How to wash yourself and your clothes on a longer trip

[cyclestar]

Hi,
my name is Mike, I am new here and I am from Germany. Therefore my English is not as good as I wish it would be.

I did a lot of travelling with the bike, tent, trailer... mostly on roads or fireroads. I traveled slow and no technical terrain. I washed myself every evening in a stream/river (with biodegradable soap) and my cycling bibs or if there was no stream I had a catlick and changed bib for the next day or stayed 2-3 days at one place and had enough time to wash things and get them dry.

Now I want to tour with the mountainbike on singletrails and less luggage. Do you take a second bib with you for the next day? How do wash the first one/it it dry over night? Especially on autumn tours drying of the sweaty (and hopefully washed  ) clothes is obscure to me.


I hope I do not offend anyone with this personal question, but I don´t like to use a racing bib two days in a row without haing washed them.

Thank you for your answers and keep riding

Mike

[mattyp]

for my trip this summer i used rapha touring shorts with their merino briefs that have a thin chamois in them.  i really like them, had no issues even with some very long days.  the pad is thin, but i could carry two extra pairs with me and had always had plenty of places to wash on a third day.

for my body, i don't know if they have this in germany, but i just used some of the garnier wipes that come in a little pouch that slid in between everything.  not perfect if you are really dirty, but good if you are just dusty.

[cyclestar]

@mattyp
Thank you for your answer. I use the garnier wipes at my car, to clean the dust after a long ride, before enterring the car.

I also used some small cleaning towel for the household (30 gram) to dry my body and a second one to soak the water out of the bib-pad. The water spreads over the towel, and the towel dries very quick. I just wasn`t sure, how it works, if the temperature is shortly above 0° Celsius.

Maybe, there are some more tips/experiences.

[Area54]

I have a set routine each night that I follow, not had a problem yet. Wash nether regions only with a baby wipe, air dry, then talcum powder, sleep in loose fitting merino. Drape bibs and jersey over foodbag - 1 reason is to air them out, but also I've found the human musk keeps away ratty scavengers (in Australia anyways, other regions this may attract scavengers - YMMV). In the morning, re-apply powder to nether regions, also powder onto chamois. I wear the same bibs every day without washing them (up to a week) but would wash them if packing for longer than a week. Always carry a 2nd pair though. Merino jersey to keep smell down, but with synthetics will rinse out during day where possible to allow time to dry before afternoon - water topoff time etc, wash face at same time. Micro can of deodorant for times when have to mingle with society - shopping etc. I wear our shop kit, nothing top shelf.

I should clarify that this process/experience has been gathered/refined in Australian conditions, from -4 to 40 degrees celsius, humid days. No snow experience.

[mmeiser]

This doesn't address the whole question...

But came to the realization on my last trip that it's easier to just grab a few extra disposable paper towels / napkins when I'm stopping in a grocery store or gas station... not so much for grooming... but for washing pots and general purpose use. Much better then carrying a dirty rag with food smells.  I just burn the paper towels / napkins when done.

Another unrelated tip... while I store most of my gear in ziplock bags in my frame packs, I find produce bags are just as effective, lighter and replenishable on the road (at grocery stores obviously).

[bumbler]

Nothing to add except that your English is fine; 1000x better than my German...

[bradh]

I've tried going w/ 1 pair of shorts and washing them out everyday, but found that taking 2 pair gives more options.  More time to dry, an extra pair for the pillow bag, & the option to not wash everyday.

[LiiT]

For a weeklong ride, I'll take one pair of cycling shorts and wash them or rinse them out in the evenings and dry them by the fire.   If i can't do this, I'll spray them with deodorant (main ingredient-denatured alcohol) and let them air out...

I'll second the baby wipes if water for bathing is not available...I also use these after Number TWO, prevents dreaded monkey butt...

[cyclestar]

First, I want to thank you all very for your suggestions and experiences.

The idea with the cleaning tissues should do the "body care" for me, if there is no stream. The use of disinfection spray for the short should work for my needs in this case either.

The drying of clothes/washed clothes in our climate will be something I have to find out by myself.
We have lots of thaw, so hanging the wet (maybe washed clothes) on ropes between some trees overnight does not work
 => drying at fireplace is something I didn´t tried before, because of our govermental rules (no camping in forest, only to bivvy, so I avoid everything, which causes a stir).

In the past, to fasten the drying process, I wrapped the wet clothes in a travel towel, wring them out togehther, took of the cloth (which is now a little bit dryer), wring out the towel alone, and then restart the same process. With this method, the clothes get dampish but aren´t wet anylonger.

 Have good times on the trails....