Crazy Ivan Collision – MVT

@creadinger 148834 wrote:

Riding up the MVT today north of the humpback bridge on the gentle downward slope.

I was slowing down to around 10mph(?) to wait for an on-coming jogger to pass the jogger in front of me. I started to go around and he pulled a crazy ivan and cut right in front of me. I grabbed the brakes, but hit him square on and he went down mostly in the grass. I was able to stay upright.

I immediately asked if he was OK a few times. The other jogger turned around to check him out too. He checked himself out for a few seconds and said he was fine and got up and limped away. I stayed on scene to fix my bike. I feel awful about it. I’m sure I called on your left, but given the airplanes overhead, traffic on the parkway, wind in our ears, and headphones in his he probably didn’t hear me.

I’m not sure what else I could have done. Maybe insisting on sitting down with him for a few minutes to let the adrenaline wear off to better assess any injuries. I don’t know. He appeared to be walking it off.

Anyway, be safe out there. Ride with caution and expect the unexpected.

Hey, the whole thing could have been avoided if you had just blasted down the line between the two joggers like a real MVT pathlete.

Maybe add a bell to your warning system. They seem to work for most joggers/peds, except for the tourists who get dropped off by the buses on Maine Ave. at the Washington Marina.

For tourists, bells seem just as likely to cause them to jump left as to encourage them to stay to the right.

@huskerdont 148840 wrote:

For tourists, bells seem just as likely to cause them to jump left as to encourage them to stay to the right.

well, if you’re sounding the bell far enough back that’s fine, you have pleanty time to deal with it, right?

@huskerdont 148845 wrote:

They don’t hear it from far back. And whatevs, I’ve never run into one of the idiots.

Then you likely haven’t come across the true idiots of Crazy Ivan tribe. Or maybe better described as the rabbits of the Crazy Ivans (rabbits try to avoid being hit (caught) by crossing in front of you at the last possible second, but often have completely misjudged your speed and ability to crush them).

@ursus 148848 wrote:

Squirrels reverse direction several times before doing that.

I have seen squirrels do that, a lot. Often has me worried that I might hit one. I haven’t seen a Crazy Ivan do that move. Yet. I am sure I have not seen all types of Crazy Ivans. Could be an interesting study – the different types of Crazy Ivans.

I have experienced too many Crazy Ivans to think they are all simply random direction turns by runners / joggers. I am starting to think that for some runners a call or ding is not registered as a warning of a passing bike but as a subtle call to reverse direction. I dinged a pair of guys running side by side up the VA avenue hill moving West. One guy predictably moved slightly right and the other guy initiated a 180 right into me. I saw it coming just in time and leaned into him and brushed him back just enough to stop his 180 at about 95 deg.

@DrP 148850 wrote:

I have seen squirrels do that, a lot. Often has me worried that I might hit one. I haven’t seen a Crazy Ivan do that move. Yet. I am sure I have not seen all types of Crazy Ivans. Could be an interesting study – the different types of Crazy Ivans.

I got a squirrel like this on the MVT connector north of Old Town once! He Crazy Ivan’ed right into/under my front tire… I didn’t see the aftermath.