Hiker shares frustrations after making concerning discovery following mountain bike race: 'One of my biggest pet peeves'

A frustrated hiker in Tulsa was devastated to find a trail covered in plastic tape after a mountain bike race.

Even a full week after the bike race, the hiker was shocked to still see the tape covering trees and the ground.

"Why are people allowed to organize mountain bike races ... but they aren't held accountable?" — Photo Credit: Reddit

"Why are people allowed to organize mountain bike races at Turkey Mountain, but they aren't held accountable for cleaning up their messes when they're done?" wrote the OP.

Redditors agreed with the hiker and expressed their frustration with the lack of care for outdoor spaces.

"One of my biggest pet peeves," responded one user. "I was an Eagle Scout and our standard was always to leave it cleaner than we found it."

When enjoying the outdoors, it's vital to have a "Leave No Trace" mindset, which means leaving the environment exactly as you found it. You can do this by throwing your trash out when you exit the park and leaving rocks and other natural landscapes in their current positions.

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Leaving litter, especially plastic items like race tape, can have damaging effects on the environment. Plastic trash leaches toxic microplastics into the soil, contaminating the ground. What's worse, animals can mistake plastic trash for food. Ingesting these plastic pieces can cause severe digestive issues and in some cases, even death.

As you hike and bike nature trails, it's important to minimize your presence for the sake of the plant and wildlife species in the area. Climate awareness begins with a foundational respect for nature. By spreading environmental education and taking local climate action, you can help protect natural landscapes from unnecessary harm.

Redditors continued to discuss the lack of respect many people have for nature.