Littering Triathletes [MOD Post #17]

Darac

I'm just back from the shadowman tri in Athlone where I was very disappointed at the number of gel wrappers discarded along the cycling route. I'm sure most triathletes would never fling litter around but there seems to be a minority group who are quite eager to shed the 0.1 gram of weight rather then put the wrapper back in their pocket. Local communities put a lot of effort into keeping their localities clean especially in tourist areas like Lough Ree and as we are guests in their locality we should try to do the same.

elvis jones

Darac wrote: »

I'm just back from the shadowman tri in Athlone where I was very disappointed at the number of gel wrappers discarded along the cycling route. I'm sure most triathletes would never fling litter around but there seems to be a minority group who are quite eager to shed the 0.1 gram of weight rather then put the wrapper back in their pocket. Local communities put a lot of effort into keeping their localities clean especially in tourist areas like Lough Ree and as we are guests in their locality we should try to do the same.

Its every race and not just shadowman. But i agree and its mentioned in race briefings but if they can't sort out drafting i think litter is fairly far down their list !

tunney

elvis jones wrote: »

Its every race and not just shadowman. But i agree and its mentioned in race briefings but if they can't sort out drafting i think litter is fairly far down their list !

It's not just an enforcement issue. There also needs to be things like designated drop zones and the like. "Put it in your pocket" is not the sole answer.

kat2171

Couldn't agree with OP more.
I also did Shadowman half and noticed the gel wrappers etc.
Can't understand why people can't put empty wrappers into back pocket or into cross-bar tri bag.

elvis jones

tunney wrote: »

It's not just an enforcement issue. There also needs to be things like designated drop zones and the like. "Put it in your pocket" is not the sole answer.

Agreed, at Athy we asked racers to put litter at signs for the event so we could collect it easily . You can ask but people are responsible for their own actions !

tunney

elvis jones wrote: »

Agreed, at Athy we asked racers to put litter at signs for the event so we could collect it easily . You can ask but people are responsible for their own actions !

And when organisers try to put it all on "just put it in your pockets" then you end up with littering. Most have no pockets and no bento boxes.

mloc123

How hard is it for the organisers to cycle or walk (sprint) the route and tidy up after? Most are clearing a nice profit.

ThisRegard

mloc123 wrote: »

How hard is it for the organisers to cycle or walk (sprint) the route and tidy up after? Most are clearing a nice profit.

Obviously as hard as some competitors find it to hang on to their litter.

Complaints about no drop zones or organisers walking the course after is a cop out and a lazy excuse. If you don't have pockets, which I would say is a minority, shove it down your jocks or jersey.

Bambaata

Litter drop zones are the answer and not just extending 200m past aid stations

tunney

ThisRegard wrote: »

Obviously as hard as some competitors find it to hang on to their litter.

Complaints about no drop zones or organisers walking the course after is a cop out and a lazy excuse. If you don't have pockets, which I would say is a minority, shove it down your jocks or jersey.

Tri suit......
No pockets......
No jersey........
Most won't wear socks.......

I can guess where you will suggest we stick them next but if you get penalties for displaying nipples I am going to guess exposing your chocolate starfish is going to get you a DQ.

ThisRegard

Shove it down the front or back of the top of the suit, the solutions aren't that complicated. The gels came from somewhere too, if you can take them out on the course with you, you can take the empty wrappers back.

And there's no need for you to try be a smart ass with every response you make on the forum, you tend to be more miss than hit.

Nwm2

ThisRegard wrote: »

Shove it down the front or back of the top of the suit, the solutions aren't that complicated. The gels came from somewhere too, if you can take them out on the course with you, you can take the empty wrappers back.

And there's no need for you to try be a smart ass with every response you make on the forum, you tend to be more miss than hit.

Yeah, put the wrapper back where you took the gel from. I didn't like what I saw in Shadowman - worse than short course as more people are using gels I think.

I have a tri suit with no pockets (AERO though), and had my gels on my quads held in by the leg grippers. Worked fine, and that's where the wrappers went. That little bit that you have to tear off with your teeth - yeah one or two of those got away from me.

On the run I was either holding gels or had them stuffed down my top - I must admit that zip does get pulled down (and pulled back up again coming up to aid stations/finish line). Wrappers went beside my quads again, until I dumped them at an aid station.

