Snotrub

So, as I was watching the women's Olympic road race and seeing how many bottles of water they were going through, I was wondering what they do if they have to pee? It's not like they can just pull over to the side of the road and whip it out and if they're wearing skinsuits, that makes it even more difficult. Anyone know?

Caretaker

I imagine they do it discretely while still riding. They will sweat out a lot of the liquid intake anyway.

Darth Lefty 

Is this a thing that normally happens during men's races? I haven't seen it in the TV coverage.

KJ43

Yes and there were shots during the tour of people taking a nature break.

Caretaker

You either haven't been watching the quieter phases on stages or haven't been paying attention. Not that the cameras focus on it, they don't, but you can see it happening with riders either pulling to the side of the road or standing up on the pedals and doing it on the move.

Iride01 

In the heat of summer on a bike I don't pee either for up to 4 hours or even more of riding. And I drink enough to actually return within 2 lbs or less body weight than I started at. Winter time, I have to pee every few hours.

People have told me it doesn't work that way. But they don't have an explanation for why that's my thing. I still think I sweat it all out. I sweat like a horse.

However why not just pee in your shorts? That's what any scuba diver does when they need to warm up their wetsuit.

Snotrub

I was thinking that just going in their shorts is the only option. Hopefully they go to the back of the peloton if that is what they do. For me, before a race, I have to pee what seems like 100 times. Once the race starts, I usually don't have to, but I only race for a maximum of 2.5 to 3 hours.

smoore

I saw male riders doing it during this years Olympics. The camera pulls away pretty quickly and unless the commentators mention it (which they seldom do) you probably wouldn't even notice it. However, a few days ago Bob Roll mentioned it on the broadcast and referred to "the guys taking a nature break" when the camera didn't pull away as quickly as they generally do.

I've never thought about what the women do....now you've got me wondering??

KJ43

You seem really interested/fascinated in what the women do when they have to go.

Let me Google that for you

Here are some links from the search that will hopefully scratch your itch for knowledge.

Answer

Answer

Answer

And your question about peeing in their shorts is answered in the third link by a female professional cyclist.

"A lot of the women’s races are less than 5 hrs so usually we pee 8 times right before and then can hold it to the end of the race if needed. Other times, a rider will choose to pull over and pee and then get the car to help them get back. No woman pees herself while riding, at least on purpose! That’s a total triathlete thing."

Darth Lefty 

So the answer is what we all knew - men are gross and women can hold it

slcbob

Chamois would not make that pleasant.

What's the women's equivalent of the penalty in golf when you don't hit past the lady's tee?