Road (Runner/Biker) Rage

I tend to skim the New York Times, at least the Fitness and Nutrition section, pretty much every day, because the often cover running issues. Today is no exception.

This is something I'm guilty of fairly often. I rarely drive, most often choosing to bike where I need to go. And, as is fairly obvious, I run a lot. While I rarely run much on the roads, and almost never on busy roads, I run into this problem a lot. Simply put, a driver doesn't see me, or does not react well to seeing me. Usually nothing happens: I slow down or stop, or swerve out of the way, the driver apologizes somehow and I wave it off. It happens.

But there are times when it just gets too much. 99.9% of the time the driver is on their cell phone, and thus not paying enough attention to the road around them (this is my primary issue with drivers). I'm sorry to say it, but 90% of those times, it's a woman, often with a child in the back seat (why are you on your cell phone if your kid's in the car, parents?). I have no patience in that case. You try to wave it off and I will get pissed off. I have not yet actually followed up with an actual physical altercation, and I don't anticipate it happening, but it's sometimes very tempting to do so.

But here's the reality: I run, and ride, defensively. Let's face it, in any altercation between a car and a runner or biker, the car will win. But that does not excuse drivers from responsibility. If you're driving, make it your only priority. Your conversation on the phone does not matter as much as my life.

That said, I'm blessed. I live in Boulder, where people are overall quite aware that there are runners and bikers everywhere, and generally quite respectful of the fact. Granted there are a few exceptions (I had one acquaintance who used to talk about attempting to run bikers off the road), but generally people are nice, and they try to be aware and alert. When they aren't, they feel bad and apologize however they can. It's those exceptions, however, that sour the deal.

And that's just one more reason I love trail running . . .

Just one more point to runners (and bikers): DO NOT WEAR HEADPHONES! I don't care what you say, it masks sounds, makes you less aware of your surroundings, and makes running or biking far more dangerous. And in that case, I see no reason that it's not your fault if something happens that you could have avoided if you were more alert. There are tiny speakers out there now for just about every music player around. Use those.