I cycle quite a bit (500-1000km / month), but my recreational routes have all been near areas where I know I’ll have access to public toilets and clean drinking water.
I’d love to venture out onto more rural roads and areas, way outside of areas that might normally have toilet access, but that’s quite literally the only thing holding me back from doing so.
What are your strategies? Piss by the side of the road and hope nobody sees you? Squat out in a heavily forested area and risk ticks?
This is not a topic that ever gets talked about with cycle tourists, endurance riders, and other long-distance cyclists, so I’d love to know how to approach this!
IDK, I only need to poop like once/day, and I can usually go two if needed without too much discomfort. I find that if I get some fluids first thing in the morning, I have one visit to the bathroom in the morning and I’m good for the rest of the day.
In fact, I can count the number of times I’ve had to use a public restroom for #2 on one hand for the past year, and those were almost universally stomach aches.
I’m a guy, so peeing outdoors really isn’t an issue. When I did it regularly (I’d spend a lot of time in nature), I would bring hand sanitizer. These days it’s rare enough that I only sanitize when I make it back to civilization.