Who does the washing?

[mse]

Well, this was my first full week of [Melbourne] winter commuting & the mrs is not happy!
Every day I've gone through a singlet, t-shirt, a long sleeve t-shirt, a pair of socks & 2 pairs of Anthony Mundines!
AND today being Friday I'm tossing in my jacket & shorts with instructions they be ready for Monday morning.

I'm only new to this & I don't have any 'proper' cycling wear.
However, I have been researching the forum & despite all the fancy & sometimes not so fancy windproof/waterproof/breathable/gortex jerseys & jackets - I find it hard to believe you're not sweating out at the very least, your 'base layer' on a daily basis!

Despite it being cold in Melbourne this week - no rain & not a breath of wind has me hooked on the bike again!
Now i just need to somehow cut down on the sweating & I'll come home to a happy place!

[sogood]

How does the title relate to the body of the post?

[m@]

The person who does most of the laundry at my place is heroically long-suffering, so no complaints to be heard

Not much to complain about though - I would go through a few pairs of knicks and a jersey per week... Arm and leg warmers get a wash once a week if I've worn them. All quick-drying and just gets thrown in the machine in a lingerie bag.

[hannos]

with instructions they be ready for Monday morning.

Even though my wife does almost all the washing, if I 'gave' her those instructions I'm damn sure they would not be ready on Monday. At least, not in this decade...

[stevepedlin]

How does the title relate to the body of the post?

PSML, very smellthily I'd say..

mse, don't you and your 'mum' ? - i'm just guessing here... share the domestic chores. ?

Better get used to it old son, or girl. When you get down to serious co-habitation in a domicile you will be the one on occasions washing a loadful or three of cyclists garments hey..family, friends or otherwise!

Lets talk about washing products....

[m@]

mse, don't you and your 'mum' ? - i'm just guessing here... share the domestic chores. ?

I'd be a bit concerned if the OP refers to his mum as 'the mrs'!

[Mulger bill]

The GLW does, there's entirely too many buttons and knobs on the machine.
I do a great job of hanging it or filling the dryer as needed.

I find that "I need these for day x, would you mind..." and a regular bunch of flowers helps.

[rogan]

In answer to the topic, I do. It means that stuff I need is ready when I need it.

I also do the grocery shopping for a not dissimilar reason.

[ScottyL]

The GLW does, there's entirely too many buttons and knobs on the machine.
I do a great job of hanging it or filling the dryer as needed.

I find that "I need these for day x, would you mind..." and a regular bunch of flowers helps.

I can relate Shaun, I'm only a simple guy, can only do one thing at a time..... I even hold my breathe when I sign my name....

flowers is a good one will try that

[Aushiker]

HI

In answer to the subject line question, me.

That said I my riding gear can be used for a couple of days before it gets home and into the bucket for an overnight soak ...

Andrew

[Baldy]

How does the title relate to the body of the post?

The body of the post went on to talk about the extra amount of washing since starting a commute. I thought the title made perfect sense.....Hes asking who does all this washing. He even explained the extra work was being done by his Mrs and that was causing some friction

Is that good enough for you Mr content police I cant understand why people post just to take the piss or be a smartass.

MSE,

Once you have some "proper" cycling/sports gear you will probably find a routine that works. For a start most of the synthetic stuff drys pretty quickly so its not impossible to wash at night and have it dry by the morning. Have 2 sets and its not a real problem to keep up. I wash my knicks/baselayer and jersey by hand in a bucket after every ride, the arm and leg warmers get two rides. Gillet will get 3-4 rides depending how hard ive been working/sweating.

You dont need to spend a fortune, just look for stuff that will dry. And of course you are buying this new gear for her benefit

Good luck with it

[Pax]

I do the washing of my cycling gear 90% of the time.

And it is definitely a daily event. My gear cannot be worn for more than one day's commute (55k at a pretty hard intensity). It definitely stinks . Jerseys dry over night, nicks don't (except in summer) but I have enough pairs not to have to worry about that.

[Fletcher]

Me. Being single does that. I find that quick drying base layers, shorts, tights don't need to be washed daily. Maybe if I rode 60km a day it would be necessary, but on a 30km round commute, I can easily get away with washing them twice per week. In summer though, bike gear goes in the wash after a day.

[jet-ski]

My commute is only 18ks and I don't sweat much, I take it leisurely and *gasp* often wear cotton.... clothes/shorts usually last two commutes. But I do the washing, mostly in our house it is 'do your own damn washing' and considering my SO is away 60% of the time.

Anyhow not sure why washing your own stuff is a big deal? If you took responsibility maybe for the weekend washing it would be nicer for the 'mrs' ?

[TheSkyMovesSideways]

Anyhow not sure why washing your own stuff is a big deal?

This, exactly. Man up and do your own washing and you won't have to worry about not having clothing ready after the weekend.

[gdt]

I pay the laundromat around the corner from the office to wash and dry my office clothes. They then hang in a leased locker at the gym/showers. Costs about $11 per week. Well worth the money to not have the hassle of dragging clothes around. There's also a spare set of clean jogging clothes in the locker, sometimes used as spare cycling clothes when it rains cats and dogs on the ride into work.

As for the bike clothes, I buy two sets of jersey, singlet and knicks and simply alternate -- while I'm wearing one set, the other set are drying on the line. Naturally I wash them myself, as I'd never expect anyone else to wash my sports clothes. Laundry power, napisan, hottish water and the heavy duty cycle on the machine.

