Joggers....

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gbb

Legendary Member
Location
Peterborough
Just a quick moan...forgive me :biggrin:

Nice town / urban ride tonight. Mix it up a bit with the traffic in town (i always enjoy that). Out of town along a several mile long cycle lane. Nice in itself, you are nicely seperated, albeit only by a white line from the traffic...until you come across a jogger, running in the cycle lane, with his back to you and the traffic. He cant see me or anything else.

I'm forced into the road, thankyou the Audi driver who had the decency to give me room.

'The cyle lanes for cycles mate' i called as i went past the jogger

He called something out, but it wasnt an apology.....

A quick w@nker sign was my retort.

Shame, someone always has to spoil it. A lovely ride otherwise.
 

Fab Foodie

hanging-on in quiet desperation ...
Location
Kirton, Devon.
I usually find a quick zing on the bell and they're happy to move-over.
 
I came across a jogger on Sunday whilst on a SPOKES run, he decided to stop in the middle of the road with his back to us. He seemed not to hear the 26 cyclists heading towards him with bells going like mad, people shouting too. Only when us cyclists did reach him did he react, jumped with fright, he had his head phones in, he did apologize however and I don't think anybody minded, it gave us a laugh :biggrin:
 

yenrod

Guest
The hardcore joggers/runners are a pain !

But the out for a run 15mins or whatever are generally regular people !
 

Blue

Legendary Member
Location
N Ireland
Just in from a walk with the Mrs. Was walking fast up a hill when some tosser on a bike came racing down the hill on the same footpath. Felt like kicking him and his bike into the road, but then I thought, live and let live, eh!
 

SamNichols

New Member
Location
Colne, Lancs
My dad, who does triathlon, is now a jogger. He doesn't wear headphones and wears a hilarious high-viz baselayer/high-viz gloves combo. Ron Hill's new company 'hilly' makes some pretty funny clothes. So, they're not all bad.

I hate joggers that tut. You are walking down a street, and they go 'excuse me' and tut. What's the hurry pal, got somewhere to be? no, you don't, you're just flipping jogging through Rusholme. The ones that jog in impractical places really get my goat.
 
What I don't understand about joggers is their seeminlgly pathalogical desire to run in the middle of whatever path they are on, thus making it as hard as possible to pass them.

Especially in Battersea Park for example, where a string of four can occupy the entire road!
 

Pete

Guest
I'm disappointed at the attitudes in this thread.

Firstly, as far as I know it's not illegal to jog in the carriageway - nor in a cycle lane. Certainly for competitive road races this is normal practice, so why not for a jogger on a training run? Has he not the right to use the road, same as you have?

Secondly, we all know these painted cycle lanes. OK they are useful at times, but you have to be aware they're not there for you all the time. You will come across breaks in the lane at junctions, at bus stops. There will be cars parked in them. And pedestrians - whether jogging or not. Road works. Other cyclists who happen to be slower than you. If you choose to use the lane, you have to be prepared to move out into the main carriageway to round an obstruction, at any time. If you can't do that because you can't manage cycling in the traffic, because you haven't mastered finding the gap and moving out, well you shouldn't be in the cycle lane.

Show a bit of consideration to other road users. There is no such thing as an exclusive cycle lane, in this country.

How much nicer it would have been, if you'd carefully overtaken the jogger with a cheery 'good morning' and he'd returned the compliment?
 

SamNichols

New Member
Location
Colne, Lancs
Pete said:
I'm disappointed at the attitudes in this thread.

Firstly, as far as I know it's not illegal to jog in the carriageway - nor in a cycle lane. Certainly for competitive road races this is normal practice, so why not for a jogger on a training run? Has he not the right to use the road, same as you have?

It's perfectly legal, but most joggers are so encased in keeping their head down, moving forwards and listening to whatever music is on their ipod that they show no consideration to pedestrians. This is always made especially apparent when joggers run down busy pavements. The example I used, Rusholme, runs through the busiest thoroughfare in Manchester, yet joggers still insist on running straight down it, presumably down into Fallowfield, and get in everyone's way. imagine someone jogging straight down Oxford street - is that a good idea? no. It's a terrible idea, as it infuriates everyone.

