Multi day tour – how many shorts? (Maybe one more for the women?!)

Ok, something that has been playing on my mind! We are planning a multi-day tour or two (bike packing, not panniers!), and we very much normally subscribe to clean liner shorts each ride. How many pairs of chamois do you take on a tour (obviously you can wash them in a sink if you find one, but not always that easy to get them dried) – the balance between weight and comfort?! Tricky balance as well if you want to use chamois cream, as that shortens the multi-use time?!

Maybe bothering me more as a clean women! 😛

**Cue the abuse!!**

One on, one off

One on, one off

Thats what I was kind of thinking.

Rinse on an evening and hope its dry for two mornings time?

Yep. If you have a towel then scrunch the wet shorts up inside it to remove as much moisture as possible before hanging up to dry. Also be prepared to have them handy to air when you make any stops.

Thank you – exactly the sort of helpful advice I was after 😀

Take a sachet of sudocrem too, just in case. Heals anything damp-short-wearing-related overnight.

Oh that is a good shout – the wonders of sudocream! 🙂

2nd the towel thing, doing a “swiss roll” style wrap then twisting along the length removes a surprising amount of the water 😀

Third Sudocrem.

Sudocrem for all the things!

On the one multi day tour that i’ve done I followed the one to wear one to wash advice. The only additional thing I did was take a little mesh wash bag with me so that i could put the shorts inside and attach them to the top of my panniers so that the air could get to them during the dry weather without them flapping a round like some sort of weird flag. I know you’ve got no panniers but I’m sure you could find a place to attach them if needed.

Washing really wasn’t a problem and drying was just a case of being a bit inventive dependent upon where you were sleeping that night and the likely weather. Sometimes inside the tent, sometimes out and on the luxury nights they’d be strung across the bathroom of the B&B. A good wring out and exposing the chamois to the air would see them dry pretty quickly.

I’d second the sudocrem suggestion. They do a very small, perfect for travel sized tub.

They do a very small, perfect for travel sized tub.

.. that has a very poor lid that comes off easily, be careful : )

I think people fuss about clean shorts too much, sudocrem is antibacterial anyway so one set lasts longer than you may expect but for a trip with time and space 2 pairs covers it, also useful for bad weather times.

Always find space for Sodocrem !
Grim but have used same pair for multple days (without chamois creme) without issue.
I find for a happy bottom getting out of the cycling shorts as soon as possible at the end of the day works well.
I would recommend Mavic shorts with the mesh material if your heading any were warm.

Craft Bike Boxer short or bikini brief style liners – buy a few and just take one pair of (outer) shorts.

All hail Sudacrem, it really is some kind of voodoo.

Btw they now do a less “paste” like version in a tube called “care & protect” in all good baby aisles near you!

I’m sure this has been thought of, but I always take a camping washing line with me and get that up for drying / airing clothes, even in B&B’s it’s useful, you don’t need pegs as the two wound strands will hold something like shorts easily and allow more air to circulate 🙂

I find this more useful when I travel on business and take my running kit with me!

Where are you going? If the weather is reliable, two as above would be fine. If there a chance of poor weather where they won’t try, I’d bump that up to three.

I always take two pairs. Wash out shorts in the shower upon arrival at destination, and they’re usually dryish the next morning, and absolutely fine to wear again the day after.

I’ve always been dubious about the need for a chamois – it seems to be the perfect environment for breeding particularly nasty bacteria or abrading strong bactericides into your tender parts.

A decent saddle and ordinary underwear works and takes up less space.

epicyclo – see what your saying but have to say I’m not giving up on the padding 🙂

We are just doing some UK touring stuff. Alps in the summer is with the van and all the kit we own 😀

First thing is just a three day thing around the Pennines to see how we go. 3 days I know isn’t that bigger deal but got to start somewhere.

actually, I tend towards Morhulin – zinc based – comes in a tube rather than Sudocrem tub – it’s slightly stickier and starts for longer – really really good – should be available in Boots, have have to ask for it – standard issue in baby units – kind of a blue tube..

As you are touring i’d recommend using lightweight mesh liner shorts so you can wear decent/non lycra shorts or 3/4 length trousers over them, the liner shorts will wash and dry faster and the relatively normal shorts/trousers are handy when you are off the bike.