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I love to cycle all year round, but I find that in winter my nose seems to run nonstop. I have to keep stopping to wipe my nose! Does anyone else have this problem? It doesn't happen when I ride my trainer in the house.
Mindi Rosenthal
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My nose runs in all weather when I am biking.
I keep a hankerchief tucked in my waistband.
I'm not very fast on a bike, but I know I can out-distance/speed 90% of the ladies out on the roads this time of year. Why, you may ask, would I make such a blatently sexist, stereotypical statement? Well, I'm a farmboy, see, and I am a pro at the twin sisters of 'expectoration' and 'the farmers' blow'. I find it troubling that our society clearly discriminates against females and doesn't train them in this useful life-skill. I've taken to training my daughter (7) in the fine art of loogie-ing, but it's never too late to start learning. Just be prepared for some very gross laundry in the beginning.
Wow. I have to double-dog dare myself to click 'Post Reply'
My nose runs alot when winter biking. I was told that was a good thing. It's supposed to help keep your system clean of air-borne bacteria. I don't know if it is true or not. I do know that I commute all year and I don't get sick. Some of that may just be genetics. Either way, I'll take it! :D
I love the farmer's blow. I can do it now with my eyes closed! Very useful skill.
All the above is good advice, but technical terms like "expectoration" & "farmer's blow" may need further explanation. Expectoration involves snuffling (Sorry...perhaps another technical term) the liquid matter in the runny nose into the back of the throat & then "hawking out a good Louie" or spitting it out with panache & gusto! The farmer's blow is perhaps more efficient since it is a one stage process instead of two. It may be performed one nostril at a time or both at once. I, myself, prefer both at once, but then, I'm a singer with years of practice in breath control. In the one nostril method, a forefinger is laid alongside the off nostril to close it. This involves removing a hand from the handlebar, not always a good idea. The "blow" part is "blowing your nose", just as you would do if you had a hanky! The beauty is no obstructive or time-consuming hanky is involved! Just let her fly! :D
A word of caution: If cycling with a group (particularly if they're people you like), drift considerately & gracefully to the rear of the group before executing either expectoration or the Farmer's Blow. This will forestall any hurt feelings (or worse). :fight:
Norton, you're obviously a connoisseur as well. Well said. Hauker on, all.
Sometimes I'll wear a mutilated sock over my arm/gloves and wipe/blow my nose on that.
Chris,
hey! that mutilated sock idea is a good idea! I think I will try it!! Thanks!
Just reading the title of the thread made me think of the farmer blow but didn't know it was so popular!!
The comment about the runny nose cleaning out bacteria made me think that I have been riding year round for 3 years and I don't remember my last cold. Guess this should also be added to the top reasons to ride in the winter!!
Now I'm confused. What are those funny little gloves we wear for?
Chris,
hey! that mutilated sock idea is a good idea! I think I will try it!! Thanks!
Awesome! Add a nose wipe to a pair of mits and the price goes up $15. I know, I've been shopping (can't keep my hands warm, but that's another story).
I prefer the wipe method as opposed to the let it fly routine. Typically my gloves work fine, but if it is real cold out and my generously sized proboscis is running like a faucet, sweat bands work the best. An excellent snot absorbent and softer than an old sock.
My nose runs too. I use a nice little part of my Saeco gloves to wipe it.
I do the farmer's blow.
The tricky part involves learning how to direct it so it doesn't spray all over my arms, jacket, bibs and pannier bags.
With practice, I've gotten much better at not making a mess of myself and my bike.
I think, though, that I gross out a lot of car people.
And the down side? :)
Yeah, I was wondering, doesn't it make a horrible mess? Some ppl call them snot rocket, but the one time I tried, it was no rocket...
You guys speak of techniques; Enlighten me please.
Being a devoted farmer type myself, I'll offer a couple of words to the wise on technique.
First, in addition to drifting back as Norton suggests, always check wind direction. Blowing both nostrils into a stiff crosswind usually means everything ends up on your shoulder leaving what looks like snail trails.
Second, if you use the terry part of your glove to "tidy up" after a good blow, be sure to dry it off (I use the back side of my tights). Otherwise, ice (well er um, snot) crystals form in that terry and they hurt like the dickens on a cold nose.
Gunther in Pennsylvania
Yeah, I was wondering, doesn't it make a horrible mess? Some ppl call them snot rocket, but the one time I tried, it was no rocket...
You guys speak of techniques; Enlighten me please.
Farmer's Blow is not drooling. Think of spitting a watermelon seed for distance....I hope your childhood was not so overprotected & deprived that you've never done that! Or....think of a gunshot...sharp, percussive...all energy expended in an instant! Think of those quickdraw artists who can shoot a tossed coin out of the air! No aiming....no thinking Pure joyful practiced eye-hand coordination!