ThisRegard

I dunno, I just find it anathema to the whole leave no trace code when out and about, I've been in events in which littering, and that's what it is, will result in disqualification, and others (not bike related obviously) in which you're encouraged to pick up such litter if you come upon it on the course.

edit, that was a reply to a post which was subsequently deleted, but I think my point is still applicable.

mloc123

I still think it should be up to the organisers to clean up afterwards also. This is common practice is most public events.. Concerts, street fests etc..

I didn litter in general, I recall a childhood campaign which I guess rubbed off. Other people do, and I you are organising any public event it is up to the organiser to leave the place as found.

kat2171

That may be fine with events that are spread over a relatively small area. But a 92k bike route, in fairness, wud be difficult to clean up. Added to this when a wrapper is dropped off a bike it cud end up anywhere- road, verge, drain etc.

Maybe it cud b a race requirement to have somewhere to hold ur rubbish?? If u don't have a pocket it's not a big deal to have a tri bag.

As someone said earlier it is littering at the end of the day. Giving us all a bad name...

hypersonic

I'm surprised people are even trying to defend littering, unless your aim is to piss off the locals, no point complaining about the lack of support/good will if some of the "athletes" think it's OK to leave their cr@p all over the roads. if you do this you should be ashamed of yourself, and can f**k off back to what ever halting site you came from.

mloc123

hypersonic wrote: »

I'm surprised people are even trying to defend littering, unless your aim is to piss off the locals, no point complaining about the lack of support/good will if some of the "athletes" think it's OK to leave their cr@p all over the roads. if you do this you should be ashamed of yourself, and can f**k off back to what ever halting site you came from.

Mod: Tone it down, no need to be abusive.

MrCreosote

The gels don't just magic out of thin air into your hand, just put the wrappers back where you got them, or shove them under the trisuit on the outer thigh and get rid of them somewhere appropriate when you get the chance

Deliberate littering should be dealt with more severely than drafting. At least with drafting you're just cheating the other competitors, littering is a slap in the face of Mother Earth herself.

Immediate DQ!

EoghanRooney

Littering on the course is done for the same reason it is in real life, laziness and ignorance, it takes practically zero effort to tuck it under the shoulder or into the thigh of a suit. Drop zones are a good idea though, I use them when they are provided.

Oryx

MrCreosote wrote: »

Immediate DQ!

In some races it is.

Sometimes things get dropped by accident, wrappers slip out of your hand. But thats very different from flinging a gel wrapper away because you're in a race and normal rules of behaviour don't apply. The thing is though, its like drafting. Threads discuss it here but noone who posts is doing it, no sir! So who are these cheating, littering people? Are they a creepy 1% minority who live under rocks and only come out on race day? Having seen races from both sides I think it's normal people who would claim never to break the rules who get into race mode and lose the head just a bit. It's not 1% breaking the rules all the time, in terms of litter its everyone breaking the rules some of the time, whether accidentally or on purpose.

EoghanRooney

Agreed, things can be dropped by accident, that will always happen, it's the deliberate littering I have the gripe with.

Mr Tango

bring it home or save them up and dump them at the aid station (if they are there) or throw them to a marshall in a shorter race.

shotgunmcos

No excuse. It most of these races participants are wearing either cycling tops, tri tops or shorts. The vast majority of these have pockets. If you have no pocket stuff down your top or how hard is it to hold a gel wrapper until you get to an aid station.

One of my pet hates is smokers who just flick their cig butt anywhere. It riles me. This is up there with it. Many of these races are staged in beautiful locations and firing a gel wrapper into a ditch is sheer ignorance.

elvis jones

If out on the course someone handed you a 50 euro note could you find somewhere to put it ? Bloody right you could ! If you could find somewhere to put that you can find somewhere to put a wrapper.

MrCreosote

I find the 50 euro note is perfect for a face mop down during hot triathlons. They're light enough to carry a good wad of them, and easy enough to hold onto to dispose of at the aid stations.

This guy at the Galway races shows the technique well

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FuGWie_HnQ

kingQuez

MrCreosote wrote: »

Immediate DQ!

Did a race in the UK a few years ago, during the briefing it was announced that nudity was encouraged (for the benefit of spectators in the transition zones)... but littering would result in an instant DQ.

MrCreosote

Maybe there would be more calls to Joe Duffy if a hard line like that was taken. "The wind blew the wrapper out of my hand, Joe..."