Yes. You. Bin it you asshat!

Sadly see the same around here when a charity ride race sportive comes through.

Is it really that hard to put the empty wrapper up the front of your shorts until you can properly dispose of it?

I’ve never dropped one. Empties just go under the leg grippers. Not only that, I don’t rip the tab off completely so there is no waste.

Can’t understand littering.

No excuse, I often wonder if these people just chuck their rubbish on the floor at home.

They see the pros do it & emulate

A fella in front of me during Tour of the Borders did it about a mile before a designated litter drop spot. If I wasn’t so fat and slow I would have caught up with him to give him a piece of my mind.

Instead I inwardly seethed. That’ll teach him.

I only saw 3 (which I picked up) at Ard Rock at the weekend, considering the size of the event, I was slightly surprised.

Sportive roadies are very important though…

And proof in the pic in the OPs link that the Torq tab retainer is a useless waste of time. Such a simple redesign is all that’s needed to make it work it makes you wonder how they managed to go so far out of their way to design it so badly.

I munched on an SIS go bar the other day, in a howling cross head wind. I struggled to get it out of my jersey top, as I took the last bit I considered stuffing it under my leg gripper but swiftly tucked it up under the front of my top so the wrapper was against bib front.

Thinking nothing of this a Voice just shouted “Well Done”

Then a rider pulled alongside me explaining how he was just waiting for me to throw it down, oh contrare I replied, I’ve been known to stop and pick up wrappers, this particular route is very scenic and runs beside a canal. Why any one would discard rubbish in the first place I have no idea.

I’ve lost count of the amount of times I’ve been out on bike and just come across McDonald’s chip carton pouches, a burger box and the dreaded brown bag. It’s got to be linked. Somehow.

Last weekend I rode the strines and Holme moss, I couldn’t believe how many coke tins and gel wrappers were on that last long bendy climb on the strines after deliverance, WTF am I doing wrong, I could barely breath let alone ride one handed sipping Coca Cola.

The Tour de Ben Nevis route suffers from discarded gel wrappers as well, must be some pretty determined roadies to get up there… 🙄

Event organisers should be made to ensure that the route is cleared following the sportive. These event organisers should pass the cost on as part of the entry fee. Its disgusting that people think its OK to chuck a wrapper on the floor. So if its becoming a big problem then something needs to be done about it. Making everyone pay will be a sure fire way of ensuring its self policed.

Put a £1 deposit on gel wrappers, maccy d’s/bk burger boxes, and chewing gum remains.

Some filthy buggers on Mabie red loop the other day too, that obviously didn’t have any space left in their camelbak for a used SIS or Torq wrapper.

I’ve seen people drop food wrappers on mtb events too, in the middle of forests in Wales. It’s not just roadies.

Always pick up other people’s wrappers. Littering utterly perplexes me. I frequently point this out to people I see dropping litter, one day I’ll get a smack in the chops I’m sure…

I get that there’s litter-droppers in all walks of life. What I don’t get is why so many riders use them for riding at a moderate pace. You hear “they’re convenient” – yes, when full, but messy enough when used that they get thrown at the trail/roadside?

Event organisers should be made to ensure that the route is cleared following the sportive. These event organisers should pass the cost on as part of the entry fee. Its disgusting that people think its OK to chuck a wrapper on the floor. So if its becoming a big problem then something needs to be done about it. Making everyone pay will be a sure fire way of ensuring its self policed.

This

I cannot abide litter and will often pick stuff up to put in a bin. My GF calls me a womble but unfortunately I never find anything of use, just empty energy drinks cans mainly.

Event organisers should be made to ensure that the route is cleared following the sportive.

There are one or two event organisers around here who don’t bother clearing their arrows and directions away, so they probably aren’t bothered by the participants littering.

It’s not just cyclists though. Take a walk around your town or city.

Disgusting.

York 10k run was last weekend, plenty of gel wrappers along the river bank. On the section thats less than 15 mins from the finish.

This boils my wee. We live in Peaslake which is about half way on the ride and the verges are covered in discarded gel wrappers after the ride London comes through. It’s not so bad with the other sportives that come through, presumably due to the number of entrants, but still an issue. I’m not sure putting up the entry cost to cover a full clean up works as it will stop more responsible yet less affluent people entering which isn’t fair. That said I have no idea what the solution is though. What about gifting an entry to a certain number of riders of varying speeds who are then also given go pros for their bikes. Any riders caught on camera littering are fined and banned.

The triathlons I have done (which isn’t many) have been very forthright about littering, and the penalty is immediate disqualification. I don’t know if that is because they once had a problem or if it has just always been part of the sports ethos, but it is a shame that most other events tend to only pay lip service to the problem.

and the penalty is immediate disqualification.

That’s all good in an actual race but not for a sportive where the rider will have finished and got their time anyway.

Any riders caught on camera littering are fined and banned.

I can see that one being incredibly difficult to actually police. You going to have cameras covering the entire route? Are you going to be able to prove that the small piece of wrapper flickering by at the point an entire peloton wizzes through came from rider 21744?

It needs big litter zones with some catch-netting, a really strict briefing and a comprehensive post-event litter scrub. That’ll be a more effective use of money than a load of hidden cameras and then trying to track down individual riders afterwards to fine them a few quid.

