Koyote

I think the OP's observations have more to do with her locale than with cyclists in general.

In the several places I've lived and cycled extensively (four different states), I've never seen a single CO2 canister or inner tube on the roadside.

genejockey 

I've seen too many of those on the road. I make it a habit to stuff my used food wrappers in the one pocket I won't generally take anything out of till I get home - the one that holds my cleat covers. This is after getting home one time to discover that the wrapper I'd stuffed back in the pocket where I put my food was not there, and had probably fallen out when I grabbed the other package later in the ride.

skidder

The local MUP in my area is pretty busy on weekends, with a fair number of weekday riders, but I still don't see any cartridges or used tubes while riding it. As for regular trash on the same MUP the most common item is plastic water bottles and blue dog poop bags (at least they're not directly on the trail!). I'm curious so I'll have to check the trash cans along the trail to see what's in those; they're along the trail at most of the entry/exit points.

The regular roadways are a little different - no cartridges or tubes, but plenty of beer cans, water bottles, broken bits of glass, and regular paper/plastic/metallic trash, plus the occasional nut/bolt/screw/nail and other random pieces of building/construction debris.

rsbob 

I go by the backpackers mantra, “pack it and pack it out”.

on some of my local dog walks I take a plastic bag and pick up litter as a community service. No one appreciates litter.

Pratt

Ray of Sunshine Department:
The bike/ATV/snow machine trails around here (Vermont and New Hampshire) are pristine. Where they go through a small town, there are often little nests of empty beer cans, but otherwise, nothing but footprints and tire tracks.

jadmt

I have found most power sport people especially jeepers are some of the best stewards of the land, because they now they are under scrutiny and they don't want to be locked out.

BillyD

Gun talk is not permitted in these forums. Too controversial. Thanks!

jon c. 

Riders around here are pretty good. I see GU or similar wrapper from time to time, but can't recall seeing an inner tube.

MarcusT

Just to be facetious, I bought presta caps in bulk. Then I went to a mountain pass where riders are famous for resting , snacking and tossing their trash. When they did, I would run up and screw a cap on their valves telling them, this is karma

MattTheHat 

Isn’t that a hate crime?

rumrunn6

since my Dad passed end of July I've been spending more time at Mom's house. a few weeks ago, in the backyard, near the side street, under one of the big trees, I found a tied up bag of empty beer cans & an empty condom wrapper. WTF!?!

mschwett 

littering is so annoying. but i'm not sure i've ever seen bike related litter, at least not in the last 10,000 miles that i remember. definitely seen lots of stuff tossed out of cars, cigs, the usual windblown paper and detritus.

i have seen a cartridge once or twice, but in a location that led me to assume it was from whippit use, not a cyclist fixing a flat.

Timothyevans

I understand you so well.

indyfabz

Sounds like a good night for someone.

The first time I rode the GAP I entered one of the lean-tos at the park in Connellsville. Not only was there a empty condom wrapper, the used condom had been left behind. I chose to sleep in the other shelter.

bboy314

Can’t say I’ve seen old tubes on the side of the road, but definitely plenty of co2 canisters. I doubt they’re left by cyclists though.

rsbob 

I gave up vintage sports car racing because of its impact on the environment. When one gets 8-10 MPG and all that is going out the exhaust, tires being quickly disintegrated and brake dust, it is not environmentally friendly. But at least I was doing it on asphalt and not disrupting flora and fauna while creating noise pollution. I believe the best stewards of the land are day hikers and backpackers. They revere nature for what it is, not conquering it, leave zero trace and leave next to no impact, just boot prints. I get you want to preserve your, or your friends pass time but calling them ‘stewards’ is a bridge too far.

TakingMyTime

I was always taught to pick up after myself, no matter what the situation. As bicyclists I think we get a closer look at the side of the road than most people. It's a shame that someone feels they need to leave a spent tube or anything else for that matter at the side of the road.

genejockey 

I was out walking my dog in a nearby park/open space, and along the trail I saw FIVE separate bags of poop that people had picked up, then tied up the bag and just left it. MAYBE they were going to be returning down the same trail, and planned to pick it up on the way back, but how the hell would anyone know? And who does that anyway? I think it may actually be worse than just leaving the poop in the grass, though since we go 8 months with no rain, a lot of it builds up to be washed down the hills into the creek with the first big storm in the Fall.

wolfchild

A lot of these environmentally friendly hikers and backpackers also have a very militant stance against mountain bikers. They hate mountain biking because they believe that mountain biking is bad for the land. Their obsession with protecting nature is borderline mental illness.

rsbob 

I am a dog owner who studied Bio Sci and Enviro Sci. Dog poop is full of unhealthy germs and the last place you want it washed into are lakes and streams or worse yet, the water table. I bag my dog’s waste, drop it on the way out and pick it up and properly dispose of it. So now you know who one of those people are…concerned for the environment.

genejockey 

Okay, so that's ONE. Would you like to guarantee that everyone else who leaves a bag by the trail is coming back to pick it up? Also, and let me be frank here - do you think I want to see a string of dog poop bags by the trail because you don't want to carry it with you?

jadmt

many don't pick it back up. I have watched people leave it and the next day it is still there. Face it a lot of people are just lazy.

Koyote

I always walk my dog in a loop around our neighborhood. If she drops a deuce on the first half of the loop, I bag it and drop it, then pick it up on my way back. Saves me the trouble of carrying a bag of dog **** for several blocks. More broadly, think about it: if people weren't going to ultimately dispose of those bags properly, why would they have bagged it in the first place?

​​​​​​As long as we're being frank: are your sensibilities really offended by a little sealed blue bag? That seems a bit delicate.

genejockey 

See jadmt's post, immediately above yours.

​​​​​​Are you really so delicate that you can't carry the bag with you? I mean, my dog is an 80lb Greyhound, and they do ENORMOUS poops, but I don't feel it necessary to bag it and leave it by the trail for later pickup. I just bag it and carry it with me, because even trash that gets picked up later is still trash.

genejockey 

BTW, the other advantage of carrying it with you is that nobody will mess with you. Who's dumb enough to antagonize somebody armed with a bag of fresh dog poop?