Cyclist infuriated over people throwing trash into his bicycle basket

SINGAPORE: A cyclist took to an online forum on Wednesday (Feb 19) to express his anger at those who throw trash into other people’s bicycles. The man turned to other Singaporeans for advice on how to deal with such behaviour.

“Very infuriating: throwing trash into someone’s bicycle basket.” This was the title of a post shared by an outraged cyclist. “There have been multiple times when inconsiderate people threw trash into my bicycle basket. Not just leaflets but plastic bags with dripping food sauces and canned drinks full of liquids that spilt into my basket. It’s so annoying that when food sauces are overspilt, I cannot put anything inside the basket! What are some passive-aggressive (I lean towards highly aggressive) ways to deal with this situation?”

A handful of online users responded to the post, offering their thoughts on the matter. While some shared the writer’s frustration, others provided possible explanations for such incidents.

“There are some out there with an unextinguishable hatred for bicyclists,” said one. “They just do petty stuff like this and get off on it.”

“Either they’re jealous of your bicycle or lump you together with inconsiderate cyclists,” said another. “Therefore justifying their ‘need’ to treat bicycles as trash. My brother parked his motorbike at a designated parking area. It was just a 250cc sport bike. All others were either scooters or smaller 150cc bikes. One day I found someone had stuffed an empty medium-sized cup with plastic into one of the gaps of the body. Seriously, why? The parking area was between two blocks. Both of which had seating areas with trash bins. Whoever did that was just being malicious.”

Others shared that they had the same problem and offered their makeshift solutions. “Funny enough, I had my first experience earlier,” recalled one. “Someone threw rendang drumstick bones, used tissues into my bicycle basket and smeared it with oil. I didn’t know how to react, just have to suck my thumb and throw away the rubbish and wash my basket. Probably not gonna park near any prominent area anymore.”

“My father had the same problem!” wrote another. “He parked his bicycle under the void deck and almost every other day, there would be a bloody tissue paper or pamphlet or canned drink there. So irritating! So he pasted a note: ‘Smile for the camera!’ At the bottom of the basket. No more issues.”

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