Spitting

[mjr]

I'm not going to stop half way up a hill to get a hankie out and blow my nose

And another one coming out with this myth of stopping and unbuckling your purse to flourish a dainty hankie and dab one's nose! How shoot is your bike handling that you can't grab a tissue out of a back or side pocket, use it and return it? Maybe it would be better to improve that before more work on climbing?

 

[mythste]

And another one coming out with this myth of stopping and unbuckling your purse to flourish a dainty hankie and dab one's nose! How shoot is your bike handling that you can't grab a tissue out of a back or side pocket, use it and return it? Maybe it would be better to improve that before more work on climbing?

If you're enjoying pushing yourself and you're hanging out your hoop, staying in control of the bike and being aware of other road users is probably the limit of most peoples abilities.

I'm not saying you *have* to push yourself hard. But that's how some people choose to ride. And an unfortunate by product is mucus - and when it completely blocks your ability to take in air through your nose you have to clear it, immediately.

 

[mythste]

I want to also add, that the situations in which I choose to snot rocket are typically isolated to being half way up snake pass when the temperature drops below 5 degrees and there's no one else about (I'd like to say because I've dropped the pack, but unfortunately they normally drop me...)

Doing it when there's even a remote chance of it getting on/near/in(?) someone else is, as has been pointed out, pretty grim. certainly not a behavior for the commute through city centres.

 

[nickyboy]

And another one coming out with this myth of stopping and unbuckling your purse to flourish a dainty hankie and dab one's nose! How shoot is your bike handling that you can't grab a tissue out of a back or side pocket, use it and return it? Maybe it would be better to improve that before more work on climbing?

The issue is one of excess mucus. I've got two ways of removing it. Method one is to snot rocket it. Takes about a second. Don't have to change anything about the way I'm cycling other than move my head to one side a bit. I'm out in the countryside on roads covered in sheep and cow shoot so I don't think a bit of mucus will be much of an addition to the health hazard. Method two is to get a tissue out of my back pocket, blow my nose and put it back in the pocket. Up a decent hill here this would need to be done half a dozen times at least; they can take up to half an hour to climb. On a decent ride I would be blowing my nose on my tissue maybe 20 or 30 times

So forgive me but I'll keep doing it

 

[mjr]

Doing it when there's even a remote chance of it getting on/near/in(?) someone else is, as has been pointed out, pretty grim. certainly not a behavior for the commute through city centres.

It's not a behaviour for any time another person is nearby. I don't see why villagers deserve to get covered in snot.

I'm out in the countryside on roads covered in sheep and cow shoot so I don't think a bit of mucus will be much of an addition to the health hazard.

The sheep and cow shoot isn't airborne. Hopefully.

On a decent ride I would be blowing my nose on my tissue maybe 20 or 30 times

So? Hardly difficult or a hardship.

 

[briantrumpet]

Blimey, four pages of snot and mucus.

 

[robjh]

It's not a behaviour for any time another person is nearby. I don't see why villagers deserve to get covered in snot.

Has anyone suggested spitting around villagers? I have the impression that posters here have specifically said they wouldn't spit or snot in inhabited areas.
Snot-rockets and spitting are quite common in groups of fast cyclists, and it doesn't generally cause any controversy. I appreciate that people on here are stating their own personal views on the matter but I think practice suggests that there are a great many cyclists out there who are not bothered by it.

The sheep and cow shoot isn't airborne. Hopefully.

As for the health argument, can anyone point to any statistics on the incidence of transmission of pathogens by spitting, especially by cyclists when outside urban areas? I will yield to evidence otherwise, but I rather expect that attested cases of this will be rather low.

So? Hardly difficult or a hardship.

It's an unnecessary burden if you don't think any of the arguments made for doing it are very strong.

 

[slowmotion]

Suck it up and swallow it if you can't be arsed to get out a handkerchief. What's the problem? Is it too disgusting to swallow but nice enough to spray over the roads and your fellow men?

 

[Broadside]

I think there might be a difference here between those who get an occasional need to blow and those that suffer from exercise induced rhinitis. With the latter the need to clear the nose is very frequent with high exertion and it may be difficult to understand if you have not experienced it.

My nose runs pretty hard on most rides and I have tried the hankie thing but it gets sodden quickly, I suppose I could take a number of hankies with me but the logistics of keeping one jersey pocket for clean and another for 'used' hankies gets difficult when I have also got food in there.

 

[slowmotion]

I think there might be a difference here between those who get an occasional need to blow and those that suffer from exercise induced rhinitis. With the latter the need to clear the nose is very frequent with high exertion and it may be difficult to understand if you have not experienced it.

My nose runs pretty hard on most rides and I have tried the hankie thing but it gets sodden quickly, I suppose I could take a number of hankies with me but the logistics of keeping one jersey pocket for clean and another for 'used' hankies gets difficult when I have also got food in there.

My nose runs pretty constantly when on the bike. I don't leave a trail like a slug. The handkerchiefs get sodden. It isn't a big deal.

 

[classic33]

Farts don't carry disease.

“[Tennent] asked a colleague to break wind directly onto two Petri dishes from a distance of 5 centimetres, first fully clothed, then with his trousers down. Then he observed what happened. Overnight, the second Petri dish sprouted visible lumps of two types of bacteria that are usually found only in the gut and on the skin. But the flatus [gas] which had passed through clothing caused no bacteria to sprout, which suggests that clothing acts as a filter.”

http://www.sciencealert.com/do-farts-carry-germs-depends

 

[robjh]

Suck it up and swallow it if you can't be arsed to get out a handkerchief. What's the problem? Is it too disgusting to swallow but nice enough to spray over the roads and your fellow men?

It's a question of mutual consideration and tolerance, and I stress mutual.
I fully get that you personally find it it disgusting and will endeavour to avoid spitting in your sight, but I ask you to have the same respect for my comfort. Yes I do find it unpleasant to swallow it, especially when the alternative is so quick, easy and as I see it harmless. So if you do perchance glimpse me spitting in the distance, please remember that it's not done to offend you or anyone. Live and let live.

 

[Broadside]

My nose runs pretty constantly when on the bike. I don't leave a trail like a slug. The handkerchiefs get sodden. It isn't a big deal.

On long rides there comes a point where you can't carry enough hankies, that for me is the big deal.

 

[slowmotion]

It's a question of mutual consideration and tolerance, and I stress mutual.
I fully get that you personally find it it disgusting and will endeavour to avoid spitting in your sight, but I ask you to have the same respect for my comfort. Yes I do find it unpleasant to swallow it, especially when the alternative is so quick, easy and as I see it harmless. So if you do perchance glimpse me spitting in the distance, please remember that it's not done to offend you or anyone. Live and let live.

Yebbut....I don't want to live with your gob, either physically or visually. Do you piss in shop doorways late at night because it's "convenient"?

 

[Dayvo]

Judging by some of the comments on here, anyone would think that British roads were absolutely crawling with fellow cyclist and pedestrians.

Common sense should prevail. If you choose to spit or 'snot it', or not, should be up to the individual. I spit and clear my nostrils when necessary and always away from other traffic/people. I direct my aim to the kerb, making sure a ped. isn't approaching, and always look behind prior to doing so.

I've suffered with sinusitis for most of my life and have got used to the need to clear mouth/nose when necessary. I do not spit/snot in pedestrian or built-up areas when I'm on foot, as I will use my handkerchief which I always have with me.

On a bike, though, I don't bother, for the reasons mentioned above.