[Closed] Gel wrapper droppers. Name & shame.

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 [url= http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?PartnerID=79&ModelID=17064 ]THESE [/url]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 [s]wanykers[/s] cyclists littering the verge.

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

really ****ed 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" (****er) 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 mother****er. 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.

[url= http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/sep/24/bananas-litter-hikers-mountains-scotland ]Link[/url]

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.

[img] [/img]

[img] [/img]

[img] [/img]

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

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!

Just brainless!

Yeah, who runs tubes now anyway...

too many knobs take themselves and what they do way too seriously

Right, so racing and training etc is wrong, is it? Should I not do it?

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!

I take it there's no lamposts on Exmoor?

^^
i think he was pointing at those recreational riders that buy into the idea that they need gels to get them over the line.

i saw it, too, over summer. those that arrived on some [s]plastic[/s] carbon bikes were usually those that pulled out the gels after the first 50m ascent of a 1200m climb. just keep pedalling and you'll be fine.

and those with carbon bikes were usually the fattest/mos unfit.

carbon statt kondition.

allthepies - Member

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.

maybe, but i also think it's bloody minded to throw your litter into the wild.

to be fair, i always said at the beginning of a tour that i didn't want to see anyone throwing any litter into the bushes and that i had a small plastic bag (those that you get at the supermarket when buying your banannas) in my bag. most people then took their own litter bag and were considerate towards the environment they were outside utilising for their own pleasure.

but, some people are pig minded.

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 think we're talking about different situations - I was thinking more of feed stations where you don't stop and just get handed something as you go past. Maybe this applied to running and bike races more. Obviously stopping at a sportive feed station having a cake and chatting then tossing the rubbish on the floor is pretty stupid.

I am severely anti litter and often collect litter on the trail, nut I really can't see the problem with bannna skins or any organic material, good for the environment and the critters. How long does it take for animal poo or a dead animal to decompose? Just as long I suspect. I see banana skins as part of the natural environment. Gel packs however are not.

alpin where do you guide? It would be good to know as you sound like someone I would pay not to be near.

energy gels taste like shit, why do people eat this carp!

Problem is that these gel droppers are racing too fast.
No one else, not a soul, gives a hoot where you finish in a race.
Stuffing sickly gel in your face so you can finish in 46th place rather than 53rd.
These folk should take a look at the new method of racing I have developed.
You race flat out, until you get weak. Stop for some cheese, pie, olives and sometimes smoked oysters. Wash down with the traditional Italian power drink of chianti.
Chill out and watch the race go by. Pack your rubbish back In your pack.
Then get back on your bike and race flat out.
If you time it right you get to race the race leaders - they just happen to be one lap ahead.

There is no excuse for dropping gel/bar wrapper. I can understand if people occasionally miss their pockets or whatever but to just throw them on the ground is moronic. At some I've been to you get disqualified for littering. At others you got discounted gels if you handed in wrappers at the end of the race.

I have no issue with bananas generally but you need to give a moments thought to wif and where you should be throwing them. If you are somewhere where they will be obvious or persistant then best not too. Also if you are doing a sportive and there are 1000 riders behind you then perhaps the pocket is the way forward.

Charlie, the guy who inspired me to start this thread dropped the gel wrapper just as I was about to overtake him. That gives you some idea of how far off elite pace he was if he couldn't even keep up with me.

[i]Sorry children, but Daddy wont be coming from that much deserved, & very expensive week biking in the Alps. He lost is footing retrieving a banana skin, & fell to his death. But a nice bi-lingual man who owns the Alps, got off on berating Daddy in front of his mate before he fell.[/i]

Nothing like free advertising eh. 🙄
To be fair, the way your post read you just sounded a bit pedantic, I'm pretty certain that your not. 😉

But, time again to remind Zak, who rides the Monkey trail at Cannock, to take his sandwich bags home with him. Or at the very least tell his Mummy not to write his name on the bag if he's going to skewer them on a tree at the start of the last run.

alpin - Member
…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 mother****er. 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.

A sliding scale of offences!
I must see that with translations!
😀

Personally, I like the cut of young alpins jib. I'd rather be out with a guide that cared about the environment he was riding in and introducing his clients to than one who treated the countryside like a waste bin.

