I’ve always wondered about this. Is it just that you work in casual jobs? Because my hair goes completely flat after the helmet, and I’m Indian, so let’s face it, I sweat a lot. (Well, at least I’m cooler than you in the summer. 
)
So how do you manage it? Do you just wash your face? It’s pretty hot around here at 8:00 AM these days, so I know I’d be panting & sweating. Do you all work less distance than me?
From the highway it’s 8 miles but obviously I can’t take the highway, so it’s 10+/.
In nice weather, I’ll sometimes bike to a Metro stop (about 8 miles). I’m not one of these women who glows. I sweat. A lot. I figure the people on the metro can deal (there’s a lot worse on the metro than a sweaty person). Once I get into the office I go to the health club that’s in our building (I’m a member) for a quick shower.
Not sure that will work for you if you don’t have a health club in your office building though!
My ride in is 12 miles one way.
I have a few advantages. It’s cool in the mornings during the summer until the fog burns off. Usually around 10 or so. Since I have to be at work by 8 and it’s about an hour ride, heat isn’t a concern. For the ride in. For the ride home, it doesn’t matter.
I have short hair that I wear kinda spikey. Easy enough to fix helmut hair.
I don’t sweat. Good for riding my bike to work and working out during my lunch break, bad for hardcore workouts/activities when I swell up and overheat.
I am amazed by people who say they can ride slowly enough that they’re not a sweaty mess by the time they get to work. And who can keep clothes clean.
I have a good deal with the gym across the street, so I just go over, shower, pull my work clothes out of the pannier, change, and head in to work.
In another job, I just had to wash off in the bathroom sink.
I ride 10 miles each way to work 2-3 times a week and I tend to sweat quite a bit (and it has been a hot summer here). I use paper towels to blot the sweat on my head as I cool down a little and I take a clean shirt and a pair of socks to change into once I get there. My hair is fairly short so it recovers quickly.
I shave my head, so I don’t really have to deal with damp hair. That’s probably not an option for you.
As for other sweaty bits of anatomy, it’s still fairly chilly here in the mornings, so I don’t really get stinky during the day. It’s also only two miles each way… just enough to wake me up.
Previously, back in Texas, it was warmer on my ride into the office, and a much longer ride… so I wore biking clothes and then changed once I got into the office.
Sigh. My hair is 2 feet long. I don’t think is going to work, although I may consider somehow working it out so I can ride home.
Let’s see, bring the car in every morning with the bike, ride it home - take the bus in? Aargh now the bike’s at home.
Will need some thinking.
No shower facilities at work?
I couldn’t ride a bike and not shower immediately afterwards. I sweat a lot and I get really red. Then my hair is all flat and gross if I don’t wash it.
The logistics of working out, showering, etc. are a pain in the ass for me. I pretty much hate washing my hair every day, so I try to schedule work outs for every other day or something.
Vanity is a bitch. 
Me too (can’t bike without a shower). And no, there’s no facilities here. We’re lucky we have a bathroom, to be honest, we’re such cheapskates. :rolleyes:
Do you have bikes on buses? In theory…I can take my bike to the bus stop, put it on the front of the bus, go to work, remember to take the bike off the bus and then ride my bike home. I used to ride to work in the middle of the afternoon and I would plan on being hot and sweaty so I got there early, changed clothes, and sat on an a/c vent for a while. I had shortish hair, so I just combed and fluffed it once it dried a little. I have several coworkers who bike in and they mostly just deal with helmet hair by fluffing to the best of their ability. Have you considered a stylish hat?
On the front of the bus? Eh? There’s a grill… 
Obviously you are speaking of something which I am not aware of. But you give me a decent idea; perhaps I should call the bus company and see if they have provisions for bikes.
As for hats, I’ve never really worn one. I have no idea how to coordinate them, or if they even look good on me. I guess I could try but I need someone to tell me what looks good first!
Proper clothes will help. Spandex and synthetic athletic clothes that draw away moisture from the skin and dry fast will help. Cotton, soft as it is, is probably the worst option in hot weather.
Given a lack of shower fascilities consider getting a box of baby wipes. You can get them unscented. Keep a box at work in your desk and grab it to wipe down (and cool off) when you change. A little deodorant and perfume will keep you feeling fresh and clean. For the hair, well, perhaps a blow dryer in the drawer of your desk as well? Just to fluff up the do.
There’s a full gym here at work; bikers just take showers once they get here.
Helmet? You are talking about riding a bicycle, right? It’s been a while since I last rode a bike, but at the time nobody outside of racers wore a helmet.
As for sweating, I guess that goes along with any real exercise. I’d wear whatever’s comfortable and take clean work clothes in a backpack.
It is not the law for adults to wear a helmet. But if that helmet has a chance of saving my head, I’m wearing it.
Dunno about buses in your neck of the woods, but the ones here have a bike rack mounted on the front which will hold 2-3 bikes. When you get on the bus, you put your bike on the front and the driver gives you a card. When you leave the bus you give the card back to the driver so that he remembers not to pull away from the stop before you can retrieve your bike. Works really well for those who like to combine cycling with bus riding in their commute.
Well, actually I kind of figured that part out. 
I was just shocked that it had never even occured to me to find out or ask…they have places you can lock up your bikes at the stand, but my mind still didn’t make the mental leap.
This is not a very non-car commuter-friendly city, although we do have a good bus system. But I’ll check it out anyway, thanks.
Now, about that hat…I wear ball caps or do-rags. I think, however, that some people look a little dorky in baseball caps, and my workplace is mostly casual. If you have an ethnic look, capitalize it by wearing an ethnically appropriate hat. This is why I wear a ball cap, those are my people!
Can you ponytail slightly sweaty hair? I have never had Indian hair, mine just gets fluffier and curlier when it gets wet/sweaty. I do not know which side of the family that comes from, but I suspect the Irish or the Austro-Hungarians.
The final solution I used to use when I had long straight hair I needed to restrain, I went with two french braids from the forehead to the nape of the neck. I never had the courage to do cornrows, but I always wanted to try.
An ethnically appropriate hat? What, like a turban? I suppose I could braid it, but damn, that’s an icky feeling.
Anyway, I don’t think my buses do that: www.cdta.org.
you didn’t look here!!
If you ride the 10, 12,24, 29, 52, 63, 70, 85, 86, or 90 you’re in luck!
In all fairness, I didn’t know if it was a turban Indian, or a feather headdress Indian, but I guess neither would be very practical in most work environments ;). I profess no knowledge of either Indian culture, or appropriate head apparel. Maybe you could embrace your inner redneck and get a John Deere ballcap. Or…you could distract people from the hair with a nice Bindi. I have a coworker who occasionally wears one, and I admit, I probably wouldn’t notice her hair on days she has it on.
nothing in this post is meant to insult any ethnic goups, besides, perhaps, John Deere ballcap wearing rednecks