Will the Pea-Brained cyclist who did this stand up and explain themselves!

Struggling to see how he

Struggling to see how he noticed this in the first place, were you scouring the countryside looking for litter in the first place. As a normal rider I’d struggle to notice a black inner tube just happening to lie on the roadside.

Sure as shit nobody in a car is going to notice an inner tube on a country road traveliing 40-60mph that will taint their opinion of cyclists!

Me thinks an agenda is to be had (oh yeah blog hits)….I agree with it as it happens, it is much much more common at Mountain Bike trail centres where some entitled dicks seem to think there is a litter patrol for their Butty Wrappers and Inner tubes.

Bikebikebike wrote:

davidw07 wrote:

I am surprised by the response that my OP has created, and in some cases disappointed. Disappointed that simple condemnation of the actions of this cyclist (it was a cyclist, it was a road cyclist and it certainly wasn’t an oversight) have been fudged  – the major theme  – don’t put the blame on me or the perpetrator, because others (motorists seem to be the biggest target) do the same thing.

Maybe I need to add a bit more context. My blog a day earlier  http://bike-write.co.uk/lycra-paranoia/  described an unpleasant encounter with somebody who specifically focused his argument on his perception of cyclists (with specific mention of those clad in Lycra i.e. road cyclists) I really don’t want to give individuals like that any ammunition to give credence to their distorted views. Hence my extreme anger when I saw the bike rubbish on the verge, something which plays directly into the hands of those who seek to vilify cyclists.

If you are an English football supporter, do you not feel shame, embarrassment and anger when a minority riot abroad and become violent. Should you not speak out in condemnation of the few? Or do you just say, well it’s not just us, the Russians, the Italians and the Turks do it. Are you telling me that that is some kind of justification or excuse?

Criticism and condemnation by your peers and those who share the same interests, is a powerful message. Please don’t fudge it.

But cyclists aren’t a group or a community. We’re just people who happen to be on bikes. You are buying into the group responsibility bollocks that plagues the hard of thinking.

If you are annoyed at the cyclist for littering, then fine. 

If you are annoyed at the cyclist because a motorist is annoyed at the cyclist and then will have a go at you / close pass you / do something else dickish to you, then you’re getting angry at the wrong person. And you are validating their prickish behaviour. 

That is wrong with what you are saying. 

The drunk driving campaign of the 70s/80s targeted motorists as a community even though they are just people that happen to drive, and it was effective.

The OP was annoyed because a villager (not known if a motorist or not) did something dickish to them. Whilst this is not pleasant, it is understandable how this could happen.

I have a dog, and I dispair when I see dog mess that has not been cleaned up whilst out. I do not think that there is a dog owners community either but I do believe that the acts of these owners that do not pick up their dog’s mess reflects badly on the rest of us.

davidw07 wrote:

davidw07 wrote:

Should you not speak out in condemnation of the few?

This already happens. If there is one thing that unites us it is that we belong to a group that it’s open season on – permanently. Us few are already condemned by judgemental berks anyway, and whether you litter or not made zero difference to the social meeja expert you clashed with. Throw in some contentious topics and there are plenty among us who would condemn us as victims too.

If you’re looking for moral crusades regarding cycling, you could fill your blog many times with some I could get behind. There are genuine tour de wannabes on Sportives and the like who need to be pulled up on littering, but that’s not the basis of this particular rant. Littering is shoddy but this feels like a reach, to me.

Whilst visiting friends in a

Whilst visiting friends in a village I was roped into the annual verge litter picking session; 100% motorist generated, and plenty of it.

I also recall doing a sportive and there was no shortage of ‘I think I’m a pro’ cyclists flinging empty wrappers etc onto the road.

Both groups have their miscreants, although cyclists should know better when people are looking for any reason to have a go at us.

Bikebikebike wrote:

Bikebikebike wrote:

I don’t give a fuck if motorists think I am reasonable, responsible or public spirited. I just don’t want them to run me over. And I don’t see how littering by me, another person on a bike or anyone else should have any effect on how they drive around me. Exactly what are you trying to achieve?

Drinking and driving is an

Drinking and driving is an issue specific to motorists, but not all motorists were drunk drivers.

Littering the countryside with discarded inner tubes and inflation canisters is an issue specific to cyclists, but not all cyclists have littered in this way.

For the purposes of getting the points across though, the groups have been lumped together to try and get a consensus of opinion of it being unacceptable.

Yes the issues I mentioned involved a state campaign and police action (not sure how much police time was ever dedicated to seatbelt watch though) but that does not mean that is the only way of getting the message across. Perhaps if bloggers had been around at that point in time that would have also been a method of getting the point across?

I agree that there is no

I agree that there is no “cyclist community” that encompasses all cyclists so all should not be brought into question over every action of individuals.

However…

This highlighting and stating that this behaviour is not acceptable is, I believe, important and effective.

You only need to look at how media campaigns targeted at motorists in the 70s/80s managed to change the mind-set from not using seatbelts and drink driving being acceptable to them being socially unacceptable.

If posts like this can do the same thing with littering then I am all for it, regardless of the way it groups people together.

A tourniquet and a NOS

A tourniquet and a NOS canister? Looks like a nice spot for it.