And those advocating throwing your "organic" litter around. I guess it's OK for you, but not if everyone did it eh? Would you want to be out somewhere that 1,000 other countryside (ab)users had also thrown their crap around before you got there??

I did a half marathon a couple of years back, first organised event i'd ever done (being an anti social git it's not really my thing) and i decided to wear my camelback rather than use drink stations, carry my top for when i finished etc. More than one person had a pop as to why i had to carry my gear with me but when i saw people taking water bottles, having a couple of swigs then tossing the bottle away (part of this run went through a residential area, litter was being chucked into people's gardens) and the amount of litter that was lying around was sickening. I finished about a third of the way up a field of about 9000 so i dread to think of the mess left behind me. Oh yeah, and the tagline of the run? The race against climate change.

Did the public stage of the tour of Britain as well and the amount of discarded gel wrappers was sickening, just being chucked into the undergrowth. Lots of those wrappers will have lain undiscovered, how much bother is it to take a wrapper home? But litter is a problem in this country, it's everywhere you go. There's no excuse for it, it's just ignorance, arrogance, laziness and a lack of pride and respect for the surroundings. No matter what it is, whether it be organic or not, should we not at least make the effort to take away what we brought out with us?

I litter pick most of the [url= http://www.thetfordmtbracing.com/ ]Thetford MTB Racing[/url] events post race and on the whole most of the litter was already there before the event so therefore we leave the forest cleaner than we found it. There is no need to drop any litter and there should be no expectation that it is 'someone elses job' but it is bound to happen. I even pick up the gel tags (those that I see) and at the end of the day if the area end up cleaner than it started it helps ensure the continued use of the forest to do what we all love doing whether it be MTB, running, enduro etc.

It's not just the events either [url= http://timbermtb.org/website/ ]TIMBER[/url] has two trailers kitted out with bins and litter pickers and do regular litter patrols across the forest (mostly cycle trails) so if you use the forest and care about it join and take part or at the very least join and we'll put your fiver to good use building and maintaining the cycle trails you love to ride!

charlie the bikemonger - Member
These folk should take a look at the new method of racing I have developed.
You race flat out, until you get weak. Stop for some cheese, pie, olives and sometimes smoked oysters. Wash down with the traditional Italian power drink of chianti.
Chill out and watch the race go by. Pack your rubbish back In your pack.
Then get back on your bike and race flat out.

where do I sign up? 😀

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

Agreed.

Personally, I like the cut of young alpins jib. I'd rather be out with a guide that cared about the environment he was riding in and introducing his clients to than one who treated the countryside like a waste bin.

Again, agreed.

I run the SXC and other events at Drumlanrig.

At the end of a busy race weekend setting up the course, marshalling, taking down tape etc at the end of it all; the last thing I need is to be picking up gel wrappers off the trail or even out of the undergrowth (where some halfwits think it's a good idea throw them).

It's hard enough to get volunteers to marshall a days racing, let alone asking them to pick up some selfish t0sspots litter at the end of it.

So if you're racing or at an event don't assume that there's a bunch of happy litter pickers looking after your sh1t;

JUST DON"T DROP IT!!!!!!!!!

bangin on, That's my philosophy, if the organiser puts in all the work of organising the event the least I can do as a local is spend a couple of hours supporting that effort to help ensure the events continue to be organised. There seems to be an attitude in some quarters that you pay your money (to enter an event) and you expect a service as you would in a commercial or retail situation. There does have to be some gain for an individual carrying the burden of organisation and risk but all those who enter events also have to realise that there can come a point where an organiser can just say 'sod the hassel' and walk away resulting in one or more events less on the calander! They are not obliged to lay on events, generally they are also enthusiasts with a (masochistic?) ability to want to organise an event for fellow enthusiasts. Those that see it as a way of making a quick buck will not often last the course because they will not be completely aware of what their 'target' audience expect. Any organiser should and will happily expect constructive feedback, it's all too easy in these days of forums for some 'wannabe atherton' to flame an event for some minor issue they had (often of their own making) and undermining a lot of the hard work put in by a lot of people to supply the MTB community with a wealth of events across the country!