Friday, May 30, 2008

question for all male skinsuit wearers....

i have been wondering about this for awhile so it came up in the car to last weeks friday night race with karla and kieran.
beth: so kieran. i have a personal question.

kieran: uh....... yeah?

beth: so...like... what happens when you are wearing your skinsuit at a urnal as opposed to at a porta-potty. do you strip the skinsuit down all the way to your knees? is that kind of weird? especially if the people next to you aren't in a skinsuit and are in a kit with a separate top and bottom?

karla: hahahahhaha

kieran: [in kieran's matter of fact, short tone.] don't know. never used the bathroom in my skinsuit

beth: what do you mean?

kieran: [again, in very candid tone.] just doesn't happen. i don't ever need to use the bathroom.

karla: c'mon!! what if you are in your skinsuit for four hours or more.

kieran: [adamant this time] it just doesn't happen.

karla: so what do you think happens? do guys strip all the way down--skinsuit to kees? do they shoot it out the leg of the spandex? or up through the zipper?

beth: this would really depend on the skinsuit. i don't think on mine you could go up through the zipper. the zipper is way up at the belly button.

kieran: you are going to have to ask someone else.

karla: joel will tell us.

beth: hernandez too.

however, we failed to ask the appropriate parties last friday night. so yesterday the topic arose again, and karla & mel suggested i open up the question to the blog-world. so comments much appreciated.

also, quads are 60cm.

and also, karla wanted me to express her aggravation that not one 45 yr old dude has offered to sponsor her! do you need to be reminded how cool she is? .... and racing age 45 is okay btw.

23 comments:

SickBoy said...

I typically roll up the leg no matter if it's a skinsuit or just normal jersey/shorts....

Steven Woo said...

You roll up a leg on your skinsuit and do your bidness...

I'd sponsor her, but I'm under 45. :)

Kieran said...

Hahaha! LMAO! Well I commented that I usually use the restroom immediately before adorning the skin suit, which helps to avoid trips whilst racing. Also, the suit would need to be completely pulled off in my case as the leg portion would be ruined by stretching it out any further on my thighs...

Furthermore, I only wear the skin suit at the track, and it's probably a much more important issue for women as their bladder capacity is *significantly* shorter than a mans.

Ever wonder why there is always a long line in front of a women's restroom at large gatherings? :-D

-kieran

beth bikes! said...

oh kieran- you are so funny! 56x12?! hahhahahahhaa. your quads must be huge! what is your measurement?!

Anonymous said...

I wear "girl skinsuits" so I can use the stall.
Jesus Chong

WarrenG said...

Like the Euros do during races, pull up one leg of the shorts. Some, less far up than others. If it's cold out, don't bother trying- just do as the women do (see below). If the quads are bigger than 65 then the shorts will be tighter and the maneuver may be more "intricate".

Women road racers have to be more clever about it during races, or get some assistance from rain or fluids from a waterbottle. Black shorts also help with the aesthetics issues.

runjoelrun said...

I'm so used to the 'roll up the shorts leg' mode that I use it in my street shorts! Who doesn't know that trick??

I still have three years before my sponsorship can begin.

beth bikes! said...

ooo la la. joel wears short shorts!

Itinerant Rick said...

If I owned a skinsuit, it would be the object with the 6" hole in the left hip after last Monday, so no worries :-)

So what does Karla sponsorship entail? Would we have to loan her our kit when she forgets hers? What else?

EB said...

Did somebody just imply that women wearing skinsuits have to pee their chamois? Ew...

place_holder said...

"sponsor" might be little too uptight for the 45+ gents. change your marketing strategy using a term "sugar daddy."

Itinerant Rick said...

Panda - Ms Chatterbox and I were at a party a ways back when some woman who was getting ready for triathlon was all excited because that day had been her first time to pee in the chamois. Not sure if that is really an accomplishment worth celebrating.

And the Cat 3 Women on the Kern circuit race had the solution; get the whole field to stop for a communal visit to the grassy field.

privateer said...

I like to drop hot snakes in my skinsuit.

Secundus said...

The real problem is when you stand up straight suddenly in a skinsuit. Instant headache!

Remember, they're designed to be warned when bowed over your bars.

runjoelrun said...

See Keiran doesn't have to solve this problem cause for him, the 50 min crit is a long ordeal.

Do a road race man! Then you'll come up with a solution. No 'I don't need the bathroom' after four hours in the saddle. Course that's not a skinsuit issue, but the same solution applies.

Kieran said...

well as soon as there is a road race less than 1hr away from, not interfering with a track race, with no climb longer than 20s in duration, and a race start time later than 8am, I'm all over it. :-)

Until then it's an impractical endeavor that interferes with my considerable night life....

Anonymous said...

wow a 4 hour RR! Try 8-10 straight days on a liquid diet, avg 90-120 mins/day off the bike,then we can talk about bathroom issues.
JC

Anonymous said...

roll up a leg...i can't seem to picture that in my head

is this like to go in the toilet or in the bush

this topic is eww.

Gilby said...

I recall a ride with a certain gentleman friend. He dropped off the back....only to reappear, grinning ear to ear because it was the first time he'd peed off the bike whilst wearing a skinsuit (apparently via the zipper). It was also while crossing a heavily trafficked bridge. Ugh, boys.

TreBone said...

most "cool" skinsuits have button flaps sewn into the front and a double on the rear. and they're made of wool and are red.

when not wearing the "cool" suit, then it's time to pull up the leg.

Tim Jackson said...

Well, before the EMT's cut my new skinsuit off of me... I did the leg roll and took care of the bidnitz that way. Going tinkle or whatever before slipping into the silly-suit is always a good idea. Afterwards, if a bout of "ohgodigottapoop" hits, you could be in trouble. One time, I had a friend pin my race numbers on and some of the pins went through my base layer as well. But I had to GO really bad... so I ripped the base layer to shreds fighting to get the skinsuit down before I ruined the chamois. The good news is that I won 2 race primes, including a new base layer, and made the podium in the final sprint... so what that all means, I'm not terribly sure.

Anonymous said...

You could always try David Sadaris stadium pal's lesser known relative, skinsuit pal with the accompanying fanny pack.

jAndy donka-donk said...

if you are short and hung, you zip it down and bend over a tad and tame the serpent....

Long story short, I have never had to roll up my shorts.

Luckily I have a great bladder and never have to pee in the middle of road races, or I wait for the GC to pee in the big stage races to pull over to the side with the masses.

If I ever get a UTI I am screwed....