gales .. new commuter

"elyob" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Starting a new commute soon. The practice runs have been quite vicious (hail, wind etc).

What do you use to clean yourself if you haven't a shower at work? Have

you

Quoted message said:

found a travel towel ... ?

Er.. couldn't you wear better clothes do you don't get dirty in the first place...?

elyob said:

Starting a new commute soon. The practice runs have been quite vicious (hail, wind etc).

What do you use to clean yourself if you haven't a shower at work? Have you found a travel
towel ... ?

Nick

I don't have a shower at work either. When it's wet I wear overshoes and a waterproof and ronhill
bikesters over my shorts. Both dry out pretty quickly even without a radiator. I also have
mudguards. I take it slow so as not to break a sweat, then really hack it on the way home.

Simon

On Sun, 08 Feb 2004 06:00:06 GMT, "elyob" <[email hidden]>

wrote in message : said:

What do you use to clean yourself if you haven't a shower at work? Have you found a travel
towel ... ?

Keep a washbag in the office and take a clean towel in as often as you feel you need to. I find that
it helps to wait to change until I've drunk a cup of tea and checked my email, by which time I've
cooled down.

Also worth slowing the pace for the last quarter mile, for the same reason.

And GO BROTHER! Welcome to the wonderful world of cycle commuting, where cyclists get to do
something they enjoy in time they would otherwise waste listening to [censored] drive-time radio and
burning money.

Guy
===
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"elyob" <[email hidden]> wrote:

| Starting a new commute soon. The practice runs have been quite vicious (hail, wind etc).
|
| What do you use to clean yourself if you haven't a shower at work? Have you found a travel
| towel ... ?

I cycle comfortably so I don't sweat, much, and wear waterproofs so I can take them off when I get
there. Sometimes, if it's really bad, I wear a bus instead.

--
Patrick Herring, Sheffield, UK anweald.co.ukanweald.co.ukOpen ↗

Eala Earendel engla beorhtast ofer middangeard monnum sended.

Just zis Guy said:

Keep a washbag in the office and take a clean towel in as often as you feel you need to. I find
that it helps to wait to change until I've drunk a cup of tea and checked my email, by which time
I've cooled down.

That quick? I keep a towel by my desk and it takes around 30 mins before I can get changed

Quoted message said:

Also worth slowing the pace for the last quarter mile, for the same reason.

Except my last quarter mile is a steepish hill

I have access to a shower but if I'm in a rush baby wipes and change in the disable loo (where there
is more room) does the job

Tony

"elyob" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Starting a new commute soon. The practice runs have been quite vicious (hail, wind etc).

What do you use to clean yourself if you haven't a shower at work? Have

you

Quoted message said:

found a travel towel ... ?

Strip wash in the loo. Cycle in cycling clothes, change at work. Bring a towel in/home as needed. I
do have a travel towel but only take that on holidays! Unlike others, I haven't found a way not to
sweat while riding a bike - to do that would mean going so slowly I might as well walk, and I don't
have time for that!

Rich

Travel towels are waste of space, time & money.

Cheap flannels are wonderful for freshening up. Dry ones are good as mini towels, wet ones for
removing grime. Cheap ones are thin and dry faster. They are small enough to dry out on rails of
chairs or the rack of a bicycle.

--
Helen D. Vecht: [email hidden] Edgware.

Richard Goodman said:

to do that would mean going so slowly I might as well walk, and I don't have time for that!

I don't actually have to go much slower in order not to break a sweat -- average 20 kmh as
opposed to 28.

Simon

On Sun, 8 Feb 2004 12:28:01 -0000, "Tony Raven"
<[email hidden]> wrote in message
<[email hidden]>:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Keep a washbag in the office and take a clean towel in as often as you feel you need to. I find
that it helps to wait to change until I've drunk a cup of tea and checked my email, by which time
I've cooled down.

Quoted message said:

That quick? I keep a towel by my desk and it takes around 30 mins before I can get changed

You haven't seen my inbox - 30 mins is a minimum for clearing the overnight accumulation :-)

Disabled loo is a good point and one I've made use of in the past, especially when riding back from
customers in Oxford (train there, change to bike kit and ride back).

Guy
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elyob said:

Starting a new commute soon. The practice runs have been quite vicious (hail, wind etc).

What do you use to clean yourself if you haven't a shower at work? Have you found a travel
towel ... ?

I never over dress. I have no fear of getting wet. Bikesters dry very quickly in an office
environment. I shower _before_ leaving for work. If I sweat, it is _clean_ sweat.

Arrive at work, boot 'puter, build cup of tea, then wander off to First Aid Room, wherein lie my
trousers, shoes and a sink. Bit of a splash of plain water, no soap, and cool off.

As others have said, I also only ride hard on my way home.

--
Cheerful Peddling John Mallard

"Simonb" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

Richard Goodman said:

to do that would mean going so slowly I might as well walk, and I don't have time for that!

