The Random Turn – The Book of Ninja Styles

[pfunkallstar]

This morning wasn’t a particularly early one, but it was surprisingly eventful. Why? Oh, just some NINJAS!

Heading down the Custis trail I was keeping a pretty regular pace (15 mph or so) and came upon a young woman dressed in an all-black ensemble (Ninjas!) rocking some over-sized headphones. I get out “On your…” and then she does the classic Ninja “no signal, this is the imaginary end of my run, turn around.” Luckily I was able to dodge her but got an indignant stare.

Down past TR Island I encountered a slightly more visible Ninja, sporting the head to toe Georgetown look. As we approached the split on the wooden deck she darted to the right and then performed what can only be described as a “J-Turn” deftly trotting backwards to head down the left split. Again, I was able to dodge her, but I definitely left some rubber on that grip paint.

Seeing as how the trail was almost empty this morning, I’m just going to chalk this all up to spectacularly bad luck and move on. Also, for those that will say “Well you need to be more (visible, loud, agressive)” I had my Torch of the Sun on blinky down near TR and my voice can be heard for a mile.

Anyways, feel free to contribute to the Book of Ninja Styles. Plenty of entries to be had.

Topic

[creadinger]

On my Sunday evening commute home ~6-6:30 I saw several ninjas on the MVT between 395 and the Crystal City spur.

Can’t really say that they resembled any specific species of ninja, but there were a bunch of the let’s watch the airplanes in the dark ninjas at gravelly point, and I saw a couple of ninja cyclists heading north near the train bridge where it’s really dark! They didn’t have a single light on them, so I’m not sure how they could actually be riding. They must have been the oops, it got dark earlier than I thought and now we’re screwed ninja. Saw a few joggers too, but most of them had the minutest little reflective pin stripes on their shorts/shirts that they can’t be considered ninjas.

So as I come up to an on-coming person. If I look down enough so that my headlamp only illuminates them up to their waist as I pass, I’m not blinding them correct?

[JeffC]

Wow, I’m loving the taxonomy and since I visited the founder of taxonomy’s home in Sweden (that would be Carl Linnaeus) a few years ago, I need to give a name to the Ninja style I noted a few posts ago, namely the female jogger that cannot run in a straight line so I came up with this:

Ninjus Ambulara Rapido Inibrius

[GuyContinental]

Ninjus Cyclus Brokenus Squatus
Seen last night smack in the middle of the WO&D on the WB downhill from Vienna to Hunter Mill- Guy was sitting in the middle of the WB lane changing a tire- he had a small LED headlamp but it was focused on the tire and completely invisible from a distance. I stopped to help (was heading EB) and politely suggested that he scoot off the trail… he declined to do so.

[pfunkallstar]

@GuyContinental 12162 wrote:

Ninjus Cyclus Brokenus Squatus
Seen last night smack in the middle of the WO&D on the WB downhill from Vienna to Hunter Mill- Guy was sitting in the middle of the WB lane changing a tire- he had a small LED headlamp but it was focused on the tire and completely invisible from a distance. I stopped to help (was heading EB) and politely suggested that he scoot off the trail… he declined to do so.

It was a night of blockages I say! I was riding back late last night on the Custis and ran into a pack of three bicyclists walking up the hill by the Ed Center. This is around 8pm or so, needless to say I was surprised. They were apparently in town for the holidays and kinda hammered, they also refused to scoot over. Sad.

[MCL1981]

I had a good one the other night. I come around a sharp bend on the “Bethesda Trolley Trail” to find a pack of high school kids wearing all black using the dark corner as a place to toke it up. They were just standing there oblivious to me needing to get through them. I had the deflector array on full power. I rang the bell to the point of sounding like a train. I actually had to stop. Finally I yelled “HI, I’M REAL, CAN YOU MAKE A HOLE PLEASE!”. They kind of drifted around to the point where I could weave through. I couldn’t figure out why they seemed like deer in headlights until I passed through them and smelled the situation.

[americancyclo]

@MCL1981 12184 wrote:

I couldn’t figure out why they seemed like deer in headlights

Maybe it’s because you have enormously bright headlights on your bike?

[GuyContinental]

Ninjus Slackerus Teenagus

Best dispersed by yelling “COPS!” like a deranged lunatic…

[MCL1981]

@americancyclo 12186 wrote:

Maybe it’s because you have enormously bright headlights on your bike?

touche.

@GuyContinental 12228 wrote:

Ninjus Slackerus Teenagus

Best dispersed by yelling “COPS!” like a deranged lunatic…

BRILLIANT! I’m going to try that next time.

[Author]

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