I’d be willing to bet than in a post-event litter pick they come up with as many fast-food wrappers from cars as they come up with gel wrappers. But a litter pick would also be a great way of appeasing the community – look we cause this disruption but afterwards we go through and we pick up everything, all the newspaper, fast-food, beer cans, dog shit, gel wrappers, the whole lot. Doesn’t it all look nice now!

incredibly difficult to actually police

that’s why I suggested a prohibitive deposit on wrappers and other items that just get tossed in to the verge.
pay the fine up front, get a refund later if you’re not a lazy litterbug.

In other news my roadie son was cycling when a car shot out of a t-junction without stopping and looking, he slammed on the anchors and stayed upright then shouted at car driver. Car driver shouted back then threw a cup of coffee, minus lid, at my son’s face. A witness gave him their details, son wasn’t totally sure about the registration but reported it to the Police. He was certainly shaken up, fortunately no burns to his face.

He was a Costa’d?

(sorry)

A genuine cuddly bear wouldn’t make such a comment. 😉

That’s all good in an actual race but not for a sportive where the rider will have finished and got their time anyway.

I understand you’re point, but that doesn’t mean the organisers shouldn’t try. Make sure it is in all the bunf that littering is not acceptable, tell them that if they are caught littering their time will be removed or not given, banned from future events etc.

I actually don’t know what spotrives are like, but when I did a 1/2 ironman, and for me and I expect the reality for most people paticipating it was very much what I understand a sportive to be, it was made very clear what littering meant and the penalty for doing so, ie I would be removed from the event.

Pro riders should lead the way on this. Total UCI ban on littering, with disqualification automatically.
Then the same attitude at events and club rides.
Design in short 25metre long walking section, with bins each side, on events. Stop, dismount like on Tri events, walk (not run), remount.
We have to solve this issue. It’s deeply ingrained in our culture in uk to drop litter it seems.

Malt loaf.

Proper road jerseys with pockets to put wrappers in when you’ve finished your chicken sandwich or pork pie.

Annoys me a lot.

I try to pick whatever I can up and stick it in a bin. The one that gets me is at Farmer John’s in Stockport.

At the sheds in the middle, there are 5 bins within 20 feet of each other, yet shit heads just leave bottles, energy drinks and all sorts of crap all over the place…

I did the Dragon sportive a few years ago and watched a rider in our group throw a wrapper in the ditch. Like a man with no balls I said nothing but just seethed – I so wish I had kicked his front wheel from under him.
Did an ACycling event last year, and Matt Page was very keen that any littering was reported and the guilty rider would never be allowed to enter one o f his events again. Top bloke with principles.

I hate littering. Hanging is too good for them ( as it leaves a mess).

Nothing a Kercher pressure washer or a bit of rain won’t dilute. I rode this afternoon and couldn’t help think about this thread when I passed a freshly harvested oil seed rape field, the amount of litter of all sorts next to the hedge bottom beneath the long stubble was unbelievable.

Beer cans seem to be a particular favourite around my way? A mate of mine had a full tin of Stella thrown at him the other day, assuming they aren’t all full when they leave the car window why are people driving round happily throwing beer tins from cars? Does any one else see this beside the road or is it just me?

Not just you xyeti, it’s all over the place. The 5p bag charge is a start, but it’s a drop in the ocean. I’d like to see something done about takeaway litter, it’s a massive problem.

Agreed with you guys. We live 6 miles from the nearest MaccyD and the wrappers turn up all over the country lanes around here, not to mention monumental numbers of beer cans, soft drink cans, plastic bottles and even wine bottles. Given that a significant proportion of the population think this is an acceptable way to dispose of rubbish, it’s hardly surprising a proportion of sportive riders think chucking gel wrappers is also ok.
Solutions? A tax on non-returnable packaging to pay for the clean-up. Bar-coding of packaging from drive-through outlets with vehicle registration details so fines can be sent to the registered keeper if the packaging is found on the verge.
Re. Gel wrappers, dunno. I do know that when I rode the Eroica in Derbyshire this summer. I didn’t see any.

Some good ideas there Neil, you can almost hear some scrote in a Corsa blaming the bin men though for dropping McDonald’s rubbish that he claims he disposed of respectfully.

I wonder if taking pictures and posting on STRAVA or similar under a ride would kick start relevant authorities to take some action, or an app like the Pot Hole reporting that is flagged up?

Getting back to the Gel Wrapper thing, its pretty much a given that the pro’s need to tidy their act up so wannabe’s don’t have to emulate the gel sling and disposal of said wrapper at crank height so it doesn’t flutter up and obscure another rider behind.
Punishment should be returning to the same pretend team car but this time pick up 9 full water bottles, “bidon” in their case and ride with them stuffed up their top just like the pro’s. It’s funny how you never see that.

Do we really think eejits littering is anything to do with the pros? The pros get fined for littering outside of designated areas already, but if adults can’t think for themselves we’re all ****.

Ride a longer UKCE event with gels at the fodstops and the next significant hillside wil be littered with gel wrappers . Trodden into the mud by the next few hundred riders
So lets not get on that high horse about it being exclusive to roadies

Didn’t see much littering and do wonder about the type of people who need energy gels by the time they get to Richmond Park.

Ride through Richmond Park 2 days after ride London on my way into London and one thing I did notice was the sheer volume of picnic rubbish under trees on the road across to the ballet school. Ride London is (quite rightly) taking a bashing but there is a lot worse littering regularly in the park that goes unmentioned.