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!
It's just part of the job. In that first race, it came as a surprise to Faulkner how casual it all is—and how exposed. “I just pulled over, and you just jump off to the side of the road and pull your bibs down. It's just… it's just butts out.
“If you're peeing to the right, your right leg is in a 6 o'clock position, left at 12, left hand on the handlebars, right hand holds the shorts down, and you coast while relieving yourself,” King says. Alternatively, riders will sprint off the front and get ahead of the peloton to take a break.
"Some guys lift up their shorts and go. Normally, if you're on a slight downhill, you can kind of just move to the side of the group and continue while you do it on the bike. Or you can get a teammate to push you."
Pee As You Ride
The final way professional riders pee as they ride is to simply go whilst on the bike. Unbelievably cyclists have been known to hold each other up as they pee, with each cyclist simply getting their willy out and peeing as they ride.
One of the most common reasons that cyclists' give for shaving is that it makes massages easier, more effective, less painful and you are less likely to suffer a follicular infection.
“The main thing at the Tour de France is sleeping well and recovering every night. The nights are very important. I always sleep eight hours,” Rigo says. Day in and day out for three straight weeks, Rigo and his teammates push themselves close to their breaking points during the Tour.
Indeed, French building codes require this separation. The location of French toilets is tied to a number of cultural issues, especially public vs. private space and concepts of clean vs. dirty.
During the race, riders would – and still do – drink continually. They also carry small snacks in their rear pockets, and depending on the duration of the stage, they may be handed a musette (a small cotton food bag) once or twice during the day.
The Tour de France organisers rank the quality of around 500 hotels across France and divide these among the various teams, to ensure that each team gets a fair blend of good, average and substandard hotels as they travel around France. That means that many world famous riders have to sleep in budget hotels.
Use your phone screen while riding: handlebar mount, top tube pouch, or possibly arm band. Carry other items like water or spare layers: backpack, hip pack, or bike accessory bag. Protect your phone during rugged riding: bike accessory bag, well padded backpack or hip pack.
However, cycling won't give you a bigger butt, but it can give you a better body due to its cardiovascular and muscle-building benefits. Cycling works your legs and glutes, especially when you're climbing, but it doesn't stretch enough or provide enough resistance to build big muscles.
Pro cyclists often ride 20-30 hours a week. Riders training for ultramarathon events may log even more. Recreational racers (category 3, 4, 5 and masters) usually put in about 10 weekly hours, although some get by on 5 or 7 quality hours if their events are short.
Tampons are a popular choice among women cyclists because they're convenient and generally minimize mess. One bit of advice I learned the hard way: Tuck that string in a bit. I've actually had rope burns on my sensitive tissues, which is as comfortable as it sounds.
Surprisingly, most of the pros with whom we spoke said that their method of peeing on the bike was to stop, drop, and go. They mentioned full-zip jerseys with stunning frequency. Others swear by the up-and-over method: pulling one leg of your shorts as high as possible, then shifting the chamois to the side.
09:00: Breakfast
Riders will have breakfast around three and a half hours before the race, with carbohydrate-rich foods such as bread, muesli, cereal, pancakes, rice pudding, smoothies, orange juice - and even noodles - to help top up glycogen stores. An accompanying strong cup of coffee almost goes without saying.
Are the Tour De France riders allowed to listen to music while competing? No, they are not. For bikers, listening to music while riding is one of the most dangerous things to do.
Hydration during the race
To account for different weather and hydration needs, riders use different concentrations of drinks as well as hydration tablets and plain water. Water and fruit juice drinks are consumed before and after stages and on the bus to ensure riders start each stage well hydrated.
Some higher class hotels have European-style flush toilets, but it should be fairly obvious which are which. France – Contrary to popular belief, many places in France have toilets that you can actually safely use and you'll be able to flush the paper. This isn't the 1980s you know.
Most Italian public toilets don't have a toilet seat.
This has to do with maintenance. Since public toilets are often less than spotless, people often climb with their shoes on top of them, not to sit on a potentially dirty seat.
However, while one of the systems most definitely is a toilet for human wastage, the other serves a different purpose. The other "toilet" is in-fact a bidet. You have likely heard of bidet but may not have come across one in the UK, as they are not installed as standard in UK homes or even in most hotels.
Cyclists drink Coca-Cola because of its sugar, an important carbohydrate source. Caffeine is an added benefit, giving the cyclist an extra boost. Finally, Coca-Cola also has a positive effect on the morale of the cyclist as it breaks the monotonous taste of sports drinks and energy gels.
In general, most riders will have completed their last long ride the weekend before the Tour, and then they start to dial it back by tapering. “They go from riding five to six hours a day to riding about an hour or so or just taking the whole day off,” says Lim.
The rule (2.2. 025) forbids riders from riding in the 'super-tuck' position – which saw riders sit on the top tube while descending – as well as riding in a 'time trial' position – where riders used their forearms as a point of support on the handlebars.