I hate Porta Potties

[PamNY]

Sometimes I annoy myself so much. I just hate having to use them. I am not squeamish in general; I've taken care of sick people and sick animals. I euthanized a rat with a hammer after my cat disabled it. I'm not delicate. But I hate Porta Potties.

In the park I'm cycling in these days, real bathrooms are few and far between. They do exist, but I don't like having to alter my route because I'm an idiot.

Somebody tell me something sensible, please.

[pumpkinpony]

Take a really deep breath before you go inside, and hold your nose... :D

There are some really nasty ones at the trailheads around here.

[Tri Girl]

I'm with you. I will only use one if it's a dire emergency. I'll happily alter my route by miles if need be to avoid one.

Throw a gas mask in the saddle bag.

[Zen]

The pots along the C&O Towpath are nice, but it's a national park if that makes any difference.

[OakLeaf]

Use enough of them and you'll get used to it? Carry one of those purse-sized bottles of hand sanitizer in your pocket? Get one of those funnel devices so you can pee facing the hole and not have to try to squat in cycling shoes on a slippery floor?

Oh, and make sure your phone is securely attached. DAMHIK. :o

[Crankin]

Wow, they don't bother me at all. It seems like a lot of them around here have some type of deodorizer inside, so the smell issue is gone.
Well, there was the one time I got locked inside of one, in the parking lot of some beach in Falmouth, MA. It was like 95 degrees out and finally, whatever had happened to the lock was solved by me kicking the door with my foot (and screaming rather loudly, I remember).

[Catrin]

Use enough of them and you'll get used to it? Carry one of those purse-sized bottles of hand sanitizer in your pocket? Get one of those funnel devices so you can pee facing the hole and not have to try to squat in cycling shoes on a slippery floor?

Oh, and make sure your phone is securely attached. DAMHIK. :o

Good ideas, I hate these contraptions myself - but better than going behind a tree!

My problem is that when I am riding country roads there are lots of corn/soy bean fields but trees/bushes away from the road where I COULD answer the call of nature are quite few and far between. I think this keeps me from drinking quite enough :(

[OakLeaf]

Corn won't be tall enough for another 3-4 weeks. I'd be happy if someone would put up portajohns along the country roads while the corn is small (and after it's been combined in the fall)!

And I'm kinda short, but soybeans are NEVER tall enough for me. :p

[Selkie]

I'd rather pee behind a tree than use a port-a-potty. Or wait until I can find a "real" loo.

[Catrin]

As a newcomer to being outdoors - even at my age I've never "gone" outdoors... :rolleyes:

That is going to change with my new-found love for biking and hiking!

[sfa]

I often prefer porta potties to the available public flush toilets. The porta potties around here tend to be kept in pretty good condition, while the public toilets in places like gas stations and restaurants are often old, falling apart, smelly, and not well maintained.

Sarah

[Crankin]

Catrin, there's nothing better than peeing outdoors in -7F temperatures, like I did while hiking in Lake Placid! Seriously, I've peed in so many local conversation areas, it seems natural to me.
My riding buddy seems to memorize the location of all of the porta potties that appear on local playgrounds in the late spring and disappear at the end of September, with the beginning and end of youth sports seasons.

[Miranda]

I'm sitting here chuckling about squating beside the road... as well as the gross of the porta potty...

OK, here's the deal on 1) not drinking enough so you don't have to pee, and/or 2) holding the pee too long in your bladder...

Bonking from dehydration, potential outcome from #1; or a urinary tract infection, potential from #2... NEITHER one are something I want to have happen... vs. braving the porta potty, or baring my booty beside the road...

SO...

just whip those bike shorts down and go!

[Chicken Little]

"just whip those bike shorts down and go! "

I swear my riding group can recognize each other by the distant sight of "Great White" off in the bushes somewhere. We stay out of the porta-potties.

[ny biker]

I did a ride on the WOD rail-trail last weekend and it turned out to be one of those days when your hormones turn off the "retain several pounds of water" switch, so I had to stop several times more than usual. And I was so impressed with the porta potties along the trailside that I seriously considered sending an email to Don's Johns to thank them for getting a handle on the odor issue.

I do hate it when they're out in the blazing sun, though. Just too darn hot to be in there.

Also at super-crowded events like the Race for the Cure in DC, I won't even consider using them because I know they can't handle that many people.

BTW you haven't lived until you try using one that's on an incline while you're wearing inline skates.

