[e34john]

I travel past a park with a jogging trail that goes along the road and there are always a few people who jog in the bike lane against traffic. Am I supposed to get out of the bike lane into traffic because these guys want to be in the road? Maybe these guys should run in the middle of the street instead.

 

[martinrjensen]

don't worry about it.

That's pretty much the reason I gave up completely on MUP's (multi-use-paths). there's no fighting it, if you try, you just get mad and that takes all the fun out of the ride for me. Now if I do have to go on a MUP, I just accept it for what it is ( a walker/jogger path that allows bikes) and get off as soon as I can back onto the road where I can ride like a bike at normal speeds. I say, just accept it and learn to live with it. I really don't think there is any fighting it, it's a loosing battle.

I travel past a park with a jogging trail that goes along the road and there are always a few people who jog in the bike lane against traffic. Am I supposed to get out of the bike lane into traffic because these guys want to be in the road? Maybe these guys should run in the middle of the street instead.

 

[e34john]

It isn't multi use. It is a bike lane that they are on. I guess I was just ranting because they choose to run in the bike lane even though there is an adjacent jogging path. I can't even get to the jogging path on my bike because theres a berm separating the two. People bring their dogs and there are horses on there too so maybe thats why they use the bike lane. The road is wide enough that I can go a little into the traffic lane so no big deal.

It upsets me most that run against traffic and sometimes I don't know which way they are going to dodge and one day a collision will be inevitable. Just don't want to wreck my bike, and I woudln't even be on that road but it saves about 3 miles and is the safest one for me to take to school.

 

[skip]

I play chicken with the joggers that run in the bike lanes. When I get close to them, I yell. "Your running in a fricking bike lane, you fricking idiots". That seems to warm there hearts and a exchange of cusomary salutes. Frickin joggers.

 

[iraform]

Boy, I know what you mean. Here in NYC, joggers and other pedestrians have all but taken over the Hudson River bike path - even thought there's an adjacent pedestrian path that in many places is much nicer and right on the river. Even though I know I shouldn't, I sometimes go off on these runners, especially the joggers with iPods stuck in their ears who drift or turn into my path. I have seen dozens of accidents on the path and been involved in some incidents (none serious) myself, and nearly every one was caused by a jogger who did something unpredictable and was where he shouldn't have been. When I go by a particularly clueless pedestrian - one who is running in the middle of the path or wandering all over the place - I'll yell, "Natural selection!" at them. I know it doesn't do me any good, but it makes me feel better. Lately, I've been seeing joggers pushing their babies in carriages while running on the path. Nice! Nothing like risking the life of your kid while running on what is essentially a bike road. What angers me further is that there is absolutely no enforcement of the path. Yet, if I were to set one wheel on the pedestrian path, pedestrians and park police would be all over me (I've seen it happen).

 

[wim]

It isn't multi use. It is a bike lane that they are on.

Almost always, I move out of the bike lane and just let whoever wants it have it. Since I move out in the road anyway to avoid obstacles on the bike lane (parked cars, garbage cans, glass, dead animals, auto parts, pieces of sheetrock and so on) it's no big deal. But after a few tussles with cars, I can see how it could be satisfying to scream at someone who's even slower than you are.

 

[WaynefromOrlando]

It's like a food chain: the truck and bus drivers hate the cars that get in their way; the car drivers hate the cyclists that get in their way; the cyclists hate the pedestrians that get in their way, and the pedestrians are as clueless as plankton until they either drive or get on a bike and thereby evolve up the food chain.

It's funny how that works. I have seen cyclists who rag on joggers and peds who take up the whole MUT turn around and do exactly the same thing when cross training on the trail, running in groups 4 and 5 across, taking up the whole trail. It's like they devolved once they got off their bikes, or simply forgot everything they knew or experienced. I have heard people I knew were cyclists complaining about cyclists on the road, even though they themselves would be cycling on the same roads the following Saturday.

Human beings sure are an interesting animal, capable of evolving and devolving on a dime!

 

[JCavilia]

Almost always, I move out of the bike lane and just let whoever wants it have it. Since I move out in the road anyway to avoid obstacles on the bike lane (parked cars, garbage cans, glass, dead animals, auto parts, pieces of sheetrock and so on) it's no big deal. But after a few tussles with cars, I can see how it could be satisfying to scream at someone who's even slower than you are.

Second that. Unless trafic is heavy, it's usually easy to move out into the middle of the lane to pass obstacles on the shoulder, including joggers and wrong-way cyclists. I use a mirror, so I pretty much always know what the traffic situation is behind me, and I can picka a safe moment to move over.

