Brecon Beast yesterday, guy in a Royal Navy jersey.
I think I got his number, but I'll wait til the results are up to see if the number matches the team before I name names and possibly get the wrong one.

There were hundreds on the floor, but that's the only one I actually saw being dropped.

It was noticeable – I actually picked up three wrappers and stuffed them in my pack, but only on the couple of hike-a-bike sections.

Been using one of THESE for a while now, so much better.

I saw a lot of gel wrappers too, most annoying. And banana skins thrown randomly at and also after the feed stations. Which is a shame.

Dav whaqt number were you? Was it you in the Ystwytt CC top with the mahoosive bumbag/ shoulder strap combo?

FWIW I was no 450, and now star on the Brecon Beast homepage youtube clip. Yayyy, go me!

Not the Brecon Beast…..but…
Yesterday there was some kind of run around Ranmore common,Surrey.
I passed a drinks station and for the next 100 yards the BW was littered with gels,cups etc.

As i was catching up to a straggler i saw her drop gels and cups.
I stopped cycling , picked up the items she'd dropped and when i got alongside her asked her if she had forgotten these items.
She told me that she hadn't dropped them and then to **** off!.
GRR.
I stopped at the next race steward and put them in her binbag.
lazy bastids.

And banana skins thrown randomly

I throw banana skins into bushes when I'm done with them, they just degrade, and they'd be pretty horrible to keep in your pocket.

As i was catching up to a straggler i saw her drop gels and cups.
I stopped cycling , picked up the items she'd dropped and when i got alongside her asked her if she had forgotten these items.
She told me that she hadn't dropped them and then to **** off!.

That's pretty disgusting, I would've been pissed off with her.

I have seen gel packets on the floor before, but I've also come home once or twice and found one less wrapper then I thought would be in my jersey pockets. So they can fall out, and I've never seen anyone drop them, so I'm willing to let it go and not get mad if its just a few on a course.

they can fall out of pockets i accept that – i usually stick my used ones up the inside of the shorts but it gets gross on longer races.

but if i see someone look like they deliberately dropped something ill say something

also the SXC tried the innititive of having a bucket at the start and stop of the feed stations for throwing used wrappers in

this thing really pisses me off.

i spent the summer riding over the alps and on the more popular passes there is a long line of crap thrown by wanykers cyclists littering the verge.

i just don't get it. why bother carrying it up there only to throw away the .0001g wrapper?

really fecked me off.

and bananna skins, too… they take ages to decompose. the environment, soil and critters in the soil aren't able to quickly degrade the tough leathery skins.

one guy threw his bannana skin over a cliff and i went mental at him infront of the other guests.
>"was sagt deine frau wenn du das zuhause machst?"
"what would your misses say if you done that at home?"

>"sie würde verrückt gehen"
"she'd go mental"

>"ja, und das hier ist mein garten und ich bin deine frau"
"yup, this here is my garden and i'm your wife"

then made him climb down 3-4m and pick up his bananna skin. he felt really demoralised and the other guys took the piss out of him. this guy was about 45.

i then gave a speech that if i saw anyone chuck their crap away, that there wouldn't be any luggage waiting for them the next day at the hotel and that they can find their own way home.

oh…. and i harrassed a roadie i saw drop his gel wrapper outside of a cafe. called him a "wichser" (****) and "arschloch" (arsehole). he then threatened that he would take me to court and fine me for my swearing. so i called him several choice english words and then told him to "f>ck off".

oh, and if bananna skins are "icky", take a bag with you. not hard, is it….

take you to court for swearing at him? Thats class! "mr, mr, he called me a poo poo head!" "well go play at the other end of the playground!"

gel wrappers are an issue, but can't see the problem with banana/fruit skins..

lots of events do a post event cleanup – if you think trails are bad you should see glastonbury post event, though the crews do an amazing job to clean it up.

most areas of woodland/mountain ranges don't have a dedicated clean up crew. unless you mean the birds that use the bright shiny packaging to build their nests or the wind that simply carries the shit elsewhere….

and yes, this is germany. it's called 'Beleidigung' "er hat mich beleidigt". > "he insulted me."

and best of all, there is a sliding scale of offences and fines to match.

my mate got fined 900€ for calling a bus driver (that almost ran him over) an arsehole, waynker, and motherfecker. it'd have been a bit less if the guy wasn't in uniform and lots more if it was a copper.

you can even get done for giving someone the finger. i find it's cheaper to blow them a kiss and winds them up just as much.

Gels and wrappers – agreed. Pick it up.

Banana skins – WTF? Do you go round the rainforest shouting at monkeys when they leave their peels lying about?

When XC racing it must be the fast guys, as they are always in front of me.

Where's Nick – "Nick, what do you do?"

then made him climb down 3-4m and pick up his bananna skin. he felt really demoralised and the other guys took the piss out of him. this guy was about 45.

i then gave a speech that if i saw anyone chuck their crap away, that there wouldn't be any luggage waiting for them the next day at the hotel and that they can find their own way home.

Are you a guide? Do you ever get people coming back?

Banana skins – WTF? Do you go round the rainforest shouting at monkeys when they leave their peels lying about?

Glad I'm not the only one to find it a bit weird.

I actually take all my refuse out into the countryside, and dump it there, as it saves the bin workers from extra work, and means the waste is distributed more evenly throughout the countryside, rather than being concentrated in large ugly landfill sites. As household waste tends to attract animals and birds who feed off it, then this is good for the environment. Plastics and metals can help counteract soil erosion by providing a firmer base.