Now think Snot Rockets!....sharp, percussive....nose blast for distance! Pure joyful practiced eye-nose coordination! At its best the snot has a cohesive teardrop shape & will blast a fly from its flightpath!
I hope this is not one of those life skills that can only be learned in the happy, carefree hours of childhood....competing with a pal for distance & accuracy..... :)
Farmer's Blow Technique:
For the left nostril, leave the left hand on the bars; raise the left elbow; tuck the head into the hole created by raising the left elbow; take the point of the gloved index finger of the right hand and push it against the opening of the right nostril like a cork in a bottle (don't compress the nostril from the side); point the chin to the left and aim the left nostril at a point on the ground two feet to the left of the rear axle; take a deep breath through the mouth; and, explosively expell air and snot from the left nostril.
Do not do this with a crosswind from the left, as it will blow the snot back against the rider and bike.
For the right nostril, substitute the word right for every occurence of the word left in the instructions above, and use the index finger of the left hand for the cork in the left nostril.
Yeah, I was wondering, doesn't it make a horrible mess? Some ppl call them snot rocket, but the one time I tried, it was no rocket...
You guys speak of techniques; Enlighten me please.
Snot rocket:
1. Plug one nostril.
2. Aim carefully.
3. Blow sharply through the open nostril. Remember, blow up from your diaphragm.
4. Repeat for other nostril.
If done properly, snot will rocket from your nose and splatter on that pesky cager next to you.
Either launch a rocket or suck and spit.
I hate to offer another solution in light of the excellent descriptions of proper technique, form and etiquette...
I had my doctor give me a prescription for Astilin, which is supposed to help exercise-induced rhinitis. Didn't work very well for me, but others have had great success. Claritin-D can work for other people, but I didn't like it for myself. Finally, Atrovent - a medication that I already have for asthma, but instead of a puffer, this comes as a nasal spray. It doesn't completely dry things up, but instead of scrounging for a tissue every mile, I can go about five between blows.
One of the best places to learn the fine art of launching a snot rocket is in the shower, there's no fear of mess in there and the hot water/steam gets everything loosened up.
One of the best places to learn the fine art of launching a snot rocket is in the shower, there's no fear of mess in there and the hot water/steam gets everything loosened up.
Training camp!!...... :roflmao:
I hate to offer another solution in light of the excellent descriptions of proper technique, form and etiquette...
I had my doctor give me a prescription for Astilin, which is supposed to help exercise-induced rhinitis. Didn't work very well for me, but others have had great success. Claritin-D can work for other people, but I didn't like it for myself. Finally, Atrovent - a medication that I already have for asthma, but instead of a puffer, this comes as a nasal spray. It doesn't completely dry things up, but instead of scrounging for a tissue every mile, I can go about five between blows.
Yeah, great advice..just take a pill :rolleyes:
One more vote for the farmer blow and a gear suggestion.
When it is really cold out, a source of dehydration, hypothermia and chronic upper bronchial irritation is the cold dry air we breathe in, especially at high aerobic rates - breathing hard. Not usually a problem for a brief bike commute, but if you do it regularly or for longer distances it realy helps to breathe through something. anything from a balaclava over your nose and mouth to an Iditarod style re-breather will help. I recently bought a rather silly-looking gadget called the "Breathe" smog mask. purportedly for filtering smog, it works great at keeping the face, and more importantly the breath, warm.
What does this have to do with your post? Well, you will have less snot, cuz you are not breathing the cold air (just my personal experience). HOWEVER, you will have quite a bit of moisture condensing in the mask which is also mildly unpleasant. if you do have some snot just let it flow and rinse the nasty thing like a hanky when you get where you're going. On balance, I enjoy my winter riding much, much more with a warm face and warm air to breath in.
Special bonus!! you can get some kick-ass icicles forming on the outside vents of one of these which make you look like sir edmund Hillary.
Dork - factor - High due to retarded dragon graphics on the front.
Practice in the shower if you really wanna get it down
I believe the correct term is farmer's hankie.
Yeah, great advice..just take a pill :rolleyes:
Sorry Nick if my solution offends you, but first, it's not a pill, it's a spray. Second, in my situation, my nose was rubbed so raw after each weekend that the skin was cracked and bleeding. It would also drip down my throat causing sore throats, coughs, and asthma attacks. So, yeah, I was looking for a solution. So is Mindi.
Most importantly: blow under the arm, not over the shoulder. Style points for keeping it off the tights.
Oh, that's where I'm going wrong!! :lol:
See, the great thing about riding in the temps I ride in (very cold) is that the snot freezes as it starts to drip out like an icicle ... then I just snap if off and throw it away from time to time.
