We write quite a bit about schlepping via bike to the train station. Mercifully, it’s a downhill ride most of the way, and I’m there in five minutes.
But, as the rules of physics indicate, what’s downhill one way is likely to be uphill the other. I’m lucky enough to deal with hills–Heartbreak Hill on Broad between Memorial and Brighton, and little brother Heartburn Hill between Bradhurst and Pythian–on the way home, where a cooler change of clothes and a frosty beverage (not to mention a family that loves me whether or not I’m a sweaty mess) await.
Anyway, that’s a long-winded intro to an interesting NY Times story about the perspiratory perils of biking to work in a city that typically does not provide showers at work, or even a place to stash your bike.
Around 185,000 people bike to work or use a bike for work in the city each day, according to Transportation Alternatives. (Mind you, one commenter on the Times story says the estimate is way, way high.) Alas, that can make for some stankin’ co-workers.
From the Times’ “Spokes” blog:
Once she locks up her bike each morning at work, Andrea Cortes-Comerer faces a series of potentially awkward moments. She climbs into a crowded elevator, still sweaty, her hair matted down from her helmet, hoping to avoid eye contact. She rushes into the bathroom, where she changes clothes, combs her hair (which she has shampooed and tied into a ponytail before leaving her apartment), washes her face and applies deodorant. Then she heads to her desk, where she has arranged some cardboard boxes at her feet where she can hang her clothing to dry, out of sight.
The comments section of the story is quite lively. To wit:
Two main problems – showers and parking. Even if there is a shower at work, its usually a single stall in the Executive washroom. So even if you work for the rare company that has a shower, what’s the company to do when there’s a line of 5-15 employees per day who are lining up to shower at work?
Installing two communal showers (male/female) – per floor – per company in the entirety of NYC would be astronomical. And who would pay for it – the company – the city?
i keep an clean extra undershirt at work…for extra sticky days – but lately i find myself dressing for the 1m bike-ride to the train in comfort, rather than choosing “appropriate work attire.”
When I commute into the city in the summer, I am a disgusting sweaty mess just commuting by Metro-North, subway, and the walk from the subway to the office.
I had an interview once where I took a cab from GCT to avoid appearing like a sweathog – even that didn’t work. The humidity in the city permeates everything.