The road is wide enough that I can go a little into the traffic lane so no big deal.

You might want to modify this approach a little. Moving "a little" into the traffic lane sometimes puts you in a more dangerous position than moving clear over into the center of the lane, because it tempts drivers to pass you too close. Depending on the speed of the overtaking traffic, it's often better to pick a good opening and move clearly into the center of the lane, forcing the traffic to move over or wait. Then you move back as soon as it's safe. Unless traffic on the road is heavy, you can usually manage a spot big enough to pass a jogger, sometimes by adjusting your speed a bit. A mirror helps A LOT in this process. You also want to be very visible. Wear bright colors, and a blinking red light on the back is helpful even in daylight.

 

[vontress]

I've run with some of these people and they are rookies to running and indeed clueless. Unfortunatly, as long as there are twinkies in the world, there will be a steady supply of runner wana-be's.

 

[Tommy Walker]

Joggers in the Lane
Joggers in the Lane
Those little runners just drive me insane
Moving to the side is really a pain
Whatya gonna do with joggers in the lane.

 

[Oracle7775]

Mount up one of these bad boys to your handlbars:

 

[roscoe]

how is a jogger any different from a slow moving bike?

if anything a jogger (unless they're really out of shape) should be narrower than a bike and easier to get around

 

[nayr497]

Ha ha ha...I'm enjoying all the venom here for joggers. I find jogging boring and get annoyed when joggers take up bike lanes.

But, like others have said, it is part of the food chain. I don't like them, but I just put up with them and go around them. I do find it odd though how joggers get a lot more respect from drivers than cyclists. And what's up with running in the road the wrong way when there is a nice, grassy shoulder? It just like cyclists taking up a whole lane when not necessary. (and I know jogging against traffic is suggested but I can only imagine the rage we'd incur if we bike against traffic)

 

[azpeterb]

One thing about your posts is that you commented a couple times about the joggers running against traffic. Remember that pedestrians (and joggers fall into that category) are SUPPOSED to walk/run facing traffic. Kinda like bicyclists are supposed to ride with traffic, just in reverse.

I encounter this issue a lot as well but that's because the joggers don't always like to run on the sidewalk, which is made of cement and less forgiving to a runner's ankles, knees and hips compared to running on asphalt. For the most part I give them plenty of room as I pass and they run closer to the curb so there's plenty of room for us both. No big deal. One nice thing is that where I ride it seems that most of the joggers are women, and it's not always such a bad thing to see a woman running towards you, if you know what I mean and I think you do.

 

[j__h]

Sounds like car driver vs cyclist argument. (e.g. cyclist shouldn't be on the roads with cars, they should be riding on the sidewalk etc) Probably just need to find ways to better educate the runners.

 

[seemana]

I didn't realize joggers were so hated. Does it matter if I'm a runner, not a jogger...I view the two entirely different. But that's beside the point. Where I live, I have no need to ride on a MUT...plenty of county roads with no traffic in these parts. I do run on MUTs periodically though to get through certain parts of town. So a question for the MUT using bicyclists here.

As a biker on a MUT, which would you prefer I do, run on the left side of the trail, treating it as a road, or run on the right side of the trail? Remember, I'm talking about MUTs here, not bike lanes on a road. I was thinking of this last night on my run so this thread is pretty timely.

 

[vontress]

Simple solution.https://www.ashevillenow.com/arts-entertainment/galleries-artists-crafters/images/bike_joust.jpg

 

[Tommy Walker]

how is a jogger any different from a slow moving bike?

if anything a jogger (unless they're really out of shape) should be narrower than a bike and easier to get around

The slow moving bike is moving in the same direction as you; the jogger is coming at you in the bike lane. He or she should be on the adjacent trail. You see them coming, OK, do you move left or do you move right?

 

[vontress]

 

[Cliff O]

The slow moving bike is moving in the same direction as you; the jogger is coming at you in the bike lane. He or she should be on the adjacent trail. You see them coming, OK, do you move left or do you move right?

Short answer: move left.

Long answer: the flip side of that is that if the runner is doing it right and facing traffic as they're supposed to, they see you coming too. I occasionally run in the bike lane if the sidewalk is less than suitable, and I occasionally come across runners in the bike lane when I'm out riding. I live and normally run in the suburbs, and ride in the suburbs or rural areas. My experience has been that most of the time runners will see me early on and move as far away from the roadway as they can to give me room to pass them safely. On rare occasions they'll get territorial (or worse: simply be oblivious to their surroundings) and hold their ground. In the latter case you just deal, but it doesn't hurt to make sure you generate as much wind buffeting as you can when you pass them a little on the close side...