UHHH, No. I am not speaking of the women’s roller derby player – Snot Rocket Science – talented as she may be. I am speaking of a term used in many sports. Yes, an ‘abrupt’ term, but descriptive enough for most to understand. Unless you are at a roller derby event. Or, maybe they use the term also … I think it is sort of – universal. How do I know about the roller derby? Am I a closet fan of this sport? Not really but I do know at least one player from the past …
Back on topic, whatever you want to call it we should discuss it. It is not uncommon for your nasal passages to fill with unwanted substances that your own body has produced. Those substances are helpful, but not convenient at this moment. You need/want to rid yourself of this excess substance and you are in a paceline. How do you do it?
Please – think about others. Actually, that is the overall rule in any paceline or group ride. It is not about you – it is about the group. At his moment it is also about individuals in that group.
I know, you think you are a pro and can eject that substance from your nose with such force that it will not impact anyone around you. You probably cannot. Maybe you can. Does that mean you should? Maybe you can drive home drunk and get there without killing anyone. Maybe you cannot. Truthfully, you do not know. So the appropriate course of action is to NOT engage in that behavior. Choose the course of action that ensures safety for all.
In case you did not understand – please do not eject any bodily fluid from your body in a group ride or paceline unless you move to the back of the line or are able to pull very wide of the others (interpretation: farther away than you would want a large truck to pass) and then eject it away from the group. Still, you should be near the back because – air currents. We are creating our own. We are not always aware of the natural air currents since we are focused on the ones we are creating.
No one wants your body fluids on them. Ok, I understand … it happens. Sweaty Sam is in front of you pulling and there is a sweat storm all around him. If you are behind him drafting, then you are getting covered. OK. I understand. The difference? Sweaty Sam is not trying to eject that sweat, if he could control it I think he would. Your choice now is to draft him and take what you get … or to pull … or to move to another position, but we are not really talking about the ‘uncontrollable stuff’.
We do not purposefully sweat on others, we do not purposefully ride through a puddle of water to throw water on those behind us, but sometimes it happens.
Purposefully ejecting body fluids should be done … purposefully. That purpose should not be limited to just ejecting the body fluid from your body. It should also include being purposeful, so it does not come in contact with another body. C’mon – you are trying to get rid of it, do you think another is trying to find it?
Is this a problem on your group rides? Is everyone courteous? Tell me about a ‘bad’ experience that you had related to the above content… or tell me about the last roller derby event you attended… your choice.
