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TreeHugger Tip: How to Bike to Work (without all the sweat!)

by Chris Tackett, Fayetteville, Arkansas on 07. 3.08
Video Tips

If I wasn't fortunate enough to work from home, I'd certainly try to work near enough to be able to ride my bike to the office everyday. Saving money on gasoline, getting some early-morning exercise and breathing some fresh air on the way to the office is great. Though, as nice as it sounds, there are some potential downsides to biking to the office, namely the sweat.

With those problems in mind, Dorothee from EarthFirst sends in this tip for our TreeHugger Video Tips series. In it, she demonstrates how-to quickly 'freshen up' after a ride to the office.

Thanks for the great video, Dorothee!

If you have a tip on what you do to 'be green', please share! Send your videos to video-tips @ treehugger dot com.

To view all the video tips we've posted so far, check out the TreeHugger Video Tips page.

Comments (18)

Other tips I have used.

Bring a face cloth & compact travel towel rather than disposable wipes. Much less impact to use a reusable cloth and good old soap and water, and one of th compact travel towels. It can be a bit messier tho :(

Find a local gym, and get the cheapest membership they offer just so u can use their showers.

Get a job where they have showers in the building.

Petition your boss to convert a rest room to a shower room and persuade your co workers to run / ride / scoot to work as well.

jump to top steve says:

Soldiers in Iraq use Non-Scented (important!) baby whipes and Gold Bond for field hygiene. Touring bikers do the same.

My work has a shower, so I always use that. I save a lot of money on hot water because I us the work shower in the mornings.

Bike commuters also use racks to keep the sweaty bag off the back. I like using the messenger bag in the winter to have a extra layer of warmth.

Good Vid.

jump to top Mr Brody says:

You will sweat less if you don't wear socks and gloves.
A lot of heat escapes from the feet and hands.
Let it out, don't keep it in.
In the Southern California winter (40-50 degrees) I avoid using socks and gloves by dressing warmer on the torso. If the torso is warm it does not cut blood flow to the extremities. The bare feet and hands let heat escape and keeps the torso drier. There's nothing worse than a cold, clammy body.

jump to top George Krpan says:

The unscented baby wipes that Mr Brody mentioned are a good tip. I keep them in my locker at work. Even though we have showers, I don't always use them. Sometimes I just shower at home and clean up in the sink at work. After a short (6 mile) commute, a full shower is only necessary on extremely hot days.

It is nice to leave shoes, belts. etc. at the office too. The less heavy stuff to carry, the better.

One of the best tips for not showing up to work as a sweaty mess? Leave yourself some time to cruise.
Nothing is worse then having to get to work in a hurry because you left late.... an looking like you just participated in an Iron Man when you get there.

There are also some pretty good non-stinky shirt materials you can get. It won't help with the back sweat stain if you wear a backpack (yes. messenger bags all the way!) but you wont smell like a Yeti. Check out exofficio shirts (anti-microbial) as well as anything made of murino. They work. (spent a month and a half in NZ with only those two shirts).

Get a helmet that has GOOD ventilation too. Skate lids may look cool, but you will sweat under them as heat cant escape your head.

HYDRATE. Really. Bring a water bottle filled with ice cubes... and water. It will cool down your core.

jump to top JonT says:

Don't the baby whipes contribute to landfill garbage?

If you shower in the morning and soap your body, and/or use deodorant, you don't smell sweat when taking the bike to work.

Oil of Olay facial wipes are good.

And the concern about filling up landfills is just silly.

There is plenty of room in America for landfills.

If you really care about the environment, just don't have children or have one less kid and that will make a much bigger impact than fretting about moist towellettes.

jump to top tde says:

All I am going to say is that this girl shou;d buy a new helmet (the expire every 4 years and I guarantee her's is more than 6) and adjust it properly!

jump to top Cat says:

I hate to sound all geeky, but the production quality of this video was surprisingly good:)

Though I find that messenger bags make me sweat as much as backpacks, just in different spots.

jump to top Johnny says:

Nice. Will look forward to more in this series from Treehugger Video Tips. We need more people to shoot video everywhere!

Clarence
www.streetfilms.org

jump to top Clarence says:

Here are my tips (for those that don't have a shower at work):

- Keep some deodorant at work

- I typically use the shirt I rode in on the wide off sweat. Think about it before you say gross, it's wicked off most of the sweat already during the ride. An extra wipe won't make you worse for wear. (and there's no waste!)

- Once you've wiped down focus on lowering your body's core temperature as quickly as possible to stop more sweating. Run some cold water on your wrists and if possible ankles. Drink a large glass of the coldest water you can find. The faster your core body temperature drops the faster you'll stop sweating.

- Bring a change of clothes, if you're like me and can work in shorts and t-shirt then you're even farther ahead.

- If you have an office with a lockable door take some time to air off without a shirt on. (get your mind out of the gutter! heh) Cold air conditioning on your skin will cool you off fast.

jump to top TheMonk [TypeKey Profile Page] says:

When I walk places, I don't sweat much. When I ride a bike, I sweat like a stuck pig. Why is that? Isn't bicycling supposed to be more efficient?

jump to top Icelander says:

Unrelated, but very awesome to see a second Brody on the treehugger site.

jump to top Brody Mossman says:

How come you are all so sweaty from a bike ride? Do you drive at top speed all the time?

Personally I smell fresher when I bike to work, than when I take the bus.

jump to top Pieter says:

Antiglobalism is all wrong about landfills. These things operate community by community, and ours in South Carolina is nearing capacity. (I suspect other U.S. communities have similar issues.) We also have the only incinerator in the state, and the officials who operate it are considering the renewal of a long term (20 years) contract so that the only landfill we have won't reach capacity too quickly. Creating less trash is almost always the best option even though it requires some resources and energy to wash your reusable towel.

jump to top heavydinsc says:

"Breathe some fresh air"? I don't think so. It's probably the worst air you could possibly breathe! Maybe someday, but probably not for at least 10 years.

jump to top Dan Z says:

Another tip: take you car with your bike on the first day of work. That way, if the weather looks or is bad you're not stuck. There are a lot of people who probably don't ride because they worry about being stuck with bad weather. You can also use it to do errands or go to the Dr. Ride your bike back Monday PM, both ways T,W,T and to work Friday. Then back with the bike on the back of the car on the way home. You can also keep a change of clothes in the car for all the days of the week, which helps if you don't have a locker or want to carry that with you in your backpack.
I use a pedal assisted electric bike to get to work. THat reduces the workload and lowers the amount of sweat.

jump to top Erik says:

I sweat a lot when I ride to work, mainly because it is a very hilly ride, and I enjoy pushing myself. On the first day of the week, I pack 2 pairs of trousers and about 4 tshirts, and leave them at work, along with some deoderant. That way I always have something clean to change into when I get there. If I am extra sweaty, I just wipe the sweat off with the top that I was riding in. Cotton shirts are th best to ride in, as they keep the sun off your neck (I burn easy), and they breathe very easily.

jump to top Matt says:

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