...and why is there glass all over the sidewalk?

The missing first half of that question, in case it's not obvious in your part of the world, is Where is the warm weather??? But it's April in Chicago. What do I expect? That's why the second half of my guttural yell to the skies—and the title of this post—is the more pertinent question.

Every spring, I wonder this. While I prefer to ride on the generally smoother asphalt of the street, there are some not-so-bicycle-friendly stretches of my suburban commute where I'm better off following the sidewalk, which is generally free of pedestrians anyway. It is there that I always encounter an obstacle course of broken glass, especially early in the cycling season.

People! How hard is it to hold on to your empty bottles until you get to the nearest recycling bin? Even a trash can would be better than the sidewalk! Who taught you it was OK just to throw your trash wherever?

Oh, but I see. You and your buddies were simply enjoying a nice bottle of Jim Beam during your night out cruising and needed to ditch the tangible evidence... By tossing it out of your car window.

Well, you might have avoided an  "open container" violation, but now you owe me five bucks for a new rear inner tube. And then I'm going to report you for littering. Oh, and also a DUI.


P.S. Earth Day is Monday. Why don't you go to Practically Green and see if you can complete at least ten actions by the end of the month to earn the limited edition Earth Day MVP badge?