Roadside tube trash

[Stevemikesteve]

Not exactly an uplifting topic here but curious what other folks think and/or what your own experience is. Rode past someone recently fixing a flat, gave a "you alright?" He was fine. Came back by the same spot later, saw his flat tube on the ground. A deep sigh, an eye roll and picked it up and put it in my bag. Happened to stop next to him a while later at a light. He greeted me, "Hey you passed by me earlier!" "Yep that was me. I looped back and picked your tube up from the ground." "Oh shoot! I totally forgot!" Hmmm...

A few of my usual routes are often dotted with a spent CO2 cartridge here, a popped tube there. I totally recognize this likely represents the actions of a tiny cross section of cyclists (right?) but what's the rationale? Is it a weight issue (not wanting to carry a popped tube rest of the ride)? A space issue, nowhere to put it? The frequency of occurrences around some of the areas I ride seems to go beyond simply forgetting to pick things up. It's so odd to me. Is it just my area?

[Cicli]

Not exactly an uplifting topic here but curious what other folks think and/or what your own experience is. Rode past someone recently fixing a flat, gave a "you alright?" He was fine. Came back by the same spot later, saw his flat tube on the ground. A deep sigh, an eye roll and picked it up and put it in my bag. Happened to stop next to him a while later at a light. He greeted me, "Hey you passed by me earlier!" "Yep that was me. I looped back and picked your tube up from the ground." "Oh shoot! I totally forgot!" Hmmm...

A few of my usual routes are often dotted with a spent CO2 cartridge here, a popped tube there. I totally recognize this likely represents the actions of a tiny cross section of cyclists (right?) but what's the rationale? Is it a weight issue (not wanting to carry a popped tube rest of the ride)? A space issue, nowhere to put it? The frequency of occurrences around some of the areas I ride seems to go beyond simply forgetting to pick things up. It's so odd to me. Is it just my area?

My area is cigarette boxes.
I stopped to help a guy once and ended up giving him my tube. He had nothing but a bad tube and two co2's. Came back a while later (2hrs) and he was still there with a flat. He blew off his CO2 to the air, both of them. I charged him 10 bucks to use mine and showed him how. Proving a point. Dont leave home to the middle of farmland on your fancy sirvelo and not be able to fix a flat. I am not much into free lessons. He tossed the tube in the corn field. I retreived it and left with his old tube and his money. He passed me all areobared out on the way back to town and didnt even wave. I didnt mind at all.

[regularguy412]

Yup. I've picked up abandoned tubes AND the occasional Pall Mall box. It's strange that the Pall Mall boxes are in exactly the same spot on my ride. They're now coming in exciting colors like Day Glo Orange and Metallic Green.

Mike in AR:beer:

[Tony T]

Always take the flat tube with you.



































….you might need if you get another flat :)

[SoCalSteve]

My area is cigarette boxes.
I stopped to help a guy once and ended up giving him my tube. He had nothing but a bad tube and two co2's. Came back a while later (2hrs) and he was still there with a flat. He blew off his CO2 to the air, both of them. I charged him 10 bucks to use mine and showed him how. Proving a point. Dont leave home to the middle of farmland on your fancy sirvelo and not be able to fix a flat. I am not much into free lessons. He tossed the tube in the corn field. I retreived it and left with his old tube and his money. He passed me all areobared out on the way back to town and didnt even wave. I didnt mind at all.

What exactly did you charge him the $10.00 for?

[djdj]

"You alright?" "Need any help?" "Got any money?"

[Cicli]

What exactly did you charge him the $10.00 for?

A flat repair. The Michelin tube, co2, lessons and avoiding the walk was free. Oh, he insisted too. I think he was a bit embarrased while I was there. He was pro.

I am one of those people that think people should have to know how to change a flat to get a drivers license too.

[Cicli]

"You alright?" "Need any help?" "Got any money?"

