Missed connection

[Dickie]

You: Runner on 4 Mile Run.
Me: Cyclist who politely called my pass twice because it was windy and I didn’t think you heard me.

I am so sorry, you must of been having the worst day EVER! That is the only explanation I can think of for all the horrible and nasty words you called me when I called my pass (twice). I also must assume you have never heard an apology or explanation before as that seemed to throw you into a absolute rage…. I really thought you didn’t hear me, which is why I repeated myself… perhaps my chipper voice threw you for a loop. I am also sorry I have an accent which you reminded of with your degrading imitation. I will do my best to sound more American in the future when I don’t call my passes as it was obviously a really inconsiderate thing for me to do. I only hope that ruining my day somehow made yours better.

To the rider I crowded coming the other way, I sincerely apologize and you had the right to yell at me, I was pretty disheveled at that point.

[consularrider]

@Dickie 51890 wrote:

You: Runner on 4 Mile Run.
Me: Cyclist who politely called my pass twice because it was windy and I didn’t think you heard me.

I am so sorry, you must of been having the worst day EVER! That is the only explanation I can think of for all the horrible and nasty words you called me when I called my pass (twice). I also must assume you have never heard an apology or explanation before as that seemed to throw you into a absolute rage…. I really thought you didn’t hear me, which is why I repeated myself… perhaps my chipper voice threw you for a loop. I am also sorry I have an accent which you reminded of with your degrading imitation. I will do my best to sound more American in the future when I don’t call my passes as it was obviously a really inconsiderate thing for me to do. I only hope that ruining my day somehow made yours better.

To the rider I crowded coming the other way, I sincerely apologize and you had the right to yell at me, I was pretty disheveled at that point.

Always the gentleman!

[AMRunBike]

@Dickie 51890 wrote:

You: Runner on 4 Mile Run.
Me: Cyclist who politely called my pass twice because it was windy and I didn’t think you heard me.

I am so sorry, you must of been having the worst day EVER! That is the only explanation I can think of for all the horrible and nasty words you called me when I called my pass (twice). I also must assume you have never heard an apology or explanation before as that seemed to throw you into a absolute rage…. I really thought you didn’t hear me, which is why I repeated myself… perhaps my chipper voice threw you for a loop. I am also sorry I have an accent which you reminded of with your degrading imitation. I will do my best to sound more American in the future when I don’t call my passes as it was obviously a really inconsiderate thing for me to do. I only hope that ruining my day somehow made yours better.

Was it a woman? I feel like I have ridden past her on 4 Mile Run before, ha. I did the same thing — called out twice — and she flew into a rage. It unnerved me!

On a similar note, I think if you are a runner and you’re wearing headphones, you shouldn’t be allowed to be pissed if you don’t hear a cyclist’s call. I’m not going to scream at the top of my lungs under the assumption that you’re wearing headphones and won’t hear me otherwise. I’m a runner, too, and besides the fact that I don’t usually like music when I run, I don’t wear headphones when running on the trail because it makes me feel much less safe. I like to be aware of my surroundings. And for the cyclists who DON’T call their passes, sometimes hearing the click-click of their hub is the only thing that alerts me that they’re coming.

Sorry, I’m done now, haha.

[jrenaut]

If you’re anyone wearing headphones in public, you’re not allowed to be angry when you don’t hear any sort of warning from anyone.

[Dickie]

@AMRunBike 51944 wrote:

Was it a woman? I feel like I have ridden past her on 4 Mile Run before, ha. I did the same thing — called out twice — and she flew into a rage. It unnerved me!

Nope. Not the same person, not wearing earphones and certainly a full fledged, card carrying machismo dude. Hope he’s having a better day today.

[thucydides]

@AMRunBike 51944 wrote:

Was it a woman? I feel like I have ridden past her on 4 Mile Run before, ha. I did the same thing — called out twice — and she flew into a rage. It unnerved me!

While I was doing time in Missouri I was riding a local trail and approached three women walking side-by-side. The one on the far left — I’ll call her Bertha — was talking a mile a minute, very loudly. We’re talking whiny gossip mode here. The other two women are completely silent. 100 or so feet out I called a loud, “passing on your left.” The two other women clearly heard me and moved a bit to the right but Bertha kept going and kept talking. 50 and 25 feet out I put out very loud, “I am about to pass you on your left” calls. One of the ladies tried to tug Bertha a bit out of the way, but Bertha just kept trucking on, oblivious. I managed to squeeze between Bertha and a bramble-filled ditch. Then Bertha really let loose. “You #$%&% you’re supposed to #$%^&#$ warn people, you @@#&4” I started to yell back when I heard a quiet voice say, “He did warn us. You were just too busy yakking to hear it.” Hysterical.

[birddog]

To the lady sweeping broken glass off of the 14th street bridge trail this morning: Thank you.

[Steve]

@birddog 51989 wrote:

To the lady sweeping broken glass off of the 14th street bridge trail this morning: Thank you.

Oh wow, that is awesome. I hope she finds her way to the South Capitol Street Bridge!

[Terpfan]

@birddog 51989 wrote:

To the lady sweeping broken glass off of the 14th street bridge trail this morning: Thank you.

I was wondering where that glass went–awesome! I even brought a long a little handheld broom this morning to deal with it.

[ShawnoftheDread]

@Terpfan 52001 wrote:

I was wondering where that glass went–awesome! I even brought a long a little handheld broom this morning to deal with it.

Another cyclist was kicking a lot of it off the bridge when I rode through yesterday morning.

[thucydides]

Here’s another positive Missed Connection. Yesterday at GW campus I saw a lady wearing an expensive business suit, designer shoes, and sporting well-coiffed silver hair riding a CaBi with a big ole smile on her face. You could almost see the speech balloon over her head saying, “This is so cool!”

[KLizotte]

Had a lot of very positive interactions with cars on McArthur Blvd today. I stuck to the cycletrack but at places where I had to use the crosswalks the cars came to a full stop even when I wasn’t expecting them too (because I popped up just as they were very close to the markings). There was also an intersection by the Bethesda Co-op where the cars on both sides waved me thru.

The peds on the C&O canal were good too.

I presume this has something to do with riding during the middle of a workday.

Thank you!

[donkeybike]

me: stopped at the red light in front of Court House CVS
you: blowing past me right before the light changed
It’s good for us both that I did not wobble.
I passed you because I was getting into the left lane for the turn into my building, not to show my nonexistent speed skills, but it is oh-so-impressive that you can pass a 40-year-old gal with a bike 10 times heavier than yours.
If I get taken out by a car so be it, but to be at risk because a cyclist cannot be bothered to call a pass or ring a bell is ridiculous.

[baiskeli]

To the four (4) cyclists who all passed me on the right at different times in my commute yesterday, with no warning of course: don’t do that.

[83b]

Yesterday Evening:
You: Philadelphia motorcycle cops using your lights and sirens to breeze through rush hour traffic.
Me: That cyclist giving you a death glare as you ride towards him in the Penn Ave bike lanes. Seriously, no one cares if it’s cop week. Go home and take your bagpipes with you.

This morning:
You: News crew setting up tripods to do a shoot in the Penn Ave bike lane.
Me: The cyclist who reminded you that was a travel lane and you shouldn’t set up there. “Yea, whatever, we know” was not an appropriate response. Hope to see you again when I’m not running late for a meeting.

[Author]

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