runners and how to deal with them?

[Jaws677]

I apologise if it seems like a was trying to bully a newbie.

 

I just couldn't believe the last sentence. As a cyclist himself asking if running on the road is even legally allowed. That's just unbelievable.

 

Very few roads have dedicated walkways and then when you hit the suburbs in Johannesburg every single house owner is on a mission to make it impossible for anything to come close to his front lawn basically forcing everyonr onto the road.

 

In all my running I have never come across cyclist with a problem towards us running and this includes running the cradle loop .

Although some ladies in our group did mention something a while ago.

[Coolspin]

The OP mentioned the fact that on the road many runners run facing traffic and hence cyclists, an approaching cyclist has to move towards middle of road in order to go around the runner, this is dangerous for the cyclist as is obviously an increased chance of the cyclist being run over by a car.

 

Yes we all have a right to use the roads but nobody has the right to proceed in the incorrect direction on the roads.

 

Runners should get out of the way of oncoming traffic/cyclists.

 

If I am travelling in same direction as the runner then I accept that I must "overtake" if it is safe, but if runner is on wrong side of road to traffic flow then they should give way.

 

Just dont think the runners actually realise the danger that they put cyclists into by doing this.

[Barry Stuart]

Oh it's there alright... Me...I just run... Some of these small Irish roads are like trails anyway

 

Dude, Joburg pavements. I'm pretty much a fully fledged trail runner now thanks to those.

[Barry Stuart]

Hehe...they on about the comrades...as one ardent and very tough trail runner once said the Comrades is for sissies...come run The Munga....

 

Well, come join in on that forum anyway, I'm sure you'll find it supportive. Enjoy your running and your riding.

[Kranswurm]

You're exactly the type of runner I love sharing the road with.. and even greeting!

Good grief.....

[Bonus]

"Sharing" doesn't seem to be something people do particularly well does it? And sharing the roads or trails is no different.

 

As an example.....In the Cradle riding from the Kloofzicht roundabout down towards the R&L roundabout I sometimes came across a group of runners running 3 or 4 abreast up the hill against "the traffic". I understand that people like to move against the traffic when traveling on foot because it removes some of the risk of being hit blindly from behind by some lunatic in a vehicle. Problem is, to get around them, I had to turn and look behind me to see if it was safe for me to "pull out" or not and that manoeuvre, at speed, can be risky. They could already see if there was anything coming behind me or not because they were effectively looking over my shoulder, but I couldn't know without looking backwards.

 

Now I wasn't riding so fast so as to be breaking any speed limits, and I'm not so incompetent on a bike for the manoeuvre to be impossible - but it added an element of risk to my ride that need not have been there. Had they been running single file or two abreast, or if they'd just squeezed together while I slowed down a bit as I came past, everything would have been that little bit "easier".....and easier is what I'm aiming for here. Not MY right or YOUR right, just "easier" in situations where it is so not difficult to achieve.

 

I suppose what disappoints me most with stuff like this was that I know they did see me coming and they chose to continue running in a way that made life more difficult for me when they had the option not to behave like that. The idea of "I'll do what I want and **** you" isn't a cool one. It makes life harder for everyone. That little bit more needless friction that we come across in life day after day.

 

Life's hard enough eh? Let's all just try and help each other.

[shaper]

So on my ride this morning I came across a parked car facing the wrong way headlights towards me as I rode towards it.  It is not normally there and thought the driver very inconsiderate to park his car on the road and not try to park half on the curb thereby blocking room for any walkers but ensuring that me on my bike would be ok to pass it.  How dare they park there!!

 

I was really stumped what to do as I knew my bunny hop skills were not great, I would be unable to hop up on to the bonnet then ride up over the roof and have a nice drop off from the boot......

 

Then it came to me, I had a brain, so engaged it, I used my right hand to signal that I was moving out into the traffic, almost crossing the white line.  The fact that I gave a hand signal helped as the car behind slowed down to let me move out and pass this parked car.... once safely passed I gave a thumbs up signal to the driver who slowed for me as I moved back in so the driver of the car behind could also pass.

 

All happened matter of factually, everyone was happy... i realized I had a girly hissy fit for no reason because of a parked car on my ride this morning, how dare they.... but now feel better for getting it off my chest on the hub.

 

Having survived this harrowing experience, for the rest of my ride I pondered that if I had my wits about me, engaged my brain whilst riding, I could quite easily negotiate anything that was impeding my ride, whether a parked car, a group of runners, a pot hole .... in fact anything!!

[Bonus]

This comparison would be 100% perfect . . .  if the car had the ability to halve its width when someone was coming but the attitude of "why should I?"

 

:-)