of problem

Before you work at the place it is hard to know if there is some kind of way you could deal with the two problems of showering and secure bike parking
It's all very well saying that the employer should listen to you before you even work there.  But in the real world it isn't likely to get you anywhere.

If I were you I'd take a towel in and have a wash instead of a shower.  Less than ideal but it works.  As for bike storage, you'll figure something out when you get there.  Maybe there's a cupboard.  Maybe there's a roof garden.  Maybe you could pull both wheels off the bike and store it in your office in a cardboard box.

[cometworm]

I do a 7mi commute with no showers and only a lamppost for parking. So I take my hack bike and make sure I change out of my cycling kit straight away (including a quick wipedown if necessary). Granted I'm not usually a stinky guy. But I smell less than most of my kebab-eating garlic stinking colleagues.   

[mark]

Sink bath and change into work clothes when you get there? Can you keep your bike at your desk/cubicle/whatever?

Taking a folder on the tram might be a good choice until you've worked there a while and established yourself as a valuable employee. At that point they might be a little more accepting of whatever idiosyncrasies you might start displaying, like keeping a bicycle in your workspace. The folder/tram routine might be a good fallback for truly wretched weather.

[ed_o_brain]

Yes might be folder/tram for the first week.
And then hack bike I'm not to fond of locked at any available piece of street furniture etc.

This is all speculative at this point anyway.

Thanks.

[mrcharly-YHT]

I do 25miles at least, 7.5 if going by train. Don't bother with a shower.

Just keep yourself clean and wash your cycling gear regularly.

8 miles isn't much, you could make up a hack bike for that. An old hardtail mountainbike, single speed, would do well.

Don't push the traffic - it just leads to accidents. 8 miles isn't going to take more than 30minutes for you, you're a much faster rider than me.

[Biggsy]

Sweat is just water and salt.  There's nothing too bad about it.  If you shower just before cycling, and wear all clean clothes, then there is not much bacteria to start with to multiply and smell.

[rogerzilla]

I used to do that and was soon told to stop 

[Frenchie]

You could probably ride the 8Mi on a folder, take it in and use baby wipes.

Herve

[Wowbagger]

I only do short commutes and the fact that I'm only in each school for 1 hour a week means that there's no facility or time for me to shower. Some days, I work up a fair old sweat over just 3 miles, so I try to allow enough time for me to cool down before starting teaching.

[PrettyBoyTim]

I think it may depend on the person as to whether they can get away with it. I ride about 8 miles on my way in every day, and hardly ever bother showering once I arrive. I have quite explicitly asked some of my friends at work whether I pong as a result but they reckon I don't.

I shower before I leave, and carry my change of clothes in a pannier to prevent my back getting sweaty.

[alexb]

I cycle about this distance to work in full on cycling gear. Arrive at work, take 5 minutes to cool off, then head to the toilets with a change of clothes.
I never have any problems being sweaty or smelly. I do shower before leaving home and of course use deodourant. I wear a fresh set of cycling gear every day and bring clean clothes in in batches so I always have enough clean clothes to last a week or so.

To get away with this you need a locker and somewhere to hang up your cycling gear.

[gordon taylor]

I ride 12 miles in every day and make do with a wash in the sink and clean clothes.

Showers and changing clothes after cycle-commuting are a very British thing IMHO. On the continent, people just cycle to work at 20kph and walk straight in to their desk wearing the same stuff. No fuss.

Just try it.

[Regulator]

Ed... have you actually asked them about facilities for cyclists?  Or are you assuming on the basis of a reccy of the outside of the building?

When I've been for interviews in the past I've always asked about facilities and often been pleasantly surprised.  In my last job there was no obvious cycle parking - but there was secure parking available in the building.

[pdm]

Fresh sweat does not stink; it requires bacterial growth to generate the smell.
Clean body, clean clothes, ride.
Remove cycling clothes and cool down when you arrive, wipe off and put on clean clothes.
I do this with a 15 mile commute to work every day and have no problems with smellies...

[Regulator]

Fresh sweat does not stink; it requires bacterial growth to generate the smell.
Clean body, clean clothes, ride.
Remove cycling clothes and cool down when you arrive, wipe off and put on clean clothes.
I do this with a 15 mile commute to work every day and have no problems with smellies...

Your co-workers may disagree...


 

[rogerzilla]

It used to take me an hour to cool down without a shower, and I am literally dripping sweat when I arrive (between March and October, anyway).  Riding without effort isn't really an option because someone built a hill two-thirds of the way into the journey

[ian]

I do eleven miles without a shower. People still invite me to the pub after work and don't fight not to sit next to me in meetings which I take as good signs that I'm not emanating any toxic miasma. Riding at a moderate pace in light clothing helps cut down the sweatiness, and I recommend quick dry fabrics (not cotton). As others have said, sweat itself isn't stinky, it's what grows in it that does the olfactory damage. So keep your cycling togs clean and don't let them stay damp when wearing or storing them does the trick. Of course, a change of clothes and a squirt of anti-perspirant doesn't go amiss.

As for parking - crappy bike and a couple of locks and the usual commonsense (park it next to poorly secured expensive bikes).

(My employers have limited bike facilities - as I am classified as a home worker with < 50% of my week in the office, I don't qualify.)

[clarion]

Twelve miles but I shower.  But if I can't get to the shower, a strip wash in the loo will do.  Even hanging around in the cubicle with my jersey off can cool me down enough to just use deodorant.

[Regulator]

Twelve miles but I shower.  But if I can't get to the shower, a strip wash in the loo will do.  Even hanging around in the cubicle with my jersey off can cool me down enough to just use deodorant.

Any excuse to hang round in a cubicle, eh...?   

[andygates]

The bike locking is the tricky part - but surely there's a corner of the office that can be pressed into service? 

Cleanies - bah, find the disabled bog, strip down, wash face, wipe sweat, get into nice clean clothes.  Disabled bogs are great 'cos there's lots of space and nobody being startled by your arse.

[rogerzilla]

I thought disabled bogs at work were provided so that able-bodied people could have sex in them?