Starting to develop a dislike for A.M. joggers

[Sheldon Bourgeois]

I try to be a safe rider. Lights on the bike, wear reflective gear. I do all I can to be seen. However, I can not say the same for most joggers I'm passing "or should I say avoiding" during my morning commute to work lately.

The last 3 KM of my ride are mostly on an old railway line that runs through the woods, and at 6 A.M. it's pitch black outside. The ride passes through some marshy areas and this morning was very foggy and hard to see. I almost took out a jogger, and that jogger then gave me an earful. I had to stop, turn around and give it right back to her. I just don't know what would possess a person to go for an A.M. jog through the woods, dressed in black, no reflective anything and not even a candle of a light. 3 times now I've come up on people in a hurry because of this.

Is it me??? Are joggers becoming unintelligent during there evolution? What gives??????

 

[MrJamie]

Most of my running is in the dark on weeknights, i've never really thought of it as a problem. Most running gear particularly shoes has plenty of reflectives on though.

What front lights are you using, when i ride around a popular running spot in the dark, the light from two magicshines shows up runners way in advance - quite often makes them jump off the path to the grass wondering wtf is approaching as everything lights up around them

 

[snorri]

Yes it's you, you say you try to be a safe rider, but it's not only your own safety you have to think of but that of other path/road users you may meet on your journey. Particular care is required on paths shared by cyclists and people on foot.
Get yourself a decent front light that will illuminate hazards ahead and adjust your speed to match the weather, light conditions and other traffic.
You deserved to get an earful from the jogger, her behaviour was understandable in the situation you describe.
You admit to three instances of near collision with a jogger....how many repeats will it take before you realise you are cycling recklessly?
Joggers are under no obligation to wear lighting and it's a bit bold of you to question the intelligence of joggers in general.
Be a more considerate cyclist, you could be giving the rest of us a bad name..

 

[Sheldon Bourgeois]

Yes it's you, you say you try to be a safe rider, but it's not only your own safety you have to think of but that of other path/road users you may meet on your journey. Particular care is required on paths shared by cyclists and people on foot.
Get yourself a decent front light that will illuminate hazards ahead and adjust your speed to match the weather, light conditions and other traffic.
You deserved to get an earful from the jogger, her behaviour was understandable in the situation you describe.
You admit to three instances of near collision with a jogger....how many repeats will it take before you realise you are cycling recklessly?
Joggers are under no obligation to wear lighting and it's a bit bold of you to question the intelligence of joggers in general.
Be a more considerate cyclist, you could be giving the rest of us a bad name..

My first thought when I read this is "Are you for real?" Then I realized you must also be a jogger.......

To make the assumption by reading my post that I must have inadequate lighting or as you say " am riding recklessly" is an unintelligent assumption. Therefore I'll assume, from you're post, that you are rationally challenged and speak before you think.

And to say that I'm giving cyclists a bad name??? Since you're the Uber member, I'll bow before you in shame. Be kinda hard though while you're sitting way up there on your high horse.

Lastly, in your part of the world things may be different, but in my neck of the woods joggers ARE responsible to wear lighting and reflective material. You'd think it would be a common sense issue, but once again in your part of the world maybe there is no such thing as common sense ????

 

[Oldspice]

I wear a headtorch when i go through the woods and a red cateye on my backpack. Maybe these people are vampires, wear garlic and see what happens

 

[Sheldon Bourgeois]

I wear a headtorch when i go through the woods and a red cateye on my backpack. Maybe these people are vampires, wear garlic and see what happens

I've got 2 Planet Bike Beemer 3's up front, 2 lights out back "Planet Bike and a BEAMBUG" which I thought gave decent lighting considering my top speed on these back trails in the morning is around 15-18 km/h. Could be the fog though that's making them hard to see as well. A buddy of mine told me to get a HEDI???? light as they are super bright so I'm going to pick one up this weekend and give it a whirl.

 

[Oldspice]

I've got 2 Planet Bike Beemer 3's up front, 2 lights out back "Planet Bike and a BEAMBUG" which I thought gave decent lighting considering my top speed on these back trails in the morning is around 15-18 km/h. Could be the fog though that's making them hard to see as well. A buddy of mine told me to get a HEDI???? light as they are super bright so I'm going to pick one up this weekend and give it a whirl.

On 'Runners Forum' a lot of joggers wear head torches and flashing armbands. It makes sense to be as visible as possible when your in poor light or fog, it helps to stop you getting knocked down.

Guess some people think that they have no responsibility for there own safety. I wear one of these, one click gives a single red beam, two clicks gives a double white beam, it's bright and saves me from stepping in poop.

 

[Sheldon Bourgeois]

I notice quite a few runners that wear something similar. I see them off in the distance, sometimes assume it's a fellow biker if I don't notice the "up/down" motion of the light. Seeing them lets me know what's coming and too be extra careful upon approach, much the same as I would treat a fellow biker.

You'd think if you were running in the woods on a twisty trail you'd make sure to have some sort of safety lighting.

 

[Oldspice]

I get a heart attack every time some one runs past in the dark. There going to end up breaking bones, not being able to see properly. Wish people would be more considerate of others

 

[MrJamie]

I would look at upgrading your lights for pitch black night riding, google suggests the uprated v2 Beemer 3s are only 21 lumens, a T6 magicshine clone light would have maybe 50 times the light output and make a huge difference on trails and probably only cost the equivilent of £30.

I honestly cant imagine relying on other people to be lit up even if they should be, there's always plenty of joggers, walkers, dog walkers with tripwires, some unlit cyclists, chavs here and hardly any of them have any kind of lighting but its no problem riding full daytime speed if you have appropriate lighting

 

[Oldspice]

Can't see the point why, they all ready have more than enough of lighting system set up. A person wants to act irresponsibly then why should someone else brunt the cost.

 

[Jimmy Doug]

I would look at upgrading your lights for pitch black night riding, google suggests the uprated v2 Beemer 3s are only 21 lumens, a T6 magicshine clone light would have maybe 50 times the light output and make a huge difference on trails and probably only cost the equivilent of £30.

I honestly cant imagine relying on other people to be lit up even if they should be, there's always plenty of joggers, walkers, dog walkers with tripwires, some unlit cyclists, chavs here and hardly any of them have any kind of lighting but its no problem riding full daytime speed if you have appropriate lighting

I'm a jogger too. But there's no way I'd ever even consider going outside at night without wearing reflective clothing (although I only run during the day). All the runners I know around here wear high-viz jackets and sport a head-torch. To say it's Sheldon's fault isn't fair. So he doesn't have a magichsine? Come on! How long have these powerful lights been around? When I first started commuting the most powerful light I could get hold of was an Everready lamp! It was quite adequate then. Does the existence of ultra-powerful - probably too powerful - lights on the market now move the goal posts? Sheldon is kitted out appropriately; it's the joggers in this situation who need to be aware that they're sharing with cyclists and so adapt an appropriate attire.

 

[MacB]

You're riding on a shared use path get over it, this is like cycling on the pavement and complaining about pedestrians not being lit up.

 

[Oldspice]

You're riding on a shared use path get over it, this is like cycling on the pavement and complaining about pedestrians not being lit up.

No it's not

 

[BentMikey]

Perhaps the joggers aren't being very responsible, I'd certainly agree with you on that. OTOH what about your responsibility to ride at a speed at which you can stop in the distance you can see to be clear? If you can't see a jogger, how are you going to see a fallen tree across the path?