I don't actually have to go much slower in order not to break a sweat -- average 20 kmh as
opposed to 28.

And you do that without sweating? What do you do - ride naked ;-)?

Of course it's possible to cruise at 20kph on the flat without working up a sweat, at least as long
as it isn't a hot day, but I doubt anyone whose sweat glands function normally and are not lathered
in anti-perspirant could do it as an average speed for a stop-start, across London, traffic-light
ridden commute. Generally I average around 25kph plus for my commute, I'm actually not a
particularly 'sweaty' type of person, and I still sweat loads.

Rich

Richard Goodman said:

And you do that without sweating? What do you do - ride naked ;-)?

Of course! You mean you don't?

Simon

On 8/2/04 6:25 pm, in article [email hidden], "Richard

Goodman said:

Of course it's possible to cruise at 20kph on the flat without working up a sweat, at least as
long as it isn't a hot day, but I doubt anyone whose sweat glands function normally and are not
lathered in anti-perspirant could do it as an average speed for a stop-start, across London, traffic-
light ridden commute. Generally I average around 25kph plus for my commute, I'm actually not a
particularly 'sweaty' type of person, and I still sweat loads.

Well my bike speedo tells me I average 16kph on the commuter. Typically that is about 20-25 on the
flat, 35-50 downhill. There are no uphills on my way to work (with a minor rise discounted) as I
live fairly close and can modify the route to avoid the valley on the direct 'crow flies' route.

Coming home it is about 12-16kph up the hill depending on what I am carrying which does bring up a
bit of a sweat.

The only problem with my commute is that it is too short.

..d

elyob <[email hidden]> wrote:

: What do you use to clean yourself if you haven't a shower at work? Have you found a travel
: towel ... ?

I have a towel stashed in the drawer of my desk.

However, since it's only two miles, normally I ride in in whatever I'm wearing that day and go slow.
I have to contain my annoyance when overtaken my people who think I'm going fast and want to race,
but it does mean I don't start sweating.

For me at least there is a certain distance (about 4 miles/30 mins cycling) that means that I will
start sweating however easy I go.

If I do go that far or it's really hot then I take my top off in the gents, have a quick wash, maybe
spash some anti-per on (I don't normally use either deodorant or anti-per) and dry with the towel.

This is why I'm very ambivalent about campaigns for showers at work "so people can cycle". Those
people who say "I'd cycle if we had a shower", won't.

Arthur

--
Arthur Clune clune.orgclune.orgOpen ↗ "Technolibertarians make a philosophy out of a personality defect"
- Paulina Borsook

"Arthur Clune" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

elyob <[email hidden]> wrote:

Quoted message said:

I have a towel stashed in the drawer of my desk.

No need to prove you know where it is, you're a cyclist, not a hitch-hiker
:-)

Quoted message said:

This is why I'm very ambivalent about campaigns for showers at work "so people can cycle". Those
people who say "I'd cycle if we had a shower", won't.

Indeed. They just move down to the next excuse on the list.

--
Guy
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"Arthur Clune" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

However, since it's only two miles, normally I ride in in whatever I'm wearing that day and go
slow.....

I find it's damned difficult to go slow, as it takes away all the fun of cycling if you are just
"pottering along"!

As soon as I get to work both my windows are opened wide and the fan gets put on full for about 10
minutes till I'm cooled off ok.

Adrian Boliston <[email hidden]> wrote:

: I find it's damned difficult to go slow, as it takes away all the fun of cycling if you are just
: "pottering along"!

Yeah, but I've found that going slowly on the way to work means that I can go really fast when I
want to go hard instead of going mediocrely fast all the time.

Arthur

--
Arthur Clune clune.orgclune.orgOpen ↗ "Technolibertarians make a philosophy out of a personality defect"
- Paulina Borsook

elyob said:

Starting a new commute soon. The practice runs have been quite vicious (hail, wind etc).

Last Wednesday eve was "interesting". At one point I thought some cheeky so-and-so had grabbed hold
of my seatpost!!

Quoted message said:

What do you use to clean yourself if you haven't a shower at work? Have you found a travel
towel ... ?

Nick

--

Watch out for branches ....

strip-washing is fine if the commute is short. I couldn't sit around at work without a shower after
a 14 mile commute averaging 16/17mph I'd have to find a gym/swimming pool and use their facilities,
though it depends what you're used to.

davep

"elyob" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

Starting a new commute soon. The practice runs have been quite vicious (hail, wind etc).

Well, started today. Couldn't have asked for better weather 🙂

There's no way of not sweating bearing in mind I need to cycle up Dark Hill in Richmond park.
Fortunately the last mile is all downhill, so that helps me cool down quickly. Was accused of being
fat by some schoolgirl as I went past. 🙂 It's all muscle and beer, I promise.

Now I have to do it all again tomorrow, can't wait.