As a Cyclist, I Should Be Shot

Yesterday, I hit a man with my bike. You heard me. Strike One. I hear if you get 3 strikes, they throw your bike under a steamroller.

... Poor, poor Reagan.

No! Scratch that! Poor man that I hit with my bike! Although, to be fair, it was partially his fault.

Let me set the scene...

It was a sunny, windy, and cool day on the bike path. Our heroine, Kelly, was enjoying a leisurly ride with her buddy Reagan. The path was pretty empty for a Sunday, which Kelly chalked up to the fall-like temperatures (YES, 70 degrees is cold!).



Kelly noticed some people up ahead. It was during a specific stretch of the bike path where the path widened to twice its normal width. Despite this, there is still a white line drawn down the center to usher users to their designated halves.

The other people on the path were a man running and his young daughter riding a bike. Deciding to toe the line between safe and dangerous, the man was running... well... on the line.

Kelly weighed her options. A) Pass on the right. Possibly hit little swerving biker child. B) Pass on the left. Pass on the left where there is TONS of room.

The choice seemed clear. Kelly began to veer left into the oncoming lane. With about 7 feet between her and runner man, she didn't deem it necessary to warn him of her approach. What are the odds he's going to dart out in front of me, she laughed (***foreshadowing***).

Right before Kelly reached the passing point, suddenly it happened. Without warning, without notice, and most importantly, without LOOKING, the man suddenly decided to make an extremely large u-turn.

Fortunately, our heroine's reflexes are lightening fast. She yanked on her brakes and made a warning noise.

UNfortunately, our heroine's vocal responses are deceptively slow. She meant to yell "Watch Out!" or maybe give a helpful "Move!", but the noise coming from her more closely resembled an "Ooo!"

Yes, ladies and gentleman... in a heated moment such as this, Kelly can only give the notion of being amazed and intrigued.

Well, before the runner could realize what was happening (does he NOT know what "Ooo!" means?!), he was in the direct path of me and my bike.

Then BHAM!

He tried to stop me, bless his heart. He reached out his arms as if to stop a 180-pound mass of flesh and aluminum hurling towards him. Silly man.

Overall, the situation didn't end nearly as badly as it might have. The runner wasn't even knocked over (what fun is THAT?). He must've known he was mostly at fault, because even though I hit him, HE was the one apologizing. You BETTER aplogize! You ruined my momentum!

What did we learn from today's lesson? Even if the situation seems knock-me-over-the-head obvious, we STILL need to warn people that we're passing them... cause you just never know how stupid that person might end up being.