Militant runners on country lanes

There are lots of country roads round me which do not have pavements and people run / cycle on them. Cars usually only do 30-40 as they are fairly narrow. Works fine.

Rightly so. I mean running on a busy road is an extremely low IQ thing to do. Not only do you put yourself in danger, you slow everyone down massively. Why not just jog around the park or the housing areas like normal people do.

How do you think I get to the park, genius?

I’m not running along the M1, these are quiet rural roads.

‘Rightly so’ indeed

Much more sensible than a highway in rush hour

Doesn't really matter. Everyone knows you don't go into a corner faster than you can stop if an obstacle appears. Away from dedicated cycle tracks the chances these days of finding a dog walker is pretty high so you don't tend to pile in at a speed that puts you at risk. Some folk aren't fully able to keep control of their hormones so end up in the trees, hopefully unhurt. Even on the dedicated tracks there's still the chance of finding a crashed rider but you do end up running the risk.

Got to laugh at the internet hard men on here, apoplectic with rage at others using 'their' roads.

Makes you wonder how they cope with stuff that actually does have a meaningful impact on their lives

I think the problems come in when people do believe they have more claim over road usage than someone else.

Paying VED does not confer any VIP membership of the road users club, many drivers dont pay it anyway as they have a small car or EV, we need to get past that idea, as couple with the fact a car is big and expensive some do seem to think that they are higher in the peckng order, there isnt a pecking order just vulnerable vs not vulnerable, in law we are all equals on the road, Bentley or bicycle, horse or horsebox, just some different rules as to how to operate.

I know some cyclists may seem militant and entitled, pretty sure some are but by and large on a bike its largely about survival.

There is also the factor that for each mode of transport, they have different strengths and weaknesses, different speed, visibility, weight, width etc etc and sometimes that ignorant pratt on a bike is looking forward, has no rear view mirror and is doing 20 mph, stick you head out of your window in the car and see how much you can hear. So you may perceive that as ignorant and holding you up but try and understand they may not have clocked you, its like this kid I knew, thought the little sod was giving me the evil eye all the time, nope, turns out he didnt like wearing his gasses and was just squinting to see better.

Its not your road, nobody has any more claim to it, try to think whether a short delay due to a pedestrian, runner or cyclist is actually impacting you that much ? Do you react to a queue of cars by getting apoplectic in 2.5 seconds like the sight of male buttocks all wrapped in Lycra ?

And, dont treat one road user based on assumptions or prior interactions with similar, thats mental, people are all individuals, if all else fails, remember how many cameras are around nowadays, dashcams, phones and a fair few cyclists have helmet mounted cameras, so your fkwittery can come back to haunt you as the latest viral video trend, so be nice, be courtous and accept that sometimes you may have to wait or slow down.

Please dont be like that bloke using his windscreen washer fluid like some feeble defence mechanism.

Once you have experienced a few cars or vans just carrying on past you in a narrow lane at 35 - 45 mph cuss there’s room you get a little more militant.
Most drivers are fine and slow right down or stop for you in a lane. But I’ve been scared on many an occasion by some ignorant person who seems to think there’s no need to slow down for a pedestrian as they speed past in their 2 tonne metal box. Long story short, if you regularly coming across ‘militant runners’ then you’re not being careful enough to slow down or indeed stop and allow them to run past you.

The above only applies for single track lanes. On larger roads slowing down is friendly and ideally pulling out is greatly appreciated obviously when safe to do so.
Sometimes I’m surprised by the arrogance and rage of car drivers to more vulnerable road users. Your moral duty as a driver is to protect and go out of you way to prevent injury to others. Even if they are inconveniently running down your road!

I’m a keen driver and there’s plenty of places to make progress. But this always has to be done in respect of other road users. If I have to slow down or stop for a runner or cyclists then I do so. It’s really very easy for me to squeeze a pedal to go slower or quicker.

Most people who are furious with cyclists or runners need to get out of the vehicles and spend some time getting exercise and experience sharing the roads with angry people in metal boxes. It gives you a whole new perspective and makes you a more conscious and considerate human.