runners in bike lanes – how to handle?

[KLizotte]

I find jogging in the bike lanes to be all the more irksome since there are sidewalks EVERYWHERE (which we cyclists help pay for I might add). We cyclists are only asking for our little bit of space and peds already have so much.

The joggers should also realize that it is unreasonable and unsafe to expect us to swerve into traffic in order to go around them. For that reason alone, it should be made illegal. And joggers running in the wrong direction is insane – they really can’t expect us to do a long swoop around them so they aren’t frightened out of their wits by a cyclist heading straight at them can they?

Saw my first “against traffic” bike lane jogger last week on South Joyce Street in front of Pentagon Row (brand new, mostly wide bike lanes there). I think the County is going to have revise its laws soon as more lanes are put in place.

My last pet peeve: peds on MUTs who do not wear blinkies/reflective gear at night (same goes for cyclists who don’t use blinkies). I decided after last night’s ride that I need to buy some more candle power to make sure I don’t bump into someone’s dog or a jogger wearing all black.

Thank goodness it’s Friday.

[CCrew]

@KLizotte 7065 wrote:

I decided after last night’s ride that I need to buy some more candle power to make sure I don’t bump into someone’s dog or a jogger wearing all black.

Since 50% of my commute is in the dark of night now you understand why I run as much candlepower as I do. I’ve found that the helmet mounted light is the most effective of all, in that I can aim for the errant ninja yet look down or away to stop from blinding one that has the sensibilities to wear gear that can be seen.

[Greenbelt]

My favorite are the folks who powerwalk against the flow in the bikelanes. In groups sometimes. With a sidewalk right next to them. I’m sorry, but they’re jerks.

[5555624]

@Greenbelt 7071 wrote:

My favorite are the folks who powerwalk against the flow in the bikelanes. In groups sometimes. With a sidewalk right next to them. I’m sorry, but they’re jerks.

Anyone going against the flow is easy to deal with — I get off my bike and stand next to it. Between my bike and I, I can pretty much block most of the bike lane and make them go out and into traffic or onto the sidewalk. If they say something, I just comment that since they are not supposed to be in the bike lane, I just want to make sure they don’t have to deal with a moving bike and get hurt.

[americancyclo]

@KLizotte 7065 wrote:

I need to buy some more candle power to make sure I don’t bump into someone’s dog or a jogger wearing all black.

exactly why I bought a bright light. only mine was AFTER a collision with a ninja jogger. at least she apologized for wearing all black and no lights.

I’ve thought about buying some bulk blinkies and handing them out along the trail to unlit runners.

[Dan_ator]

In addition to the situation with the joggers, there are often cyclists that ride the wrong way in a bike lane. This bothers me to no end. Once, I gave an intense, disapproving stare to someone doing this. She returned an embarrassed, sheepish shrug. But of course she continued on her (wrong) way.

Once, while riding up the two-way bike lane on 15th just north of Penn, I nearly ran down a group of people standing in the bike lane, something tourists do all the time. Being the DC ambassador that I am, I usually yell at them to get the — out of the bike lane. This time, the offender was indeed from out of town: Senator Chuck Schumer.

[KLizotte]

@americancyclo 7078 wrote:

exactly why I bought a bright light. only mine was AFTER a collision with a ninja jogger. at least she apologized for wearing all black and no lights.

I’ve thought about buying some bulk blinkies and handing them out along the trail to unlit runners.

Ouch; I hope she sustained more bruises than you. After tonight’s late night ride, I’ve discovered that my new 250 lumens light (that takes 4.5 hrs to fully charge – grrrr) is insufficient for comfortable night riding. At minimum, I would need two of them – one to aim straight forward, the other to aim more directly on the ground in front of the bike.

While riding on the Custis and MVT at about 9:00 pm I was *stunned* by how many joggers/walkers there were not wearing any reflective clothing at all (aside from a few reflective logos on shirts/sneakers) nor any lights. I almost ran down a female walker under one of the bridges (where it is really dark) wearing all black. I can’t even imagine what would possess a sane woman to walk alone in the dark along one of the trails.

More alarming is that the majority of cyclists were not using lights or reflective gear. I really don’t know how they could see where they were going since I’m lit up like a Xmas tree and was still having a hard time.

Crazy world. The fireflies seem to be gone too.

[Brendan von Buckingham]

When I ran track and we did distance training, they taught us to run against the flow of traffic so we could see oncoming traffic and jump out of the road if we had to. When I’m in my bike lane WB Rosslyn to Courthouse, I hold my line and expect the runner coming at me to get out of the way (i.e., jump onto the sidewalk). That’s why he/she is running against the flow of traffic afterall, so they’re able to get out of the way.

[americancyclo]

@Brendan von Buckingham 7178 wrote:

run against the flow of traffic so we could see oncoming traffic and jump out of the road if we had to.

That made sense where I grew up in upstate NY, and in places without sidewalks, but in urban areas and on MUTs I don’t think it’s wise, and it really irks me.

[Brendan von Buckingham]

Me too. It goes without saying that when I was growing up in 1880’s East Jabip Kansas, there was no such thing as a bike lane for me either.

[PotomacCyclist]

@Brendan von Buckingham 7187 wrote:

Me too. It goes without saying that when I was growing up in 1880’s East Jabip Kansas, there was no such thing as a bike lane for me either.

Still cycling after more than 120 years? Wow!

(kidding)

[Author]

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