No, I would have ade sure he was alright and ridden away if thats what he wanted. We were not in a ghetto, unless a corn lined road is a ghetto. It wasnt a stickup. Dont worry. Some folks expect a handout when they are ill prepared. He didn't and I wont give one either. I wouldnt leave anyone in danger either.

[Jad]

I don't see much cycling detritus here, though that may owe to there being fewer cyclists on these roads. Or I just don't see it. If I saw it as frequently as it sounds like you do, it would drive me f***ing nuts.

I do see cycling trash at events though (i.e. dirt road rides, fundraiser rides, triathlons), which always surprises me. Tubes, bottles, wrappers, etc. abound. Even after heartfelt appeals from event directors, you get the trash. The cynic in me says most people just don't care, but it could be that a lot of folks think it will be cleaned up by the event staff or volunteers or...who knows.

[PaulE]

When I ride with someone new to cycling and they have a CO2 inflator, I tell them to try it by themselves at home before they get in a situation where they'll need it on the road. It's like a condom, you want to be sure you know how to use it before you need it.

I see lots of tubes, CO2 cartridges, gel packs and energy bar wrappers discarded on the road along with all the usual litter that is thrown from cars. I sometimes wonder if cyclists do it because they see pro racers discard their stuff like that in races.

[josephr]

I volunteered for a MTB race a few years ago and the big deal was the clean-up afterwards --- gel tubes, bar wrappers, etc. Embarrased me to be associated with it. I get pretty bent out of shape too when I'm riding and someone tosses their McDonald's sack onto the side of the road....or when I come across a ditch filled with plastic bottles. I really don't understand it.

There was some gravel ride in Oregon where the organizer quit after quite a few 'cyclists' trashed the route. Kudos to that guy.

[Louis]

I charged him 10 bucks to use mine and showed him how.

In that case, I suppose you might just leave me in the ditch, because I don't ride with cash (or credit). :(

Sorry, that's not nice of me to put it that way, but I just had to say something. I wouldn't dream of charging someone for a spare tube, CO2 cartridge, patch or use of my pump, and would not accept any money if it was offered.

[Tony T]

In that case, I suppose you might just leave me in the ditch, because I don't ride with cash (or credit). (

I still have the $20 bill in my saddle bag from 1987 :)

[Stevemikesteve]

If I saw it as frequently as it sounds like you do, it would drive me f***ing nuts.

Yeah pretty much drives me nuts. It's common here. One stretch of a route, maybe a 2 mile section, I can usually count on picking up a couple tubes/cartridges each time

[SoCalSteve]

In that case, I suppose you might just leave me in the ditch, because I don't ride with cash (or credit). :(

Sorry, that's not nice of me to put it that way, but I just had to say something. I wouldn't dream of charging someone for a spare tube, CO2 cartridge, patch or use of my pump, and would not accept any money if it was offered.

I feel the same way! I would never ask for money, nor accept it. For me, it's karma. If I were in that situation, it would be nice if someone would help me out.

Do unto others and all that...:beer:

[Stevemikesteve]

I volunteered for a MTB race a few years ago and the big deal was the clean-up afterwards --- gel tubes, bar wrappers, etc. Embarrased me to be associated with it. I get pretty bent out of shape too when I'm riding and someone tosses their McDonald's sack onto the side of the road....or when I come across a ditch filled with plastic bottles. I really don't understand it.

There was some gravel ride in Oregon where the organizer quit after quite a few 'cyclists' trashed the route. Kudos to that guy.

What's weird for me is that I ride in part because I like being outside. I think there's maybe, and yeah this is probably a stereotype but oh well, a decent amount of cyclists that are drawn to the sport mainly as a fitness endeavor and just aren't so concerned about chucking their crap on the road. Who knows

[NickR]

Not exactly an uplifting topic here but curious what other folks think and/or what your own experience is. Rode past someone recently fixing a flat, gave a "you alright?" He was fine. Came back by the same spot later, saw his flat tube on the ground. A deep sigh, an eye roll and picked it up and put it in my bag. Happened to stop next to him a while later at a light. He greeted me, "Hey you passed by me earlier!" "Yep that was me. I looped back and picked your tube up from the ground." "Oh shoot! I totally forgot!" Hmmm...

