Is Nothing Sacred Anymore?!
Uncle Dave
"Britain's Chris Froome is among a trio of riders who have been
targeted by an environmental group -- for throwing empty water bottles
into the Belgian countryside during a top race."
UD
GoneBeforeMyTime
Do any of the domestic teams try to re-use or recycle their water bottles to
help the current global trend toward going green, or is the UK side of the
sport still pretty much a use it and throw it away sport when it comes to
water bottles? I can't imagine how many of these water bottles are in the
landfills worldwide. What is Britain's take on that, of do they care at all?
I use my water bottles until I can't stand them anymore, then I buy new
ones, but not until then.
I was cracking up and sad at the same time when I saw this tourist show the
other day when a guy stopped his luxury yacht at some small island to
deposit his trash. He was talking to a local as the garbage truck threw the
trash into the back of the truck and drove away. The guy has asked the
local, why are you laughing? Well, the guy stopped at this island and paid a
nice little fee to see that his trash was properly disposed of. So the local
asked the guy, will you be here tomorrow? He said yes, as he stayed in port
for the night. The next day the local drove the guy to the other side of the
island. He asked the guy, where do you think your trash goes? Well, the guy
was shocked to find out that when they drove up to the dump-site, that there
was no land fill. They take all the trash and dump it right back into the
ocean!
cur...@the-md-russells.org
<Fa...@EuroForums.com> wrote:
>Do any of the domestic teams try to re-use or recycle their water bottles to
>help the current global trend toward going green, or is the UK side of the
>sport still pretty much a use it and throw it away sport when it comes to
>water bottles? I can't imagine how many of these water bottles are in the
>landfills worldwide. What is Britain's take on that, of do they care at all?
>I use my water bottles until I can't stand them anymore, then I buy new
>ones, but not until then.
I think you're discussing two different issues here. There were cat
IIIs DQ'd ten years and more ago for tossing water bottles when the
ref or CR said to do otherwise. Water bottles were always an easy item
for locals that didn't like the bike races to hang their complaints
on. An empty doesn't have the heft to carry far and they stand out on
the side of the road for the complainers, so that and pissing in
public (behind a tree still counts as in public) have been among the
long term bugaboos at local races. That and telling cops they're
assholes. Never understood the reasoning behind doing that...
Pro races are different and most water bottles seemed snarfed up by
the bystanders quick enough even here in the states. We still have a
Seven Eleven water bottle my son got in Baltimore when they held the
pro race here, before Philadephia. Not really an ecological problem in
the scheme of things and I think it only garners the complainers a rep
as nit picking whiners. And, yeah, I give my share to tree hugging
charities.
Me, I use my water bottles until they crack. The black spots in the
bottle only tell me that the water is pure enough to support other
life forms.
Curtis L. Russell
Odenton, MD (USA)
Just someone on two wheels...
GoneBeforeMyTime
Here in the road race, the Velo Promo sag stops and picks them up. I tagged
along one day with a guy who did this. In another race not far away, within
50 miles, there was a $25 dollar fine for any rider ditching their water
bottle or trash. I had read once that a guy who took a leak in Central Park
behind a tree was prosecuted for exposing himself to children and sentenced
to prison. He committed suicide before entering prison. As far as lawyers
could tell, he never did such a thing other then relieve himself, but an
over zealous prosecuted wanted to make an example out of the guy.
Anton Berlin
Yes, give the perfect storm, changing into your jeans at the end of
the road race may turn you into a sex criminal in some parts of
Amerika.
GoneBeforeMyTime
Funny how certain locals tolerate things and others fly apart at the handle,
for instance nude tanning on the beach used to be allowed at Summerland.
What ended it? Probably an over zealous prosecutor. There was a nice bike
shop there once near the beach. I stopped in one day on the way to Santa
Paula and bought some pedals, while my friend bought a complete road bike.
Great place to live and ride.