I’ll preface this by noting that this idea may really only apply in hot (and humid) races, and I wouldn’t advise doing it in cooler events. Or dry events.

And that anyone in hot and humid races that says they haven’t peed on the bike is probably just too shy to admit it. 🙂

In 2018 I believe, Ironman made a rule that urinating on a course would result in disqualification due to indecent exposure. So you definitely don’t want to risk that by going in the bushes.

The official solution, of course, is to use one of the many portable toilets set up on the courses but they might not be where you need them and you definitely don’t want to wait in a queue during a race. Or that’s what they’ll tell you in the race guidebook.

But I prefer the solution of just doing it on the bike – no indecent exposure needed and no time lost on the side of the road.

There are a few pointers to take note of, lest you do it wrong, and seriously piss off the guy behind you:

  • Just as every guy knows not to pee upwind from his friend, don’t pee with another person behind you. The spray at 40 km/h goes pretty far back, I hear.
  • Rinse yourself with water from your water bottle – I do it both before to mask the profusion of liquids that are about to rain off my body, and after to clean up a bit
  • Some people find it quite a challenge to let loose while their legs are pedaling hard, so it may be easier to do it on a downhill stretch when you’re coasting
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