[tiva]

I have to laugh--I loathe plastic porta potties as well (there's something about the greenhouse effect of all that plastic, heat, fermentation events--blech). But I don't mind wooden outhouses or the composting toilets that the Forest Service puts up at trailheads now. As a field ecologist, back in grad school I used to go 6 months at a time without coming anywhere near a real flush toilet. (Actually, I still do: my summer field site has a composting toilet, but no running water, and I spend 4 months each summer up here.)

When I got back to Seattle from my field sites, I always had a few days where I had to remind myself that I couldn't just step behind a tree in any park and let 'er fly.

What's bad is the combination of dry suit and long kayak crossings. I tend to drink far too little, because you just can't hop out of your kayak on a crossing. And even when you do get to shore, wiggling out of that damned drysuit is no fun. It's easier (and dumber) just not to drink enough water.

[tzvia]

Good ideas, I hate these contraptions myself - but better than going behind a tree!

My problem is that when I am riding country roads there are lots of corn/soy bean fields but trees/bushes away from the road where I COULD answer the call of nature are quite few and far between. I think this keeps me from drinking quite enough :(

I've seen porta johns that were so bad I would rather (and have) gone off behind the trees. At least, the trees don't smell bad and the view doesn't look bad.

The worst one was just outside Raton NM. I was camping, and the porta potty was infested with Yellow Jackets. I did not know this when I entered, but I sure knew before I left!

Best tip I can give is this: If you are out in the boonies somewhere and this is the only john around it's going to be a mess. This is a given. So if you can get behind a big bush or some trees or a boulder, this would be better. I always have a paper towel packed in my camelback, (inside a ziplock bag- pack it in, pack it out), so I can make a choice of the lesser of two evils. If you have no other place to duck behind, stand back and open the door wide - give it a few moments to air - or better yet, pump the door a few times to force in some fresher air, which also may be cooler. Watch for unhappy large black and yellow insects :o. Make sure you can do squats well because you should touch as little as possible with as little as possible. You might also want to carry a 'wet wipe' with you to clean your hands after- they can also be used to clean up road rash. I take alcohol wipes.

[snapdragen]

Make sure you can do squats well because you should touch as little as possible with as little as possible. .

This is where good strong biker legs come in handy!


/snap, who never learned to "pee in the woods", just on her shoes.....:rolleyes:

[ny biker]

For those of you peeing in the woods, alls I can say is -- my sister once got poison ivy that way. Make sure you know what you're squatting in.

[HoosierGiant]

For those of you peeing in the woods, alls I can say is -- my sister once got poison ivy that way. Make sure you know what you're squatting in.
Been there, done that. Used it for toilet paper during a 22-mile training run. Had already used the TP I kept stashed in my hat -- the leaves were NOT a good substitute! Still had 10 miles to go, it was 90 degrees and humid, and I made the mistake of wiping sweat off my face. The oil from the poison ivy spread everywhere. Covered from head to toe. In my ears, in my eyes, my lips were a blistered disgusting mess -- absolutely the worst thing I've ever experienced... and I'd still rather rely on trees, bushes, soybeans, etc., than have to suffer through a disgusting port-a-john.

[ny biker]

Been there, done that. Used it for toilet paper during a 22-mile training run. Had already used the TP I kept stashed in my hat -- the leaves were NOT a good substitute! Still had 10 miles to go, it was 90 degrees and humid, and I made the mistake of wiping sweat off my face. The oil from the poison ivy spread everywhere. Covered from head to toe. In my ears, in my eyes, my lips were a blistered disgusting mess -- absolutely the worst thing I've ever experienced... and I'd still rather rely on trees, bushes, soybeans, etc., than have to suffer through a disgusting port-a-john.

Wow. I've had poison ivy all over my face 3 times, but at least it wasn't on my lips. Still I couldn't eat anything that required chewing because any time I moved my facial muscles the blisters broke. (Couldn't laugh, either. :()

But my other sister once hid in a patch of poison ivy while playing hide and seek. She was covered from head to toe, and the blisters behind her knees were like baseballs. They almost hospitalized her.

BTW, I'm still mad at the Livestrong people for deciding a couple of years ago that they would no longer provide a locker room or other place to change into clean clothes after the Philly ride. When you ask them where you can change, they say to use the porta johns. Holy cow, no way. It's hard enough changing in a regular public bathroom, and there's no way I'm risking having any of my clothes touch the floor of a porta john after thousands of people have been using it for 7-8 hours.