A few of my usual routes are often dotted with a spent CO2 cartridge here, a popped tube there. I totally recognize this likely represents the actions of a tiny cross section of cyclists (right?) but what's the rationale? Is it a weight issue (not wanting to carry a popped tube rest of the ride)? A space issue, nowhere to put it? The frequency of occurrences around some of the areas I ride seems to go beyond simply forgetting to pick things up. It's so odd to me. Is it just my area?
Everybody in my group knows to give me there punctured tube, since they don't bother patching them.

Last year riding up highway 39 for a good mile all I saw was used up GU packs on the side of the road. I was pissed and in denial that cyclist would do that. I posted a couple pictures of the trash on FB and my cycling friends blamed an event held for runners. After some research I found out that the route for the runners was North to South so it couldn't be them. Thinking back the previous week i remembered a large group ride riding the route. I checked Strava & FB since i knew a couple people had done the ride and came to the conclusion that is was cyclist that did it.


In that case, I suppose you might just leave me in the ditch, because I don't ride with cash (or credit). :(

Sorry, that's not nice of me to put it that way, but I just had to say something. I wouldn't dream of charging someone for a spare tube, CO2 cartridge, patch or use of my pump, and would not accept any money if it was offered.

I have a couple of friends that use to do that, come unprepared with tools, tubes, CO2's. After a while i would call them out on it and also charge them for it. Glad to report that now they come prepared.

[Tony T]

I feel the same way! I would never ask for money, nor accept it. For me, it's karma. If I were in that situation, it would be nice if someone would help me out.
Do unto others and all that...:beer:

He initially gave the guy a tube.
It was only after he found him there later unable to use (2) Co2 cartridges did he charge him the $10 (to hammer home the point that you should be able to do a basic roadside repair)

I would never ride without the tools to do a basic repair and rely on "the kindness of strangers" ;)

[Jad]

I get pretty bent out of shape too when I'm riding and someone tosses their McDonald's sack onto the side of the road....or when I come across a ditch filled with plastic bottles. I really don't understand it.

It blows my mind if I actually see it happen, like a bottle or bag out the window, let alone a bag of trash, etc. I can only think it would suck to live with thinking the world is just a big trash can.

But I think I reserve a different disgust for cyclists throwing/leaving garbage. I (probably naively) associate riding and bikes with some amount of appreciation for the world; a person on a bike must be tuned (at least a little) into the place they're pedaling through, so leaving trash seems extra insulting. Definitely more of a surprise to me.

[parris]

I may be wrong with this but the cyclists that toss stuff are no different than any other jacka$$ that throws stuff out of their car.

I have noticed since getting back into it that it seems like people that have gotten into it generally are less well prepared than in the not so distant past. There are a few guys I've helped with flats etc that for whatever reason will have phones, power meters, etc yet not have a basic idea on how to change a flat.

When I worked running a weekend inmate work crew one of our bread and butter jobs was to pick up trash on the side of the road. There are some roads in my area that seem to be targets for people to toss stuff. "We" are our own worst enemy at times.

[bitt3n]

"We" are our own worst enemy at times.
http://i.imgur.com/Jb1PsSJ.jpg

[chiasticon]

I only recall seeing a discarded tube on the side of the road once. it was actually hanging from the low(ish) branch of a tree along a road that cyclists travel frequently. unfortunately, it's also during the middle of a decent climb so I must confess that I never stopped to pull it from the tree. every time I climbed the hill for months, I'd look for it, as a marker of where I am on the climb, I guess. eventually someone stopped and grabbed it, because it's no longer there. but every time I passed I'd think to myself: "who throws out a tube? you may need it later if you flat again. plus it's not like you're carrying extra stuff; just put it back where your replacement tube was..."

when I'm with friends and I flat, I usually make one of them roll up the old tube while I swap in the new one. or I volunteer to do this if they flat. flatted tubes are very easy to squeeze air out of as you roll 'em up, so they're usually quite compact.