Secondly, we all know these painted cycle lanes. OK they are useful at times, but you have to be aware they're not there for you all the time. You will come across breaks in the lane at junctions, at bus stops. There will be cars parked in them. And pedestrians - whether jogging or not. Road works. Other cyclists who happen to be slower than you. If you choose to use the lane, you have to be prepared to move out into the main carriageway to round an obstruction, at any time. If you can't do that because you can't manage cycling in the traffic, because you haven't mastered finding the gap and moving out, well you shouldn't be in the cycle lane.

Show a bit of consideration to other road users. There is no such thing as an exclusive cycle lane, in this country.

How much nicer it would have been, if you'd carefully overtaken the jogger with a cheery 'good morning' and he'd returned the compliment?

Cycle lanes are there to split pedestrians from cyclists, as much as to split cyclists from traffic. Again I use the example of Oxford Road, manchester. Oxford Road is the busiest bus line in Europe. There are around 30 buses on a two mile stretch of road at any one time. this makes riding down that road quite hazardous. Manchester city council, therefore, put a cyle path down the side of the road. The cycle path is set apart from the pedestrian path - there is a fork in it, with the cycl path running through Whitworth Park and down the left hand fork, the pedestrian path avoiing it completely. Still, people walk and jog down it. Cyclists are already demonised enough, without pedestrians shouting abuse at us when they are essentially jay walking.

Urban life isn't like country life. We are bombarded with people. Greater London has eight million, greater Manchester has around 3 million. that's a lot of people - all of whom, being absorbed in their own lives tend not to concentrate on hazards and feel shocked when someone disturbs them from their slumber. Saying good morning doesn't help, a simple excuse me is what I use, and I get harangued for it. I am not impolite to joggers, but in my experience, they tend not to be polite to anyone, so wrapped up are they in running their run. I'd rather they got on the treadmill and stopped annoying everyone.
 

Andy in Sig

Vice President in Exile
This is a very British debate as this sort of problem only seems to occur in the UK. Somebody has already mentioned the solution: use a bell. I find that when I come up behind joggers or walkers the best thing is to give a couple of dings from as far back as possible which gives them time to look round and get out of the way without getting a fright. (Why is it that I suspect some roadies wouldn't want to be caught dead with bells on their bikes?)

That said it probably ought to be illegal to go jogging while listening to music etc on any busy thoroughfare, OK in the countryside I suppose.
 

Jaded

New Member
Bells only really work at slower speeds because they can't be heard from longer distances. They often don't work at all if the person ahead is engrossed in thought.

I'm not quite sure why it should be legal to block a narrow path whilst wearing headphones in the country, but banned in urban areas.

Townies who have no idea what the country is or is like maybe?
 

Andy in Sig

Vice President in Exile
I just thought that there must be statistically less chance of encountering other people on rural rides than in cities. It is, of course, just as annoying for the blocked person in either circumstance.
 

ChrisKH

Guru
Location
Essex
Andy in Sig said:
This is a very British debate as this sort of problem only seems to occur in the UK. Somebody has already mentioned the solution: use a bell. I find that when I come up behind joggers or walkers the best thing is to give a couple of dings from as far back as possible which gives them time to look round and get out of the way without getting a fright. (Why is it that I suspect some roadies wouldn't want to be caught dead with bells on their bikes?)

That said it probably ought to be illegal to go jogging while listening to music etc on any busy thoroughfare, OK in the countryside I suppose.

I see in the press that some organisers of Marathons in the US are banning the use of IPODS. It's a bit early in the morning so I can't remember why. I think it's because they are too engrossed in the running, can;t hear what's going on around them and are isolated from the other runners and the spectators. Not much fun for spectators if a bunch of non-participative robots with IPODS go past.
 
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