[Zen]

Now we've reached the point in the discussion of learning how to 'shake it off'.

[Aggie_Ama]

As a newcomer to being outdoors - even at my age I've never "gone" outdoors... :rolleyes:

That is going to change with my new-found love for biking and hiking!

Total TMI but I went outside for the first time in my 29 years recently, after looking for poison ivy it was shockingly liberating. No waiting for a bathroom and outside doesn't smell as bad as a porta potty sitting baking the Texas sun. Oh and I learned what poison ivy, poison oak and poison sumac looked like when I started mountain biking. One of the best things I learned. I pack a baggies of TP or baby wipes in my camel back though so I am not looking for leaves.

I too hate the Porta Potties, if the smell weren't bad enough they are often out of paper or the paper is on the floor. Oh and there is one trail here with something worse - composting toilets. I have used some that are okay but these smell so awful. :(

Oh and secure your phone, it is expense and no one lets you live it down if you lose your phone to a porta potty. Trust me.

[TsPoet]

I'm finally getting used to them, not because of bike events, but because of dog events. I hate to say this, but they are cleaner at dog events. No idea why, in fact, since people/dogs are staying in 1 local, I'd expect them to be dirtier. Maybe it's because dog events are 90% women, and bike events are 90% men?
Took this photo at an earthdog trial last year, just thought I'd add some "amusing" to the thread. (and note the business name for the port-o-potties, yuck!)
http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee139/TsPoet/earthdog%20hathor%20farm/_MG_1318.jpg

[Tuckervill]

What a cute little dog! I'm wondering if they're cleaner at dog events because dog owners are used to cleaning up poop and it's on their mind already?

Karen

[Selkie]

NY - Your sister must be a "low squatter!" LOL

I'm highly allergic to poison ivy, so I'm careful. Once had it on my entire back, thanks to my DH.... My immune system went whacko and the madness started spreading to my legs. Ended up having to take steroids!!

[Bike Chick]

Incline skates??? in a porta-pottty??? That's tricky!

I don't mind them too much I suppose. I'm pretty well used to them but hate it when it's 95 degrees out and you are sweating so bad you can't get your bike shorts back up. Be careful that the contents of your jersey pockets don't spill into the hole also! Friends of mine in Wisconsin refer to a porta-potty as a KYBO----Keep Your Butt Off!

I much prefer a tree or a corn field.

[ny biker]

NY - Your sister must be a "low squatter!" LOL

This was back during our misspent youth, so it's quite possible that she'd been drinking... :eek:

[Biciclista]

I'd rather use a portapotty than the toilets in the park on Mercer Island that don't have doors!!
At least you get to be modest a little.

I've traveled in Italy and have learned not to be fussy about toilets.

Having said that, there have been SOME porta pottys that i left without using...

[OakLeaf]

All y'all haven't lived until you've hiked a leg up like a dog to pee in a urinal, because you had no change, and in France the urinals are free but the sit-down toilets cost money... :eek:

[ny biker]

All y'all haven't lived until you've hiked a leg up like a dog to pee in a urinal, because you had no change, and in France the urinals are free but the sit-down toilets cost money... :eek:

There would be all kinds of lawsuits if they tried that in the US...

[Jolt]

YUCK to the poison ivy stories!!! That would be a really bad place to get it; for the love of all that is good please watch where you squat and what you wipe with if you're caught out without TP! As for the porta-potties, they don't really bother me (unless they're just really dirty). I had to use squat toilets a couple of times on my recent trip to Kenya, and almost dropped my flashlight (which was in my scrub top pocket) down the latrine at one of the clinics! It fell out of my pocket, rolled, and stopped just a couple of inches from the hole (needless to say, it was thoroughly disinfected after that). Lesson learned: be careful what is in your pockets when you squat.

[GLC1968]

Now we've reached the point in the discussion of learning how to 'shake it off'.

Or position for a nice breeze to air dry. ;)

After a month in the mountains of Wyoming where snow was the best TP you could ask for...porta-potties can be seen as luxuries. I'm not picky - I can pee in lots of non-traditional places. It's better than trying to spin up a hill while having to go!

[Zen]

Three pages of peepot discussion :D

[kmehrzad]

I'm a very picky person when it comes to the WC. In my travels to the Middle East, I was faced with a hole in the floor and a jug of water ... nothing else. Try and figure that one out.