[bigbill]

When I moved here in 2012, I noticed the locals were leaving their tubes on the side of the road. There are only about a dozen regular road riders in the county. I'd pick them up and bring them home with me. At the beginning of group rides, I'd show up with the tube(s) and say "hey, I found these next to the road, probably gives us a bad name" and then throw them in the trash. I think after 4 years I've finally broken this bad habit.

As far as riders with flats, I'll stop and ask. If they are riding (intentionally) without any means of fixing a flat, I ask if they have a phone and wish them the best of luck. There aren't any bike shops within 80 miles, I mail order everything and I'm not giving away a tube. Relying on the kindness of others is not a good plan.

[bitt3n]

throw them in the trash

why not just repair them? It takes almost zero effort and it's not like a properly repaired tube is unreliable.

[Stevemikesteve]

I only recall seeing a discarded tube on the side of the road once. it was actually hanging from the low(ish) branch of a tree along a road that cyclists travel frequently. unfortunately, it's also during the middle of a decent climb so I must confess that I never stopped to pull it from the tree. every time I climbed the hill for months, I'd look for it, as a marker of where I am on the climb, I guess. eventually someone stopped and grabbed it, because it's no longer there. but every time I passed I'd think to myself: "who throws out a tube? you may need it later if you flat again. plus it's not like you're carrying extra stuff; just put it back where your replacement tube was..."

when I'm with friends and I flat, I usually make one of them roll up the old tube while I swap in the new one. or I volunteer to do this if they flat. flatted tubes are very easy to squeeze air out of as you roll 'em up, so they're usually quite compact.

Wow! Just once. Good to know a place like that exists, hard to fathom around here.

[Stevemikesteve]

why not just repair them? It takes almost zero effort and it's not like a properly repaired tube is unreliable.

Yes. Thank you. And they aren't exactly quick to break down once they hit the ol' landfill.

[donevwil]

Wow! Just once. Good to know a place like that exists, hard to fathom around here.

That's funny, when you started the thread I was thinking I've seen maybe a couple tubes on the side of the road in my 22 years riding here and there are a LOT of cyclist around here. Now if we talk gel packets, energy bar wrappers, water bottles, beer cans, fast food bags, couches, washing machines, TVs, boats and any other form of garbage we've got you more than covered.

[drewellison]

I still have the $20 bill in my saddle bag from 1987 :)

It's only worth $10 now. :mad:

[cp43]

I only recall seeing a discarded tube on the side of the road once. it was actually hanging from the low(ish) branch of a tree along a road that cyclists travel frequently. unfortunately, it's also during the middle of a decent climb so I must confess that I never stopped to pull it from the tree. every time I climbed the hill for months, I'd look for it, as a marker of where I am on the climb, I guess. eventually someone stopped and grabbed it, because it's no longer there. but every time I passed I'd think to myself: "who throws out a tube? you may need it later if you flat again. plus it's not like you're carrying extra stuff; just put it back where your replacement tube was..."

when I'm with friends and I flat, I usually make one of them roll up the old tube while I swap in the new one. or I volunteer to do this if they flat. flatted tubes are very easy to squeeze air out of as you roll 'em up, so they're usually quite compact.

Just remember to change for a good one when you get home! :no:

I keep flat tubes in my jersey pocket after a flat so that I don't end up on the side of the road, with a seat bag full of punctured tubes again.

[El Chaba]

Let's face it, as a sport we have a LOT of housecleaning to do....There is quite a lot poor behavior that has become associated with our sport. Beyond the littering, bad traffic manners, etc. We are developing quite an image problem with the general public and I have come to the conclusion that we largely deserve it.....Just ask your non-cycling friends.

[Cameron]

There was some gravel ride in Oregon where the organizer quit after quite a few 'cyclists' trashed the route. Kudos to that guy.

