When I was a kid there was a TV ad for Chateau Luzerne wine, which bragged that the bottle was bigger than a gallon yet cheap. Being interviewed was a wealthy, old man who lived in a mansion and drank the winel. He's asked why, with enough money to buy whatever wine he wants, he doesn't drink a more expensive wine. He responds in a sort of John Haussman like tone, "How do you think I got to be so ritch?"

I think that's wise to keep costs down. The tons of discarded napkins in the world give me feelings similar to that I get from receiving tons of junkmail that goes from the mailbox into the trash can without a second glance. It's a crying shame for those of us that want to conserve energy and natural resources.

Depending on riding conditions, I generally lube our chains at least once a week while on tour. I just keep the "extra" napkins to use for wiping down the chain. It is better use than just throwing them away.

+1. Even worse is all of the plastic waste that we create.

Regarding the junk mail, there is a national "Do Not Mail List":

https://www.directmail.com/directory/mail_preference/Default.aspx

+2. Most of the Subways I visit hand out a huge handful of napkins as well as a plastic bag. I always try to stop them from doing that, saying I'll eat it here, but most just give me a funny look and stuff away. Only once did I get a reusable plastic try instead of a bag.

It's like some grocery stores that are not set up fill a cloth bag. I think it's Walmart that has a carousel of plastic bags with no place to stage groceries and it's a pain to use reusable bags. I'm encouraged that some communities around here are starting to add a fee to plastic bags, and some stores give a credit for bags not used.

It's also easy enough to call the toll-free number on your junk mail and get off their list. I've been doing that for a quarter century, less than one call a month, and I don't get any junk mail. If you don't like junk mail, quit complaining and make the calls.

I shop at walmart and always hand the cashier my cloth bag before they ring anything up. I get looks from some people, others are cheerful about it. But regardless I get out of the store without plastic.

I have some "cloth" bags from Meijers, they have a grommet and an tab that will allow them to be hung from the plastic bag rack. I seldom buy more than fits into a couple of bags at a time anyway.

Aaron

If you keep getting junk mail from a firm despite telling them you don't want it, you can use one of their business reply envelopes to send their junk back to them. Or you can take it a bit further:

I like the way this is going. Finally getting down to important stuff like how we are poisoning the universe with napkins. Poisoning people no problem.

How hard is it to say "I don't need a bag for that"? I do so nearly every time I shop. I have been carrying how my groceries and other things in a Timbuk2 bag since the 90s, long before it was "green" to do so. If they put an item in a bag, simply take it our and hand back the bag. No place to "stage" your groceries? Put you bag on the floor and load each individual item after it is rung up.

Although I never even think of eating at Subway any other time, I often get my meat-free meals at Subway when I'm out on a tour. Aside from the veggie patty, they can make you a really tasty veggie hero with or without cheese.

Your implication here is that Subway is setting out deliberately to poison people, like they are dropping a chemical into a city's water supply with the distinct intention of killing people.

They aren't doing that, and for you to imply they are is fatuous in the extreme.

No one forces you or anyone else to eat at Subway, or at any other FF outlet or any other restaurant, or in any other way. It's one of the distinct advantages of living in a "free" country where you are able to make choices.

Like everything else, it's a matter of Buyer Beware. If it doesn't suit you, you have the choice to move on.

Some people just like to feel superior. MassiveD is just so much better than the rest of us low lifes because he does not eat fast food. I'll bet massive D makes zero impact on the environment too. His bicycle is fashioned from old tin cans and bailing twine he found on the side of the road. And no problem with depositing feces on the planet because he stores it internally. Dear God I feel so inferior now.

I agree that it is hard to not like Subway, but it is WaaaY down my list. The reason is the LACK of calories. I skip all the sauce calories for one thing. Like granny said on those commercials 20 years ago .... WHERE'S THE BEEF ???? They give a few bits of meat, I like turkey the best. With lettuce, tomato and cheeze. Arby's has no veggie, so I'm not interested.

I've eaten fast food 12 to 15 thousand luches and suppers. Less than 5 made me sick after. Smorgs are not so uneventfull.
80% was DQ hamburger fries and often strawberry sundaes. Next is McD burger and fries. For chicken I go to A+W, Burger King or McD. KFC is sooo greasy. In small town america I first look for cafe hot turkey sandwich and pie. Away from home I often have pie, juice and toast for breakfast. Mother's in Klamath Falls was the best, that was 1979 I think.

He can also speak out against the crap so many of these junk food purveyors are peddling. Do you have a problem with that?

Why would I have a problem? All I would do is point out -- yet again -- that people have choices, and if they choose to eat what you describe as crap, they are perfectly entitled to do so.

I just had a delicious smoked salmon fettucine topped with paramesan cheese in a nice little restaurant on the tourist strip in Hobart. Delicious.

That's how I expressed my freedom of choice.

Are you obese?

I need to eat at Subway again, I must have missed something? Apparently you can dream, dare, do but don't speak ill of Subway, really?

To The OP:

Sorry to see that what was intended to be an innocent, informative post has degraded to this level. It's happened to me a few times.

To Everyone Else:

Unless I'm totally missing something, I think the point was simply that there are a lot of damned Subway shops across America and that these are a decent option when you're out on tour and looking for something fast, consistent, casual, cheap, and perhaps vegetarian. Period.

Another great option, although these are harder to find, is Chipotle, my personal favorite. Chipotle offers healthier options that still pack protein and other good stuff to keep you pedaling strong. And in many places, a good portion of the ingredients are local and/or organic. For me, a burrito packed with brown rice, black beans, guacamole, and nothing else is the way to go.

@ Ekdog
NO I was never more than 177 lbs on my 5' 8". That isn't even plump. I don't get tripples or mega meal addons.
For 20 years I had a very aeorobic job in woodwork. The last 5 summers I struggled to not get skinny from 4000 cycling miles avg. Most years I was around 166. Actually it's chocolate bars that add the weight fastest, I've had plenty of them too.

As for healthy eating, avoid DIET soda poison like the plague !!! 3 years ago I quit drinking soda/Pepsi with the fast food and haven't had acid indigestion since. Juice has the same sugar I hear, but it doesn't disolve your bones.

There are several guys who eat almost nothing but McD and one guy "collects" McD locations by the thousand.

PS When I was about 50 my DR. said I had a heart like an 18 YO.
Now my BP is i bit high.

+1. But I don't wait for a plastic bag that I don't want. I hand the clerk my cloth bag before the first item is rung up and ask "please put my groceries in this bag - thanks". I've yet to have anybody refuse me and insist that I have one of their plastic bags instead.

The place where I live now has just banned statewide retailers from issuing customers with lightweight plastic bags. Be prepared for that when visiting Tasmania, Australia.

Wow, that's amazing! Most people would pork out on a diet like that. Lucky you!

As I recall, there was a fellow in the Supersize Me documentary who ate exclusively at McDonald's and never got fat and managed to stay healthy, unlike Morgan Spurlock, whose body couldn't handle even three weeks on such a diet.

Good for Tasmania! If more places did that, we might be able to put a dent in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch and other similar ones that are being discovered.



https://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/tra...-garbage-patch

Edited to add this:

https://www.realnews24.com/gray-whale...plastic-trash/

Every Subway stop is two meals for me. I usually stop on my way into the Everglades (3-4 days away from food in a boat) and bring it "in" for my 1st lunch and 1st dinner. On the bike, I have half at the Subway and bring the second half along for my dinner stop.