Okay, all you experienced winter riders, answer me this: How do you deal with snot?!

[7rider]

Snot rockets are definitely out; I don't know how anyone manages to blow them with such a runny effusion!

What can be snorted in, can also be shot out with equal effectiveness.

I have a magical speed required of 18 mph. At that speed or higher, I'm okay to clear on the move. Otherwise, I wait for a stoplight or stop sign. That's always fun to gross out the motorists who are waiting beside me! So genteel and ladylike, ya know? Just be sure to leeeean away from the bike, lest you get anything on any part of you or the bike you'd rather not see crudified (like jacket shoulders, arms, or panniers). Apply one finger to close one nostril, and BLOW out the open nostril! Clean up with the glove, give a wink to the motorist beside you, and smell that cold winter air!

[arielmoon]

7rider LMAO!!!

[HoosierGiant]

What can be snorted in, can also be shot out with equal effectiveness.

I have a magical speed required of 18 mph. At that speed or higher, I'm okay to clear on the move. Otherwise, I wait for a stoplight or stop sign. That's always fun to gross out the motorists who are waiting beside me! So genteel and ladylike, ya know? Just be sure to leeeean away from the bike, lest you get anything on any part of you or the bike you'd rather not see crudified (like jacket shoulders, arms, or panniers). Apply one finger to close one nostril, and BLOW out the open nostril! Clean up with the glove, give a wink to the motorist beside you, and smell that cold winter air!

Too funny, and oooooh so true! (Although I have finally mastered the fine art of the double-barrel snot rocket, so it remains a hands-free endeavor.)

[OakLeaf]

Hmmm. I have no trouble blowing a snot rocket when it's just allergies and has some stickiness to it, but in the winter it just isn't happening.

It reminds me of the time I got sneezed on by a baby elephant at a petting zoo when I was a little kid.

Guess I'll keep washing my gloves after every ride...

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I grew up in NYC seeing old drunks do this on the subway (think AquaLung) and skidding on pools of spit everywhere... so anyone blowing their snot out on the ground in plain view of others, or where people might chance to walk will always seem a gross and disgusting display of lack of manners to me. Heck, you might as well just squat and poop while you're at it!
Guess I'm just hopelessly 'old fashioned'!

[Librarygirl]

BleeckerSt_Girl, I totally agree with you - I was reading and thinking 'Am I the only one who finds the idea of expelling nasal contents in the general vicinity of others quite disgusting?' I find it so unladylike too - I guess I was just brought up that way!

[SadieKate]

It's all about the time and place -- and whether you can hit your intended target (and not me).

[OakLeaf]

So this is the thread that separates the jocks from the ladies...

[Melalvai]

I don't do snot rockets but I can imagine a day where I might. But when I biked to Omaha and back, each half-day saw me with fewer inhibitions about when & where I peed, and how far away from the road I would go!

Guess I'm probably not a lady! Don't know how this reflects on my mother...she was absolutely horrified when I told her about peeing on the side of the road. Of course, so was my daughter. Maybe it skipped a generation!

[shootingstar]

So this is the thread that separates the jocks from the ladies...

I'm a lousy spitter. So I've given up trying to do that too.

Part of my need to use kleenex, terry snot wiper on glove...probably stems from the fact that my mother is an incredible spitter....at home into the toilet or garbage can. Real peasant style, folks. Real loud. Like what you see/hear in Chinatown sometimes. Except she never does it public. Thank goodness.

And it's what you hear about from travellers in certain areas of Asia.

Joyful. Sorry folks. To me, it's a public health issue when I've noticed alot of snot releasers and spitters on elevators, staircases, etc. after seeing gobs. And seeing young children spit anywhere out of sheer bravado.

Should be done discreetly and into the grass/bush/outdoors/well you know.

Brand me old-fashioned, but my reasons/inhibitions are abit different.

[RolliePollie]

Snot Rocketeer here. But I only do it when there is no one around...no other cyclists, no cars, and not in front of houses where someone inside might see me, etc.. It's very gross, but it's effective...and my nose runs like a faucet. I am much better SR-ing with my left nostril, which is a good thing because that one runs about 75% more than the right one.

I also use my glove. If you wipe your nose on your glove, then wipe your glove really good on the side of your thigh, the glove is dry-ish and ready to wipe with again in no time. And I like to think no one notices the smudge on my leg from glove wiping.

[7rider]

It's all about the time and place -- and whether you can hit your intended target (and not me).

Yup.
And for the record....the motorist is never my target. And 99.9% of the time...they're not looking at me anyway. Too busy texting, putting on make-up, shaving, eating....whatever. So although I may say I do it for their "benefit" - I really don't.

[HillSlugger]

What can be snorted in, can also be shot out with equal effectiveness.

I have a magical speed required of 18 mph. At that speed or higher, I'm okay to clear on the move. Otherwise, I wait for a stoplight or stop sign. That's always fun to gross out the motorists who are waiting beside me! So genteel and ladylike, ya know? Just be sure to leeeean away from the bike, lest you get anything on any part of you or the bike you'd rather not see crudified (like jacket shoulders, arms, or panniers). Apply one finger to close one nostril, and BLOW out the open nostril! Clean up with the glove, give a wink to the motorist beside you, and smell that cold winter air!

I've ridden with her; she good!