Oregon Outback. After setting up the event/route in 2014 I think, someone literally took a dump in someone's yard.

http://www.oregonbikepacking.com/the-death-of-the-oregon-outback/

[bigbill]

why not just repair them? It takes almost zero effort and it's not like a properly repaired tube is unreliable.

NE Texas, hot chip and seal roads in the summer, repaired road tubes are not reliable. I patch tubes on my cross bike but there's a difference between a larger/thicker tube at 40-60# versus 100# on a thinner road tube. I'm not interested in repairing other people's tubes that I find on the side of the road nor am I interested in living up to the expectations of internet people.

[jruhlen1980]

Don't see too much around where I live but there aren't that many cyclists. I don't understand not having room for the tube -- I twist it in a figure 8 and loop my arms through it like backpack straps.

A week after the Dirty Kanza volunteers will sweep the course for trash. They pick up everything, not just cyclist trash. Apparently the amount of non-cyclist trash they pick up far outpaces the cyclist debris, which is limited to just a very small number of trash bags.

Oregon Outback. After setting up the event/route in 2014 I think, someone literally took a dump in someone's yard.

http://www.oregonbikepacking.com/the-death-of-the-oregon-outback/

Read about that this year when it allegedly happened... but if you do some digging around you'll find comments on forums from other people who were there and didn't see that behavior, or talked to local residents who hadn't seen anything... I'm not saying nothing bad happened but I wonder if it's one of those deals where one bad thing gets turned into "EVERYONE WAS BEING HORRIBLE."

[Stevemikesteve]

Oregon Outback. After setting up the event/route in 2014 I think, someone literally took a dump in someone's yard.

http://www.oregonbikepacking.com/the-death-of-the-oregon-outback/

Was not aware of that. Pretty extreme. And just plain sad imo....

[rustychisel]

NE Texas, hot chip and seal roads in the summer, repaired road tubes are not reliable.

incorrect, I promise you, a properly repaired tube is no problem on your roads or mine.

[estilley]

Reminds me of the immense amount of empty oxygen tanks left on Everest.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Peter P.]

I pick up trash in my local park weekly. See my blog below. Nothing surprises me.

I don't see that much cycling trash on the roads I ride. But when I see it on the trails; tubes, broken reflectors, GU packets, it just amazes me.

I'm with Cicli: If I'm gonna bail you out for your stupidity, you're either gonna pay with cash or at least some lesson in the form of sarcasm. I've known cyclists to carry nothing and EXPECT to leech off others. Or better yet, the cyclist who carries CO2 but when they flat, ask to use my pump so they don't have to expend a cartridge. Sheesh...

[bigbill]

incorrect, I promise you, a properly repaired tube is no problem on your roads or mine.

I've had poor reliability with patched tubes. I've been riding for 30 years and prefer not to patch road tubes unless it was a very tiny and hard to find hole from something like a small piece of wire. I buy tubes a dozen at a time when I find a good deal and never leave my flat ones on the side of the road. I have about a dozen flats a year.

[djg21]

Not exactly an uplifting topic here but curious what other folks think and/or what your own experience is. Rode past someone recently fixing a flat, gave a "you alright?" He was fine. Came back by the same spot later, saw his flat tube on the ground. A deep sigh, an eye roll and picked it up and put it in my bag. Happened to stop next to him a while later at a light. He greeted me, "Hey you passed by me earlier!" "Yep that was me. I looped back and picked your tube up from the ground." "Oh shoot! I totally forgot!" Hmmm...

A few of my usual routes are often dotted with a spent CO2 cartridge here, a popped tube there. I totally recognize this likely represents the actions of a tiny cross section of cyclists (right?) but what's the rationale? Is it a weight issue (not wanting to carry a popped tube rest of the ride)? A space issue, nowhere to put it? The frequency of occurrences around some of the areas I ride seems to go beyond simply forgetting to pick things up. It's so odd to me. Is it just my area?

