Tour of Wessex angers locals with riders peeing in public

As above - there's a difference between p!ssing on someone's prize roses or watering a hedge in the #rse-end of nowhere. And having grown up in Somerset I can vouch that there's an awful lot of "#rse end of nowhere", so you'd think they could have found some to p!ss on.

Maybe it's because I have just finished a night shift; but I thought the photo above was of the Tour of Wessex riders. I thought,"look at them in their replica kit, AND they have numbers on their back!". But seriously what is it with sportive riders who chuck bottles, gel wrappers and piss anywhere and everywhere including up against someones front gate! I don't like dogs doing it (but neither does my dog, she says it so I don't have to!). Worst race for mess was a marathon; second lap was a 13 mile trail of bottles and gel wrappers including a person throwing a bottle over a hedge into someones garden!

I've heard of a couple of recent incidents of cyclists losing facilities (race HQs etc.) because people can't keep it in/be more discrete. We're not in France where that sort of thing is considered normal and it's a sportive - not a race people. How hard it is to ride on the left, stop at red lights and not get your c0ck out in front of the locals?

So they want less Paula Radcliffe, London Marathon 2005 and more the runner in the Goteborgsvarvet 2006? (you know the image. Google at your own peril)

I think its fine to complain given that it was post even.. outside the sportshall.

In the middle of the countryside is fine.. but public urination in built up residential areas is going to annoy people.

A man's gotta do, what a man's gotta do.

FFS!

rear numbers? whatever next, a finishing order? a competitive race non-race race? a licence to hold the event? chance would be a fine thing.

I don't know about anyone else but on a 100km+ ride I need to take nature breaks probably every 60-90 minutes. One toilet break in the middle of the ride won't do it for me unfortunately!

1,697 riders signed up for the event, in which they could choose from distances of 23 miles, 73 miles, 105 miles, 117 miles and 106 miles.

Quite a tough choice between a couple there.

I'm sure my rear number would be 10/10 thank you very much.

Its all about context. Wazzing on someone's front lawn is disrespectful and arrogant (and I've seen plenty of it). Having a tinkle into a ditch by the side of a quiet field is only natural.

Birds do it, bees it, even educated cyclists do it.