There are certain things cyclists discuss openly.

Tire pressure. Heart rate. Watts. Nutrition. Saddle height. Whether someone really needed that new $9,000 bicycle.

And then there are the other things.

Among those is an important distinction rarely covered in cycling manuals:

The Power Snot Bomb is not the same thing as the Power Snot Rocket.

The Power Snot Rocket is the more sophisticated maneuver. The rider leans carefully to one side, places a finger against one nostril, takes aim with the other, and provides a short but decisive burst of air.

Done correctly, the result disappears harmlessly toward the shoulder and the rider never misses a pedal stroke.

Done incorrectly, you discover why cyclists wear washable clothing.

The Power Snot Bomb, by comparison, requires considerably less technique. It is the catch-all term for those less elegant attempts at clearing the respiratory system while continuing to ride a bicycle. Think of the Rocket as precision-guided technology.

The Bomb is more of an area weapon.

Riding alone, either technique is relatively safe. There are no witnesses, no complaints, and very little chance of losing friends.

Riding with another cyclist changes everything.

Now the experienced rider must calculate speed, position, trajectory and—above all—wind direction. A Power Snot Rocket fired into a twenty-mile-per-hour crosswind can perform aerodynamic feats not predicted by its operator.

A courteous cyclist looks before launching.

A good friend gives a warning.

A former friend says, “Sorry about that.”

Then comes the paceline.

Eight cyclists traveling twenty miles per hour with wheels separated by inches transform a simple biological necessity into an advanced course in fluid dynamics. The correct procedure is to move safely to the side, verify that the launch corridor is clear, check the wind and execute the maneuver.

Failure to follow these procedures may result in immediate reassignment to the back of the paceline.

Possibly for the remainder of the season.

Professional cyclists, naturally, have elevated the Power Snot Rocket to an art form. These are people who can eat lunch, remove clothing, retrieve bottles, consult the team car and repair minor mechanical problems while traveling faster than most of us can sprint.

They don't launch randomly.

They calculate.

Which brings us to the single most important rule governing both the Power Snot Bomb and the considerably more refined Power Snot Rocket:

Always check the wind.

Because every cyclist eventually learns the same lesson.

Aerodynamics works both ways.