Watch this video first, it’s a short one:
Okay, now I have some additional tips to add to this because they leave a lot out as can be witnessed by the Single Barrel Snot Rocket demonstration at 1:44 into the clip… Notice how much he got on his shoulder? Yeah, that’s unacceptable – and unnecessary. In all fairness, they’re filming this with a vehicle of some sort in front of them with a camera mounted to it, that limits what one can do to excavate one’s nose drippings.
Rule number one: Depending on the size of the group you happen to be riding in, the last position in a pace line is the best place to launch a snot rocket. If you’ve got one in the breech, wait till after your turn at the front and slide to the back. Or, if things are threatening to drip, which sucks, signal to those behind you, give a few good, hard pedal strokes to accelerate as you move over and out of the pace line and fall back. Or simply wait for a stop sign at an intersection to move to the back. All three of these options work well.
Wind!
The wind will dictate which side you blow the snot rocket from. A crosswind from the left, you blow to the right and vice-versa. A headwind? Doesn’t matter – whichever side you’re comfortable with. DO NOT try to blow snot into the wind. You’ll end up with snot all over you and your bike… and dried snot is a pain in the butt to get off of a bike without a blow torch*.
Single Barrel All the Way…
I am a single barrel snot rocket launcher because it’s easiest to keep from getting snot on me (as long as I respect the wind direction). I also disagree with their assessment that one must turn to the other side to clear the other nostril. This is not true at all. One must just be artful about it – and speed is your friend. The faster one rides, the more air one must push out of the way. This creates a vortex around the body and that vortex can be taken advantage of for the purpose of blowing snot.
How To…
Let’s say you’ve got a left to right crosswind so you want to blow your snot rocket to your right (never into the wind). For your right nostril, simply reach over with your left hand, turn your head a bit and plug your left nostril and blow. If you crane your neck a little to the right, this will help even more. Now, to clear your left nostril to the right, that vortex becomes even more important – I would not attempt this below 17.45 mph! Also, be careful to drop off the back just a little bit because you’re going to take your eyes off the road for a second and at 20 miles an hour you travel more than 30 feet in that time… Make sure you’ve got clear road ahead. Now, the vortex created by your body pushing through the wind will be greatest around your torso. Replace your left hand on the hood or bar top, remove your right from its perch then rotate your head further to the right and down so that you blow the snot rocket under your arm pit. If you get the angle wrong by an inch or so, the vortex will catch that snot and push it away from your body.
Practice makes perfect… BUT…
Practice makes perfect but imperfect practice makes you messy. Be careful – both about blowing a half of a nose-full of snot on yourself and mind your surroundings. You must be certain the road is clear or you’ll be taking a huge risk. With a little bit of practice, the one-sided single barrel approach is a very natural motion and can be completed in a fraction of a second with some diligent practice.
To wrap this up, if you blow snot on someone behind you, you will be thought of as what they call a twatwaffle. You do not want this and I do not want this for you – mind your snot. Please, for the love of God and all that is Holy.
*Parody, not to be taken seriously… Do not, under any circumstances, take a blow torch to your bike to remove snot. I can’t believe I had to come up with disclaimer. [Bows and shakes head]
Fit Recovery 
Okay, my VP walked by as I was watching the video with my head set on. Made it even funnier! Love the proper British chaps explaining how to perform a most uncivilized act!
I’m lucky and don’t really have a need for snot rockets, but a lot of runners do. Some of them could care less if someone else is in their blast zone. Mother &^*%#s!
Runners are big on spitting. Sometimes there is a failure to launch and you end up with that crap hanging off of your chin.
Hilarious post. 😉
Indeed! I always get a good chuckle from a failure to launch. And there is a special place in hell for those who catch someone else in the crossfire.
Apart from having a massive man crush on Si, these guys film on the roads around where I live 🙂
LOL! Nice. Don’t think I could handle all of the rain though… Holy God, you guys get some rain!
Nah.. it’s OK. . You get used to waterproofing; )
Great add-on to the video, Jim!
I love how they used dignified classical music for this video, it is such a humorous contrast to the subject matter that I had to laugh.
This is one reason winter cycling rocks, you don’t have to worry about snot because it gets frozen solid and stays put very nicely…at least until you get into a warm building, that’s when issues arise 🙂
Yes, sadly with my balaclava, this frozen plug idea seems not to work. Oh, and the fact I won’t go out below 20 degrees helps too.
This must have been a booger of a blog to write. There are so many large nuggets of information here. I’m green with envy.
♫You don’t tug on Superman’s cape, you don’t launch a loogie into the wind, you don’t pull the mask off the old lone ranger, and you don’t mess around with Jiiiiiiiim♫
That’s amazing, man. Damn.
Thank you, Snot Rocket Man.
😉 My pleasure Snots on Jacket.
Protein in reserve for those long rides when I forget to take an energy gel with me.
I just cannot get the hang of this. Usually end up with snot on face and jersey – not a good look!
No it is not. Practice in the shower. The trick is to commit. Short, SHARP, exhale. You want to feel like you’re launching a blow dart out of your nose.