I hate Porta Potties

[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.

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.

[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...

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!

[Aggie_Ama]

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

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!)

[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

[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 . 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.....

[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.