... even when your workplace has no shower.

  1. Always shower in the morning so you start your ride clean.
  2. Use a non-mild soap. (Something like Ivory is good. Dove is bad.)
  3. After arriving at work, wait at least 15 minutes to cool down and stop sweating. This is a good time to stretch, drink cold water, read emails, etc.
  4. Use a hot or warm wet facecloth to wash your entire body. Entire.
  5. If you want to use cold water for your facecloth to cool yourself off, make sure you repeat using hot water on the facecloth afterwards. * (see note below)
  6. Use a small towel to dry. A small towel can be carried with you every day and can be replaced at home with a clean one easily.
  7. Apply deodorant liberally, not antiperspirant. This whole technique could be useless if you start messing with your body's attempts to sweat when it chooses. ** (see the other note below)
  8. Put on a complete set of clean clothes.

* One cyclist describes cold water washing like this: I don't know why exactly, but if I use cold water only, I'll sweat a lot more after changing into my clean clothes. ** For women, few deodorants are available (as opposed to antiperspirant), and most are the organic ones. You may need to experiment with which brand works well for you. For men, if you go for the organic stuff, it may mean using a scent like Honeysuckle Rose, which is not as bad as it sounds. You just may be more likely to attract flying insects instead of the opposite sex. More comments on different cleaning techniques here. Some people like using baby wipes, but this IBikeTOer has not experimented with this.