Originally Posted by
ny biker
A couple of years ago I did the Covered Bridges Metric in Lancaster County, PA, which is Amish country. Meaning lots of horse-drawn buggies on the roads. Meaning lots of horse poop on the roads. And it rained for the first half of the ride. So I went to a grocery store the night before and bought some Saran wrap to wrap my water bottles in. The bottle that was in reserve on the seat tube was tightly wrapped. The one on the down tube that I was drinking from was wrapped so that there was a flap of plastic over the top. So to drink from it I reached down, opened the flap, took the bottle out of the cage to drink, then replaced the flap after putting it back into the cage. It was a hassle and after a while it got all messed up, but it was worth it for peace of mind.
There are several reasons why I haven't done that ride again, but miles and miles of poop-dodging is definitely high on the list.
BTW there are new rules about food handling for Bike Virginia, which I think are based on the some new state laws. Things like volunteers having to wear gloves and hand the food to the riders rather than letting the riders take their own food with possibly dirty hands. And I definitely notice at a big group ride if they are taking precautions at the rest stops and post-ride picnic -- things like having plenty of hand sanitizer front and center at the tables, insisting that riders remove their gloves before reaching for food, having hand washing stations next to porta-potties. It may cost a bit more and require a bit more effort but it's better than having lots of people get sick. As a back-up, I keep a small bottle of hand sanitizer in my bike bag. (Yes I'm a crazy germophobe, and not ashamed of it.)