I of the double barrel blow camp. I just can't risk taking one hand off the bars to do the single nostril blast-too many pot holes, crazy cagers, feral children etc. As a result, I consider it essentially a given that I will get mucous trails on the right thigh of my cycling tights. By the end of the week, they are like a piece of modern art. Beautiful, and repulsive simultanously. Maybe I'll take a picture and post it for you guys!
your nose running is a great thing. when there are perceived allergens in the air your body flushes them out of your system. it is the lesser of the two evils, the other being that you'd have postnasal drip and everything goes in your chest.
the other reason is that the cold acts as a vasoconstrictor, which is why we tend to be pasty white in the harsh winters. when you constrict the veins of the nose, it acts like wringing out a dishcloth and pushes all the mucus out.
II will get mucous trails on the right thigh of my cycling tights. By the end of the week, they are like a piece of modern art. Beautiful, and repulsive simultanously. Maybe I'll take a picture and post it for you guys!
Sticky thread
"Let's see your mucous pics"
very very sticky
A point of technique: with especially viscous (e.g. thick) snot, high winds, or a combo of both, a "neck snap" may be utilized to further project the snot from the body/bicycle area. For a left nostril blow, get the head's momentum going from left to right, at the end let right index finger fly off right nostril as head snaps thru towards target (car, bike, feral child). Use right index finger and thumb to help project snot off of the nose area by 'flinging' at end of blow. (note: friction fingers can be used in lieu of index if so desired)
Sticky thread
A point of technique: with especially viscous (e.g. thick) snot, high winds, or a combo of both, a "neck snap" may be utilized to further project the snot from the body/bicycle area.
Excellent! The trouble is, I'm just too steeped in my own visous snot couldron to care. In fact, to me it now seems entirely normal, even expected, to arrive at my destination partially snot basted. Occasionally, I will witness something that gets my attention, and almost jars me back into to society at large. I might, for example, notice a translusent green loogie as it freezes on my clothing. A vile winter slug that causes me to recoil at my own repugnance. But the moment passes, like so much mucous from my nasal cavities, and I continue to ride, blowing snot as though nothing has happened.
Amen brother.
One of my partners in crime (the triathalon chick in Bicycling's Biketown article last month asamatteroffact) were joking about the tissue-sissies we see on the road and in the gym. As a professional booger-machine the thought of doing anything other than a farmer's blow is insane. Heck, if you're gonna carry a tissue to gently blow your nose you might as well carry wet naps to dab the corner of your mouth after sucking down a gu packet and then a fine linnen towel to pat the persperation from your brow ...
Cycling is a sweaty, drippy, hang-it-all-out-there sport ... enjoy it! Just don't get too used to it - co-workers in a meeting won't appreciate it. (grin)
A note to the asthmatics - exercise-induced or otherwise. It ain't gonna work.
I tried. I really did. Unfortunately, I can't get enough air to give the propulsive push to make this a successful process. It just ain't gonna happen. If I have trouble blowing out a candle, I know that I don't have what it takes.
Ewwww... just remind me never to shower in the same bay as any of your showering snot-rocketeers, thanks very much!
I love to cycle all year round, but I find that in winter my nose seems to run nonstop. I have to keep stopping to wipe my nose! Does anyone else have this problem? It doesn't happen when I ride my trainer in the house.
Mindi Rosenthal
You may find this weird SNOT ROCKETS, they work every time, no need for tissues.
But snot-cicles are a biohazard according to environment canada.
No, haven't you heard? Snot-cicles are biodegradable!! With the amount of dust, old pollen, and other stuff I'm inhaling on my rides ... a little tree grows where each snot-cicle lands. :D
You may find this weird SNOT ROCKETS, they work every time, no need for tissues.
They don't work for me!! I end up with it all over my arm.
(I've only just recently learned to spit without wearing it)
I believe the correct term is farmer's hankie.
hankie? hankie? what's a hankie?
You've never heard of hankie-pankie?
hankie? hankie? what's a hankie?
http://www.chibigojitoys.com/cutestuff/squeezy/mrhanky.jpg you mean MR. Hanky
HIIIIIIDEY HO!
I think a runny nose is just part of cold-weather cycling. Make the best of it as long as your nose runs, you have to keep cycling to keep up with it :)
"People think it funny just because my nose in runny, but it' snot."
What a great snot-thread!.... :love: .....Feeling better, Mindy?.... :rolleyes:
hahaha!
I never expected to get so many responses!
I thought I was the only one with this problem!
You think biking causes running noses...Try scuba diving...You forget when you come up..It is downright embarassing..a real show...must be pressure differential...It just flows free and unchecked...not all bunched up and under pressure like biking.
"Well, You don't have to get 'snotty' about it!"
Get snotty, wasn't that the gangster/movie producer film?
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