Litter
 

It is a pet peeve of mine that cyclist litter the roads with their Gu and energy bar wrappers. I ride mostly in the mountains and the only ones using those products up there are cyclists. How arrogant to toss your 100 calorie waste of money in a National Forest.
While watching the TDF today a few riders crested a climb and were handed food. An Astana rider battling with Volker for KOM points was handed a gel pac and while on camera he squeezed it down. These guys don't use the 100 calorie pacs but use the larger 600 calorie ones so it took him a couple of moments. When finished , still on camera, he folded it up and put it in his jersey pocket. I was surprised and pleasantly so. Right on. If a guy fighting for a coveted jersey in the TDF can care enough about our planet to not litter then I think we a cyclist should be able to do so as well. http://stopsmokingweeds.com/2/index.jpgCome on people, lets be responsible.
FYI, I carry a gel flask filled with honey. Ounce for ounce the same caloric content, pure glucose that goes straight into the blood stream by-passing the liver, and 0 litter.

+1000... jersey pockets carry empty gel packets just as easily as unopened gels...

Im with you.

Thank goodness you posted this. Somebody needed to finally create a thread about littering here....again

The only thing I discard are banana peels. Any wrappers from food go home with me.

It appalls me that people who enjoy the outdoors can do this. I spotted the following on my ride around the lake one morning this summer. Where it was located in the road it was clear that another cyclist had tossed it there. If you have the ability to bring it out there, you have the ability to bring it back in.
http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=275864

I always thought that in a race situation there are people who come along later and pick up the stuff from the racers. Maybe not. I mean they toss out empty water bottles and stuff, and I would think those would be picked up. But yeah it's just better to not throw anything on the ground, not intentionally anyway.

I wouldn't have a problem throwing down banana peels since those are organic anyway and will just go back into the soil.

I discard nothing until I find a trash can

Things that can be dissolved (fruit nuts, banana skin, or paper handkarchiefs) i throw in the forrest. Dhey quickly become food for the plants. Other things I carry to the nearest trash bin.

Once on a group ride a chick threw an empty coke bottle by the road. I gave her a look. She smiled and said "when we come back next time, hope there'l grow a coke tree". It was funny. :)

Didn't see her litter ever again though.

now you've done it...

I don't think that honey is pure glucose. "With respect to carbohydrates, honey is mainly fructose (about 38.5%) and glucose (about 31.0%)" - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honey#Nutrition

Otherwise, I agree that littering is bad. I saw a discarded tube on the side of the road yesterday.

Please don't.

Will. No problem. Animals and trees like it. :)

No. No they don't.


http://www.guardian.co.uk/environmen...tains-scotland

They take 2 years to degrade?

What happens to them when in a litter box? They are taken elsewhere to pollute. I hike and ride bike very often and I don't see fruit leftovers much. Plastic, aluminium etc yes, but fruit seems to blend and degrade very quick round local mountain here. So I see no point in throwing it in the litter box. Worms love it, birds love worms...

Well, at least dig a hole and put your "compost" there so that we don't have to look at all the crap strewn on the road or trail.

That guardian article is wrong unless you have some sort of mutant bananas in the UK. Banana peels will biodegrade naturally 3 - 5 weeks... quicker if the conditions are right. They are unrecognizable after week in my compost pile.

There you go. Banana peels feed the foliage along the side of the trail. Just throw it where it's not totally obvious. :)

+1 But, please don't just throw them down on the pavement.

well yeah, I wouldn't do that.

FWIW I normally do throw banana peels in the trash can. But then I normally don't eat them while actually riding or in areas where a trash can isn't readily available.

Absolutely!!

It's horribly riding along through a beautiful area only to see people's litter everywhere.

I do hope these litterers here at least join a highway clean-up program to undo some of their damage. Maybe it would be an eye-opening experience.

Wait.

So you were watching the TdF today?

Yep, honey gives your liver a pretty good workout actually. Although thats not all bad when you are in the middle of strenuous exercise.

I hear you man, right now the chicago marathoners are in full swing as far as their training goes, empty gu packets all over the place.
I too bring my empties home, where I discard them on to my pile of burning tires.
Kidding. I hate litter.
Don't make the indian cry!