It took me awhile to understand the concept; needless to say, I got quite wet in the process and still didn't master the 'art of cleanliness'.

[CamsShel]

To solve your porta-potty issues...

http://www.techfemina.com/entry/standing-tall-gadgets-that-allow-women-to-pee-like-men

I knew there was one (saw it in an outdoor-sy type magazine)...but never knew there were this many

:-)
Michelle in OK

[navybeetle]

You have to use them if there isn't some good foliage around, you really don't have a choice so make it as fast a process as you can. leave your gloves with the bike. Look at the porta potty before you go in - real quick. Is there a place for you to hold on so you can squat and not sit down? Always have your own TP in a handy pocket so as soon as you are done you can clean up and exit. A tiny bottle of sanitizer will last a while, keep it with the bike and use it before you ride. Hope this helps:D

[lph]

Or position for a nice breeze to air dry. ;)

After a month in the mountains of Wyoming where snow was the best TP you could ask for...porta-potties can be seen as luxuries. I'm not picky - I can pee in lots of non-traditional places. It's better than trying to spin up a hill while having to go!

hey, snow is excellent TP! You get a good scrub+clean at the same time... :D plus everything just shrinks in self-defence so you don't have to go again for hours...

[bcipam]

funny post and timely... I just got back from camping on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. You had to pee in the shrubs, no outhouse. Plenty of folks walking around and I ran into them and they ran into me. In the middle of the night I got disoriented and walk in the wrong direction of camp... that was fun!

For number 2 we had a "groover" - a small square box, on the edge of the Canyon. Great views but kindof scary especially when windy. You can use a limited amount of toilet paper, and you could not pee...

think outhouses are all that bad anymore? :rolleyes:

[Veronica]

Who did you do your trip with?

We did a self supported trip to the North Rim last week. We had snow our first day there.

We took a PETT toilet.
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/31JYAUgeh0L._SL500_AA300_.jpg
I love that thing. You do your business in a bag, put the bag into a heavy duty ziploc bag and it can go in your regular garbage. Whatever is in those Wag bags keeps it from smelling really badly too.

Veronica

[PamNY]

I have to laugh--I loathe plastic porta potties as well (there's something about the greenhouse effect of all that plastic, heat, fermentation events--blech). But I don't mind wooden outhouses or the composting toilets that the Forest Service puts up at trailheads now.

Yes -- that's exactly what bothers me - porta potties that baked all day. Plus since these are city potties I have the image of a dead body falling out when I open the door. And a phobia about the cell phone and wallet falling in no matter where I have put them. I don't mind outdoors, I don't mind most outhouses -- but the urban-plastic-heat-ick thing is, well, icky.

Oakleaf, I may try the funnel thing. I have used those. That could make things easier. Thanks for the suggestions, and this has been an amusing discussion.

[Crankin]

Geez, I just squat and go. Porta potty, outhouse, behind a bush. I don't think about it. Mostly I remember to have some tissue, although I find that most porta potties have plenty, and frankly, I don't freak out about germs. As someone said, it's pretty bad to have to climb a hill when you have to go.

[Zen]

Geez, I just squat and go.

I was recently in a situation where I just had to say "OK, nobody look over here"

[PamNY]

Geez, I just squat and go..

Regardless of where you are? I was talking about Brooklyn.

Funny story from my Brooklyn park: I saw a fairly nice road bike lying on its side smack in the middle of the path. Thinking someone had been robbed or hurt, I raced over only to find a guy taking a leak.

[lph]

Thinking someone had been robbed or hurt, I raced over only to find a guy taking a leak.

:D

At my son's end-of-the-school-year-shindig his teacher told us some funny stories from her 6 years with this class. One of them was when 3 of the class troublemakers had snuck out together, but she had tracked them down and could hear them laughing and plotting something in the men's room. Crackdown time. She had thumped on the door and roared "AND WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING IN THERE?!"

Silence, a pause, then timidly: "Uh, peeing...?"