This pisses me off almost as much as people throwing cigarette butts onto the ground. Spent CO2 cartridges should be recycled. I remember stopping at a bike shop on Martha's Vineyard years ago when there to race in the now defunct Tour of Martha's Vineyard, and the owner refused to sell CO2 cartridges because of the number of them that would end up discarded on the side of the road. That really troubled me.

I've always wondered about inner-tubes and tires too. I hate the thought of sending them to a landfill. There is one option I know of to recycle tubes: http://www.alchemygoods.com/pages/recycling.

Maybe we can create a list of recycling options for old bike parts that can be kept as a sticky somewhere?

[ripvanrando]

I do see tubes and spent CO2 cartridges but mostly competitive Grand Fondue type riders because if they don't get to the next rest stop quickly enough the good food will be gone or at least that's the theory. Same with gel packages. Only see them after one of these rides comes thru. Where does one recycle CO2 cartridges? I carry a small pump and CO2 using the CO2 only in an emergency. When I see tubes I pick them up and it does annoy me.

[djg21]

I do see tubes and spent CO2 cartridges but mostly competitive Grand Fondue type riders because if they don't get to the next rest stop quickly enough the good food will be gone or at least that's the theory. Same with gel packages. Only see them after one of these rides comes thru. Where does one recycle CO2 cartridges? I carry a small pump and CO2 using the CO2 only in an emergency. When I see tubes I pick them up and it does annoy me.

Used CO2 cartridges can be recycled as scrap metal. From Genuine Innovations' website:

"Genuine Innovations’ CO2 cylinders are made of steel and are 100% recyclable. Empty CO2 cylinders can be placed in any recycling bin that accepts steel. If your community does not recycle steel curb side, we encourage users to take used cylinders to a recycling facility." http://www.genuineinnovations.com/us/faq.php

My town has single-stream recycling, so they go into a recycling bin with cans, recycleable plastic, cardboard and newspaper.

[AJosiahK]

I dont imagine many of us here lean towards the types of people we are hearing about in these encounters.

It takes a certain type of person, cyclist in this case, who is paying attention to more than just the ride, their watts, miles, strava segments etc.

I cant imagine leaving a tube, bits, CO2 cartridge, etc on the side of the road.

Having grown up going to magnet school programs (most of grade school) where some of our community service projects were trash pick ups, tree/flower plantings, and so forth I couldn't imagine being responsible for leaving something on the side of our roads that is going to be on this planet forever.

Its engrained in me, and maybe its the simple fact that some of these folks have a different mentality engrained into them as well.

[chiasticon]

I do see tubes and spent CO2 cartridges but mostly competitive Grand Fondue type riders because if they don't get to the next rest stop quickly enough the good food will be gone or at least that's the theory. Same with gel packages. Only see them after one of these rides comes thru.same. I only see gel packets or bar wrappers or whatever after one of the local sportive rides happens. and those actually attract a lot of different skill levels, so it may indeed be the more recreational cyclists who are littering (like people who were there doing a 20 mile route, got drug there by a friend, barely ever ride, etc). at least I'm hoping the serious, regular cyclists doing the century type routes aren't out there littering...

as far as helping people who are having issues with their bike... I usually slow down and ask if they're OK. there are occasions on the MUP where I don't though. like if they've got a department store MTB with a flat, I know I don't have that tube so why bother? but out on the road, yeah I'll ask. have never had to actually help someone who was ill-prepared. but I do know one guy who does a couple local group rides. used to carry a pump and a big saddle bag on his bike. then someone linked him to "the rules" and he stopped carrying either. asked what he'll do for flats, he says "I ride gatorskins so I never flat. but if I ever do, I'll just call someone to come get me." still waiting for the day he flats on one of these rides and I tell the group to just leave him.

[spoonrobot]

Depending on where I ride I often see dozens of CO2 cartridges scattered in the bike lane or roadside. For a while I thought they were from cyclists but after stopping to look at them it appears a lot are from some sort of industrial repair/construction but I can't figure out what they're using them for?