The clothes last about a year, so budget about $300 a year. I think a year's worth of 500Km-per-week cycling expenses comes in at about $2000, maybe $3K with depreciation for the bike. So about 10c per Km versus about 50c per Km for my partner's car (for roughly similar distance). I figure if I'm saving 80% on transport to and from work then I can buy good clothes without anyone having a fair objection.

Anyway, once you have been commuting for a while it's not worthwhile wearing non-cycling clothes: you'll simply wear out unsuitable clothes instead of wearing out more comfortable clothes. In the end, you still end up buying more clothes.

If you are starting out, then you are not making enough savings to face the start-up expenses. I'd suggest starting with a pair of knicks and a nylon rain/wind jacket. If you keep your eyes open you can often pick up a free or cheap jersey (eg, many cycling events issue mis-sized jerseys and I'll often ask other cyclists at work if they want them; or maybe the sports stores have overstocked on Socceroos tops). The larger outdoor sports stores have sales where they knock off 30% off a category of goods and you can stock up on stuff where the quality doesn't matter so much (eg, singlets, jerseys, arm/leg warmers, but not knicks or rain gear).

(BTW, you should do your share of the housework, it makes for much nicer home.)

[mse]

Interesting - Thanks for the replies.

I was kind of hoping that I was missing something - Maybe a super fabric that repelled odour & stayed dry!... guess not!
Looks like I'll be keeping my eyes open for some new cycling gear!
I'll try a proper base layer, long sleeve jersey, light wind/rain jacket & take it from there.
However, might stick with the undies/boardies for now - Can't see myself in knicks,...... just yet!

Oh & I'm happy to help [My WIFE!] around the house. The only thing I can't/won't do is the washing.

[sharktamin]

I have machines that do the washing!

[silkishuge]

Hi,

I don't have the same problem but Mrs S does all the washing for me before I can do it. If Its not done, I do it. Its simple really, just put contents into the washing machine and wash as delicates/handwash mode at 30 Deg C. 30mins later, clothes wash and ready to be dried. I wear cycling jerseys which can be bought for a good price in a number of places. Uno and Netti cycle wear are great for commuting to and from work. I have one for every work day of the week so I only need to wash them once a week. I wear thermals in winter, one for each day of the week as well. Uno and Netti jerseys start from $20 each so a whole week will only set you back $100, which would last me for about 2 years. Cycling shorts from these two brands are also quite affordable but there are cheaper ones around. Depending on the length of your commute, you might decide to go for quality ones. I can usually endure a low quality knick for an hour commute.

As someone stated, bike clothes tend to dry quick. A night in front of the fan usually does the trick.Gloves do take longer.

Your wife will get used to the routine after a while and things will work like clock work. Mrs S is used to it now and clothes are magically ready when I need them.

J

[Bantam Roosta]

I (my wife) wash my gear after 2 days use generally. At night I just turn them inside out and let them air. Just goes in the usual washing basket and is washed with everything else. Buy good stuff and you won't need to treat it like a dainty flower.

However, might stick with the undies/boardies for now - Can't see myself in knicks,...... just yet!

Solved and solved.

Or buy some knicks to go under this or this.

[alexander]

fisher and paykel does the washing, I do the hanging and the air/sun/gas heater does the drying.

In all seriousness I try to use fabrics that don't smell up too much, merino and other anti bacterial materials are best. I also find materials like roubaix/super roubaix great because they dry so quickly, which is great during winter. I rock the knicks under the shorts, I just can't have the junk on display. I have various under knicks and over shorts.

[V17L]

I'm the washer, hanger outer, bringer inner and folder of the clothes in our house. You think bike ridings bad for going thru clothes, I have two daughters doing ballet 5 times a week, now theres a load of washing. Then again, I don't cook or do the dishes, and I have mostly all the shed to myself.

In terms of flowers, always a good tip. I have delivered a bunch to the GLW every so often, whilst she is at work. You get a double wammy, your in the good books and all the other woman go crook at their husbands are not sending them any.

Always worth dropping in casually to the GLW's work in the same week as sending the flowers.

[Riding Every Day]

Melbourne commuting can be hard on the clothing.

I'm three years into commuting pretty much every day by bicycle. Two years ago I discovered the magic properties of wool. Bought myself a long-sleeved merino top from eBay, for about $35 from memory. The single best garment I have ever owned. Wear it next to skin as undergarment, and you'll be right. Wool is simply brilliant and outperforms anything from the synthetic world. It's never too hot, it doesn't capture odour like cotton, and even in the rain it'll keep you warm. Try it out you won't be disappointed. I'm currently leaving home at about 0630 in Melbourne wearing just the woollen long-sleeved top, and a long-sleeved lycra jersey over that. Full finger gloves and leg-warmers for the body parts that the woollen jersey can't cover.

As for knicks and lycra stuff - it's very much like the maintenance regime you need for your bike. I now have a wardrobe of expensive Assos gear, mainly because I figure that life is too short to put up with cheap uncomfortable knicks, but no matter what you use, if you want it to last you'll wash it often and regularly. The biggest threat to the life expectancy of any lycra bib-knicks is the sweat that runs down your back and damages the material in the lower back and crotch area. I handwash most of my gear at least every second day, or I'll handwash after every ride in summer and change them over more often between the various sets I own. Jerseys will invariably last twice as long as knicks, and I'd suggest that most cyclists would experience the same in that regard.

Just leave them in the tub with a tiny bit of detergent, swish them around by hand and then soak for 10-15 minutes, quick rinse by hand, and then spin them in the washer if you need them to dry quicker. Much of the year they can dry in 20 minutes on the clothesline, or overnight on hangers in the garage or elsewhere inside.