[Crankin]

No Pam, not "anywhere." I thought this thread applied to when you are cycling and no real toilet is available. I wouldn't drop my pants in downtown Boston! It seems like people are freaked out or grossed out by porta potties and hold it in, so they don't have to use them. Around here they put porta potties out on every school playground and play fields in April and leave them up until October or so, and that works out well. Even small towns in the hinterlands have a school.
Zen, I have been in that position. Once I was hiking in a local conservation area with DH and friends. It was winter. I had to go really badly and there was no place to hide, with all of the foliage gone. I found partial privacy behind a small rock, but I had to say "don't look."
lph, my older son recently told me that when he was 13, he was caught peeing in the bushes outside of the synagogue, by the rabbi.
Glad I didn't know that back then. Not sure why he didn't use the bathroom!

[bcipam]

Who did you do your trip with?

We did a self supported trip to the North Rim last week. We had snow our first day there.

Veronica

The outfitter was Western Spirit. They do a good job - at least the food and guides were excellent. We did the AZ Trail and Rainbow Rim. MUCH harder than I expected, especially with the elevation. I walked alot!!!! The last day was my favorite. The trail was at least easier and I was able to ride most of it. It was beautiful and I would like to do it again. We had good weather, warm during the day and cool at night. Just some wind, no snow.

[Veronica]

That's funny. We almost signed up for that trip with Western Spirit, but decided that now that we have an SUV, we could do it on our own. We did the Umpqua River Trail with Western Spirit back in 2005. Our guides and the food were quite good as well. :D

Yeah, the elevation really got to me too. But it's such a spectacular place to ride. We're thinking we'll make it an annual trip. We camped at Locust Point but decided that North Timp had better views and we'll camp there next time and just drive to Locust to ride.

Veronica

[bcipam]

... We camped at Locust Point but decided that North Timp had better views and we'll camp there next time and just drive to Locust to ride.

Veronica

My thought was - get a cabin at the Lodge and drive out each day to the a ride start. Something about fresh beds, running water and a real toilet appeal to me! ;)

We camped at Locust point the 3 and 4 day. We were right off the trail. I preferred the camp site we had when doing the AZT which was on the other side of the highway.

In going through the photos last night, I have to say I preferred the AZT over the Rainbow Rim Trail along i did like the short ride to out to Timp Point. That part of the Raibow Rim was awesome! Unfortunately too early for a good wildflower display. That should happen in the next week or so...

[sundial]

I have a fear of that dark hole and what lingers down there. I'm always afraid a wasp will sting my hiney. :rolleyes:

[OakLeaf]

Giant mutant GMO corn is tall enough! W00t! There is one thing that stuff is good for. :D

[boy in a kilt]

There were porta-potties all over the bases when I was in Iraq, so we all got used to them. Nothing encourages rapid voiding quite like 120+ degree weather.

Public facilities were non-existent when we were on mission and even the most iron-bladdered can't hold it on a 10 hour mission. So, we used to pull off the side of the road in a semi-safe spot and take turns on lookout while the other person did their business. There was always a bit of coordination just prior to stopping about who would get what spot. Men to one side of the vehicle, women to the other, etc.

One night our gunner announced she had to pee outside of Fallujah enroute to Baghdad. Since we weren't going to be stopping for an hour or so, she decided to deal with the situation. She loosened her restraint harness and had someone spell her on the 50 cal while she took a pee off the top of a vehicle doing 45 mph down the very-bumpy Baghdad-Jordan highway. Didn't even get any pee on the vehicle.

[eofelis]

I rode the week-long Bicycle Tour of Colorado last week. On day 1 we climbed Slumgullion Pass near Lake City. It was pretty windy, BIG gusts. I stopped at the aid station at the base of the climb. While I was walking around getting water or something a huge gust of wind spun up and I saw one of the porta potties tip over backwards. I hoped no one was in it!

I was pretty wary of getting in a PP whenever it was windy for the rest of the week.

[Irulan]

funny post and timely... I just got back from camping on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. You had to pee in the shrubs, no outhouse. Plenty of folks walking around and I ran into them and they ran into me. In the middle of the night I got disoriented and walk in the wrong direction of camp... that was fun!

For number 2 we had a "groover" - a small square box, on the edge of the Canyon. Great views but kindof scary especially when windy. You can use a limited amount of toilet paper, and you could not pee...

think outhouses are all that bad anymore? :rolleyes:


Groovers almost always have a good view. As die hard wilderness river runners (one of our family's other sports) we are used to the groover concept. For those of you not in the loop, groovers or wag bags are for leave no trace situations. It's very common for any permit wilderness situation like a permitted river, where everyone camps in the same camps night after night. The big discussion with the groover ( other than who carries ) is, can we have both privacy and a great view?