Cycling Essentials 2.0 : A Few Tips on Hygiene for Your Cycling Expedition

Camping out at the end of your cycling expedition drags you away from all the comforts and luxuries that you may not have necessarily perceived prior to your expedition. Chances are, you may not be able to carry all your personal hygiene products, and there may or may not be restrooms with showers like the ones you are used to. In that case, does it mean that you have to bear all the sweat after cycling all day? Certainly not!

Personal hygiene maintenance equates to being considerate to those around you, and to those who will use the campsite after you. I am sure that I don’t have to tell you that It is also simply a good, healthy practice. Here are a few tips you can follow to maintain the highest levels of cleanliness and hygiene even with the limitations of a camping setting.

Hygiene for Your Cycling Expedition

Essentials

After you are done packing your camping gear, chances are, there will be very little space left to pack all the items you use for your personal hygiene. Let’s keep in mind that you will be carrying your camping gear while biking. And if you happen to prefer a potentially heavier electric bike, things will become substantially more challenging for you. In other words, this limited space necessitates stripping everything down to the bare minimum, hence, essentials only. Here is a list of what you absolutely need with you:

Basic hygiene kit: toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, feminine hygiene products, and one or two more similar must-have items.
Daily Rinse: You might not get a chance to have an actual shower. A quick splash of water on the face and a body rub down with wipes will have to do.
Hand Sanitizer
Fresh Clothing
Medicine: Yes sounds extensive, however, being at a camping site does expose you to potential risk hazards, such as being out and about in the wilderness, biking, and hiking. Therefore, it is important you incorporate medicine into your essentials kit. According to Osmosis’s General Pharmacology guide, it is great to include generic painkillers and anti-inflammatory pills, such as ibuprofen. It could also just be local alternatives that you have used in the past.

Pro Tips

Use a sleeping bag liner in your sleeping bag. This will stop all the dirt, grime, and body oil from getting to the sleeping bag itself, extending the overall life of your bag. The liners can also be aired out and are much easier to clean, so you are generally cleaner.
Bring lots of camping wipes or baby wipes with you. This is essential in helping you stay clean during your daily rinse or after cycling into the woods.
Use moisture-wicking synthetic clothing. This will keep you less sweaty, keep you feeling fresh, and limit bacteria while not taking up too much space, because you will not need to bring too many with you.
Pack single-use dots of toothpaste in tin foil and small pieces of bar soap in a plastic bag for use on your trip. You do not need to bring an entire tube of toothpaste or a whole soap bar.
Do not bring deodorant. Scented deodorants attract animals, can be harmful to the environment, and take up space.

Showering While Camping

There are many ways to do this. You need to be open-minded and open to experimentation to find out what works for you.

You can clean yourself using baby wipes
You can bathe in a lake or stream
You can give yourself a sponge bath
You can use simple cold camp showers
You can invest in a solar camp shower that heats up your water

Using the Toilet While Camping

For most people, urinating while out in nature is easy. All you need to do is find a nice tree or bush and simply go to town.
You can invest in a camping toilet. This will bring the convenience of a toilet stall to your camping ground. Camping toilets are light and portable and can be used in RVs or by tent campers.
You can anticipate the deed while still at home and go before you leave for the camping ground. This might not work if your camping trip spans several days.
Pit toilets are also convenient. There are several pit toilets in most camping grounds and climbing areas that you may visit. They are an effective way to manage waste from multiple people.
Another option is digging a cat hole. If your campground is not heavily used, like near a picnic area, and is over 200 feet from the nearest water source, consider digging a cat hole. A cat hole is a small, six to eight inches deep, and four to six inches wide hole that you will cover up after a single use. Remember that toilet paper will easily degrade, but all feminine hygiene products should not be buried as they do not break down easily. However, you can always consider carrying out your waste if the area is not conducive for catholes, such as in snow environments.

Conclusion

In other words, even though camping out while on a cycling expedition might seem hard to imagine, it has been done before, and you can most definitely give it a try. It will for sure take you out of your comfort zone, however, it will be an even cooler story to tell.