Personal Hygene.

[Jonathan]

I've always been a roadie. The mantra has always been get out of your shorts and get clean. Bike packers seem to be more durable what do folks do to keep clean without a shower for 3-4 or 5 days?

[THE LONG RANGER]

Nothing.

[THE LONG RANGER]

But really, make a little kit for yourself -

* Wet wipes for a lot of things
* little baggies, (dirty wet wipes need to go somewhere)
* Glasses/contact solution/extra contacts/antibiotics for eyes for emergencies, usually a pair of sunglasses when I break/lose my main ones
* toothbrush/toothpaste
* water purification tablets
* band aids/mole skin
* a sharpie is in my toiletries bag, for whatever reason, used all the time
* sunscreen, extra sunscreen
* Little thing of soap
* deodorant, if I'm not racing it it's more than 3 days.

See what you need specifically to feel comfortable, experiment, continually adjust, keep it simple, review what you used/what you didn't after the trip is over, make specific changes for specific trips - yadda yadda.

[12wheels]

3-5 days... wet wipes or a whores bath with a bandana if extra water is available.  Carry a light pair of loose nylon shorts to wear when you're not riding.  I've always found that the simple act of brushing my teeth made me feel better on the trail than any other attempts to get clean.   

[Jonathan]

Thanks, the wet wipes were pretty much like I figured. How many days will folks go with one pair of shorts?

Yeah, bordering on too personal.

[12wheels]

How many hours a day do you plan to be riding and where?  I ask because if you're not racing you can handwash your shorts in the evening and expect them to be dry the next morning in some regions like the arid southwest. 

[THE LONG RANGER]

Thanks, the wet wipes were pretty much like I figured. How many days will folks go with one pair of shorts?

Yeah, bordering on too personal.

Answer #1 is, "I think you know the answer to that"

Answer #2 is, With, "regular" use (pun!), If you're worried, packing two pairs is quite the luxury, and I doubt anyone would shame you on it

After riding, and before bivvying (or whatever), you can work it in your nightime ritual to clean the ol' chamois: a little water, a little spot of soap, some minor scrubbing and let 'er air dry can work wonders. Having a pair of something else to change into - like a pair of running shorts is also nice. You're probably going to have a base layer for sleeping in either way. If you need a little more cleanliness/drying time, it won't hurt to ride in the shorts for a few hours, as the chamois is drying while strapped somewhere on the bike.

I may be throwing caution to the wind, but wearing a pair of bibs 2 days in a row hasn't caused any ill effects, especially if there's another activity involved, where I won't be in the bibs (fishin', etc). Anything after that, and you're going to stink, no two ways about it. For sub 48 hour trips, it ain't no problem, as I'm home the day after I leave. For racing one of these CTR/AZTR/TD's, it's a little more cowboy, if you know what I mean.

With anything, start with what you're personally comfortable with, and experiment, adjust, iterate. You may find that, that second day the chamois is just toast and you'll get saddle sores, just because of that. That's not a good experiment to try, twice.

Also helps to change out of those damn things, during the night. Can be a big mistake to sleep in them.

[trebor]

i've had a "well seasoned" chamois last about 2 weeks. it wasn't pretty.

[Jonathan]

Thanks for the tips. I have no problem being dirty, but I know folks who won't commute to and from work in the same day with one pair of shorts. My ultimate goal would be to be able to camp and not have a real shower for 3-5 days. I'm in Central Fla so it will be fall until the weather is proper again for sleeping outside.

[juanesunpescado]

Wet wipes work better with a bit of rubbing alcohol added. I put as many wipes as I need in a baggy and pour a couple cap fulls of isopropyl alcohol on them. This is a much more effective antibacterial than wipes alone.

-tj

[adelorenzo]

I ride in one set of clothes and have one set clean, dry clothes for in camp and when I sleep. The two are never mixed. Other than things like a rain jacket and down puffy I don't carry any extra clothes whatsoever. Too much weight and bulk. You can rinse out your riding clothes and dry overnight, assuming they aren't already rinsed out from rain, river crossings and/or falling into rivers.

If you feel dirty pile into a creek or river every now and then but really you're in the bush so just deal with it. I don't bring anything to make me smell better, a toothbrush and toothpaste are all I carry in the personal grooming department.

[bicyclehobo]

If you have access to water, like a lake, stream, or river, etc. take an empty dry bag and fill it half full...take off all your clothes...put in a spoonful of dr. bronners....hide so no one sees you naked...move away from the water so as not to contaminate....give it a rigorous shake...take soapy clothes out and scrub your self down...put back in dry bag give another shake....empty dry bag 200 M away from water.

Get more water....rinse self off...dry off...change into lounging clothes.....fill dry bag...shake clothes again...wring out....hang to dry.

If you know you will not have access to water I have a great solution that carries in a plastic jar or aluminum beer bottle. 1 oz for 1 shower so in this case a 3 day trip....3 oz. - http://bicyclehobo.com/hygiene-on-bicycle-tour/

I find I can go three days and not feel that dirty...

[Done]

3-4 days isn't really that big of a deal. Use wet wipes after pooping to eliminate the spread of fecal bacteria. A&D and Lantispetic are also a nice barriers if you're getting saddle chafe.

Yes, you'll stink--but you'll be fine otherwise.

If you don't want to stink, than you'll need to bring more clothes and/or wash your clothes every day or two. BicycleHobo's bag example works well for sure. You can also use a huge Ziolock bag. If it's warm and not too humid, you probably don't even need to hang anything--just put it back on and it'll dry out reasonably quickly.

[bicyclehobo]

I often leave work on friday and don't shower until monday morning...each weekend...with plenty of activity in between. Try it this weekend. It's not so bad.

Just don't sleep in your bike shorts.

[Jonathan]

Thanks all. It's really good stuff.

[hikerjer]

Wet wipes work well enough.  Although on a long tour on the road, I can generally find a place to a take a shower on a regular basis pretty easily.  Private campgrounds will often let you shower for a small fee even if you don't stay there.  College campuses often have showers you can poach.   Local swiming pools, especially in small towns, usually have showers you can use for nothing or next to nothing.  Then there are lakes and rivers. I really don't find it an issue.  On my las ttour, I don't think I went more than three days without a shower. If you're touring the backcountry, however, then it's pretty much the lakes and rivers thing along with wet wipes for long strtches between showers.

[Panhandle461]

Good info

[JRA]

I've always been a roadie. The mantra has always been get out of your shorts and get clean. Bike packers seem to be more durable what do folks do to keep clean without a shower for 3-4 or 5 days?

Road background here too Jonathan.  That mantra has been pretty much tried and true from years of pros in Europe riding 3 week grand tours.

I don't have the same level of bikepacking experience as many of the other forum members here.  But I've found I can wear shorts for multiple days as long as I try to keep to the mantra - get out of the shorts once I'm done riding for the day, and at keep myself as clean as possible, i.e. baby wipes.  

Plus, a little chamois cream or Bag Balm can help tremendously as a preventative measure.  Keep your skin well lubed and there is less chance of a problem taking hold that your dirty shorts may exacerbate.

[timroz]

I *try* to apply bag balm with the hand that I don't eat with.  But it gets confusing after a couple days...

[JRA]

I *try* to apply bag balm with the hand that I don't eat with.  But it gets confusing after a couple days...

A little Bag Balm on your Clif Bar tastes pretty good after a couple of hard days in the saddle.  :-D