I hate Porta Potties

**PamNY** · 06-12-2010, 05:23 PM

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** · 06-12-2010, 05:45 PM

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

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

**Tri Girl** · 06-12-2010, 06:01 PM

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** · 06-12-2010, 06:13 PM

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

**OakLeaf** · 06-13-2010, 03:28 AM

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.

**Crankin** · 06-13-2010, 03:43 AM

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** · 06-13-2010, 03:45 AM

Originally Posted by 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.

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** · 06-13-2010, 03:48 AM

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** · 06-13-2010, 04:27 AM

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

**Catrin** · 06-13-2010, 04:30 AM

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** · 06-13-2010, 05:05 AM

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** · 06-13-2010, 05:41 AM

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** · 06-13-2010, 06:51 AM

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** · 06-13-2010, 07:04 AM

"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** · 06-13-2010, 07:44 AM

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.

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