runners in bike lanes - how to handle?

**americancyclo** · 08-13-2011, 10:02 AM

Originally Posted by KLizotte

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** · 08-16-2011, 03:43 PM

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** · 08-16-2011, 09:02 PM

Originally Posted by americancyclo

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** · 08-17-2011, 09:51 AM

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** · 08-17-2011, 10:10 AM

Originally Posted by Brendan von Buckingham

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.