Comments on: Cycling Stinks

By: Juliet

Juliet — Tue, 29 Nov 2005 19:38:44 +0000

I’m a girl so I don’t stink – but I live with someone who does so I’m invested in fighting the funk. Here’s the formula. Very hot water. Gain detergent (specifically). Half a box of baking soda or half a cup if you buy it at the wholesale store in a 10 pound bag (like I do) and 2 or three times the recommended dose of Oxyclean (or other oxygen based bleach). use this every time and the sitnk will go away.

By: Unknown

Unknown — Tue, 29 Nov 2005 16:10:04 +0000

We all know what odor is, but Toad’s post brought it home that there is another kind of stink, not just sweat, but accumulated bad smell tied to physical manifestations. This smell is in a whole ‘nother dimension of bad odors, an order of magnitude worse than a sweat stained jersey. It’s the Funk. I met this funk this morning, when I opened one of my water bottles that I forgot to wash out after my last group ride, the Sunday before Thanksgiving. Mmmm… a *steeeenky* jet black penicillin farm. And what is up with the glove? One good honk, and it looks like a snail exploded on the back of my hand. Combine frozen glove snot with the winter riding clothing induced profuse sweats – a flood of which ensues at each of the 8 stoplights that I catch after finishing the 13 mile top gear spin portion of my commute – and you have an odor that just doesn’t quit. Store the gloves in a dark locker at work every day, and by the time I get into my pickup truck to finish the commute… turn the heater on… Mmmmmm. Funky like James Brown’s armpit. And the leather MTB shoes I use for my often damp commute, spin class, and high output fixie riding… nasty. It would probably help if I cleaned the rotting bits of vegetation and the dog dung out of the useful waffle sole. Useful, that is, if you are trying to collect rotting bits of vegetation and dog dung. But the best stank of all is the stank of old school unsealed hubs and bottom brackets, when you first crack ‘em open and some water runs out. Yikes! The creature that lived in the big trash compactor in the first Star Wars flick wouldn’t swim in that stuff.

By: Unknown

Unknown — Tue, 29 Nov 2005 15:46:08 +0000

Your, "you" bullets rock the cazbah.

By: Unknown

Unknown — Tue, 29 Nov 2005 15:20:50 +0000

You guys don’t know what stink is! I have played hockey for more years than I care to admit, and when I start comparing the stench of my riding apparel to that of my hockey gear, now that is smelly! Hockey gear is the benchmark by which all athletic odors should be measured. The only time it doesn’t smell is when you are in the locker room with your teammates who smell equally as bad.

By: tayfuryagci

tayfuryagci — Tue, 29 Nov 2005 14:48:04 +0000

you’re welcome fatty! man I love to eat fruits. autumn is a great season. ( what are you talking about man! )

By: Fixed

Fixed — Tue, 29 Nov 2005 10:16:29 +0000

Merino wool. Swobo, Ibex, Woolistic, Kucharik, Icebreaker…Wear the same jersey on more than one ride! Save on laundry, good if you are lazy like me. Merino wool base layers. Soft and snuggly, don’t stink. It’s the synthetic fabric. Wool has natural antibacterial properties. Wash it with Kookaburra wool wash. Have fun.

By: Unknown

Unknown — Tue, 29 Nov 2005 06:41:50 +0000

I have noticed that when I am consuming my daily pint of Ben and Jerry’s (summertime), the sweat has more stench than usual. Is dairy the key to odiferous sweat? Pastries have dairy in them–at least the cheese danish that I so love, do. And Muesli with milk. Dairy air. Dairy air. Derriere. Hmmm.

By: Ariane

Ariane — Tue, 29 Nov 2005 06:01:50 +0000

Argh…. Was it Rocky who mentioned the gloves? Oh good groovin’ gawd, man. And you’d think, given that the most offensive stuff in my diet is Muesli (cereal)… But, whew. My gloves…I mean, it’s just not right. I went to wipe my nose a couple days ago and even with my nostrils FROZEN, I had to fight back a gag.

By: Unknown

Unknown — Tue, 29 Nov 2005 05:07:49 +0000

Assos/b3sti6lity/sh33p jokes aside, nothing is nastier than my jerseys after a long, hot ride during which I’ve maintained good hydration. I have started doing a spoke ride that entails 8-10 300+ meter hills, in succession, with a couple long stretches of 15-18% grades, total climbs usually lasting around 3-4 miles per hill horizontal distance, mostly gentle uphill with quarter to half mile stretches that are brutal. When I finish, I feel as if I’ve been beaten, major muscle pain and exhaustion, like a heavy lifting workout. When I rode this in the warmer weather, I noticed that when I ditched my jersey in the back of my pickup truck, flies would swarm on it. I knew the hills were killing me but I didn’t think my flesh was actually decaying and sticking to the jersey as I rode. This only seems to happen on hill rides. It could have something to do with pre-ride pastries, or it could just be that I stink. Thoughts? (Other than the obvious – that I’m disgusting to be near, post-ride…)

By: Unknown

Unknown — Tue, 29 Nov 2005 02:43:33 +0000

My stink solution is to douse my stuff with spray and wash or some such product–the spary version, not the stick rub on stuff. I guess if my cycling clothes were dipped in a bucket of liquid soap before going into the wash, that might do the trick as well.