But then, I'm a caring considerate person.

banana skins last years in some outdoors environments.

Take nothing but photos, leave nothing but footprints ( or tyre tracks)

Do you go round the rainforest shouting at monkeys when they leave their peels lying about?

😆

Yup that was me Ambrose rider 627 – YstwythMTB top in the squashed frog colours of old YstwythCC.

How did you get on?

with the mahoosive bumbag/ shoulder strap combo?

Wingnuts are cool 🙂

There is a big push against dropping fruit cores / skins up in Scotland. In certain environments they just don't degrade over time, in particular in the mountains. Anyone who has been on the summit of Ben Nevis will certainly agree, it's pretty minging up there.

Link

I actually take all my refuse out into the countryside, and dump it there, as it saves the bin workers from extra work, and means the waste is distributed more evenly throughout the countryside, rather than being concentrated in large ugly landfill sites. As household waste tends to attract animals and birds who feed off it, then this is good for the environment. Plastics and metals can help counteract soil erosion by providing a firmer base.

But then, I'm a caring considerate person.

LOL 🙂

Alpin – why did you give us it all in German?

i then gave a speech …

oic ;-P

You like that one innit? 😉

Oh, and I forgot to mention that I use my nice diesel car to take my refuse out to the countryside.

RealMan – Member

Are you a guide? Do you ever get people coming back?

TBH, if that's their mentality than i'm not that bothered.

monkeys live in jungles where these fruits grow naturally and the animals and conditions within the ecosystem are set up for the mulching of bananna skins. scottis moors and alpine pastures aren't. simple really.

Cheeky Monkey – Member

Alpin – why did you give us it all in German?

weil ich kann.

and Elfin…. good job!

banana skins last years in some outdoors environments.

Citation?

Banana skins can take over a year to rot away completely.

People should take everything with them or dispose of it properly. Leave no trace.

Here's one example of banana rotting over 6 months. If in rocky cooler areas they take much longer – 1-2 years!!

http://www.ldwa.org.uk/lgt/web_page.php?c=7&p=207

Here's one example of banana rotting over 6 months.

So how exactly is this a bad thing?

It's a bit unfair to criticise the mess while the race is taking place. I've been witness to a few races where the competitors throw all sorts of rubbish on the floor and the organisers clear it up before leaving, leaving the site spotless.

I've done the clean up for 10 More in Moray for the last couple of years. TBH if it's a race then I don't mind the gel wrappers and bottles etc, a wee pootle round the course the day after with the pooch and a carrier bag hanging from the handlebars is quite good fun in a therapeutic kind of way. Any other time and I would be giving the offender a career brief. The yuckiest thing this year was a plaster that someone had decided they no longer needed half way round. I would hope that the race organisers have a litter sweep afterwards at every event.
I don't get the deal with the banana skins though. I've got a compost heap full of them, they seem to break down as well as anything else. Orange peel is a different matter but I've never seen anyone peel and eat one during a race!

Fair enough, but the way this reads

one guy threw his bannana skin over a cliff and i went mental at him

Was it really worth it?

Two years on average for a banana skin to decompose away

yes, but banana skins in somwehere like british woodland will be gone within days, I remember that much from school we put various bits of rubbish in the school garden to see what degrades and what doesn't. On a rocky mountain less so I grant you, but by day 3 the banana was barely recognisable (it was a crumbly banana shaped bit of soil).

The real problem is fertilising the soil, which is why you should never just kick dog eggs under the hedge, if theres a sign saying take it away its possibly to prevent the soil becoming over nourished and allowing non native plants to take hold. Especialy important at beaches/dunes and other sandy soil.

As a guide I'd expect a friendly word about littering, including banana skins etc. But to "go mental" at a guest is unprofessional IMO.

Wrappers dropped at trail centres or on natural trails are bad. Stuff dropped around feedstations at organised events is fine as they have a cleanup afterwards. Dropping it 3 miles down the road isn't exceptable though.

Not convinced about dropping Bananas in the woods being bad, I can believe it at altitude on rocky terrain but a few months to degrade surely isn't a big isse. How long do leaves take to degrade?

…and the organisers clear it up before leaving

Why should they have to though ?
If Glastonbury Festival adds £5 on the price of a ticket to cover the cost of a dedicated litter picking team after everyone has gone home, fair enough.
A small scale event that relies on volunteers and raises money for local charities shouldn't have to spend money on it or ask volunteers to do it for nothing.

Sounds like it. I'd have done the same. Littering is not cool. Even if it does degrade eventually, the people up there that afternoon, or that week or even month still have to look at your discarded sh*t.

On the top of some Welsh mountains there's a pile of organic crap that really spoils it. Doesn't matter if it'll be gone in a year, there's more replenishing it all the time.

On the subject of gel wrappers – I did once saw a fast racer neck a gel and then toss the wrapper on an enduro race. I shouted at him, and he wanted to slow up and remonstrate with me but I was too slow. I got his club/sponsor and was going to grass him up when I got back but I ended up forgetting it 🙁

Gel, what a joke, too many knobs take themselves and what they do way too seriously. Water and bananas is fine…

Stuff dropped around feedstations at organised events is fine as they have a cleanup afterwards.

The Market Place here at home also has a cleanup each day – so I take it it's OK to just to drop litter?

I did a ride on Exmoor last week and, walking on part of the route the day after, noticed that someone had chucked an inner tube into the hedge.

Just brainless!