Fecking joggers
Discussion
Right, after another rant about cyclists, I thought it was time for me to spit out some vitriol against the group of people who really do annoy me: joggers.
I know another much-maligned bunch of people are horse riders. Now while some of them in the affluent home-counties 'daddy bought me a pony' areas might conform to the stereotype, most are nice people. You'll usually get a smile and a wave if you slow down to a sensible pace before overtaking them even if you rumble past in a TVR. Plus those jodhpurs can be very fetching on members of the opposite sex.
Likewise cyclists - a few of them may be a little mercenary in central London, but on the whole they're a reasonably sensible lot, most of whom also drive cars now and again as well. Use your mirrors, give them a bit of space and you'll probably get some respect for doing so.
Then you have joggers... I ride my bike (sorry, that does mean cycling) around some local woods and these are the one group without fail who blank you. They hunt in packs, sometimes five or ten strong; they take up the entire width of the trail and they do so with an unflinching sense of righteousness. They never give way, they never raise a smile and they certainly never say hello.
It continually astounds me that any other group of people (even on the outskirts of London) will usually respond to a cheery hello as you go past - it's just normal courtesy - but not joggers. They're pathogenically miserable.
So, I implore you, before the next cyclist-bashing thread, consider it could be far worse. It could be those smug, anti-social, masochists with their sweat bands getting in your way instead.
I know another much-maligned bunch of people are horse riders. Now while some of them in the affluent home-counties 'daddy bought me a pony' areas might conform to the stereotype, most are nice people. You'll usually get a smile and a wave if you slow down to a sensible pace before overtaking them even if you rumble past in a TVR. Plus those jodhpurs can be very fetching on members of the opposite sex.
Likewise cyclists - a few of them may be a little mercenary in central London, but on the whole they're a reasonably sensible lot, most of whom also drive cars now and again as well. Use your mirrors, give them a bit of space and you'll probably get some respect for doing so.
Then you have joggers... I ride my bike (sorry, that does mean cycling) around some local woods and these are the one group without fail who blank you. They hunt in packs, sometimes five or ten strong; they take up the entire width of the trail and they do so with an unflinching sense of righteousness. They never give way, they never raise a smile and they certainly never say hello.
It continually astounds me that any other group of people (even on the outskirts of London) will usually respond to a cheery hello as you go past - it's just normal courtesy - but not joggers. They're pathogenically miserable.
So, I implore you, before the next cyclist-bashing thread, consider it could be far worse. It could be those smug, anti-social, masochists with their sweat bands getting in your way instead.
One of the reasons I stopped using a MTB on the cycling track around Richmond Park was the joggers. Now to my mind a 14 stone 6' cyclist on a 20something lb bike moving at 15mph is something to get out of the way of, but not the joggers, no, they run 4 or 5 abreast and won't give way so you have to stop or move over. If you have an accident then it'll be your fault and you are the one that will be prosecuted.
Chris71 said:
ewenm said:
PH: Generalisation Matters.
I have been known to go for a run myself, but this generalisation is at least as valid as those levied at cyclists virtually every day on here.ref: Cyclists, BMW drivers, Audi drivers, Labour voters, rich people, etc, etc.
Chris, those aren't joggers, they sound like a freelance hit team to me!
I must count as some kind of evil on here because, to keep fit, I cycle and jog and enter 10ks and triathlons and things. On my bike, I always ride according to the rules of the road. I stop at red lights, respect the fact that the pavement is for pedestrians and the middle of the road is for cars and motorbikes, and don't swear at Range Rovers. When out jogging, I'll stop and jog on the spot if the pavement's narrow and there are people coming the other way.
I think the only generalisation you can make in this case is 'some people can be right obstructive
s'.
I must count as some kind of evil on here because, to keep fit, I cycle and jog and enter 10ks and triathlons and things. On my bike, I always ride according to the rules of the road. I stop at red lights, respect the fact that the pavement is for pedestrians and the middle of the road is for cars and motorbikes, and don't swear at Range Rovers. When out jogging, I'll stop and jog on the spot if the pavement's narrow and there are people coming the other way.
I think the only generalisation you can make in this case is 'some people can be right obstructive
s'.shirt said:
on the rare occasion i go jogging the miserable expression is one of pain and saying hello would use up my last breath and the energy needed to get me home!
Same here.Nothing to do with being miserable...just too knackered to even focus on anything other than the ground 2 meters ahead.
Edited by Get Karter on Tuesday 2nd September 14:35
Joggers round here are ok. However, there is one guy who NEVER steps onto the grass verge when there's two cars coming each way. He makes ME, the driver, slow down to avoid hitting him, rather than getting his lardy arse off the road (you know, the thing designed for CARS) and onto the grass verge. He was once on my side of the road on a blind bend, and I nearly cleaned him up on the way through. He then gave me a load of abuse, despite the fact he should have crossed to the other side of the road when approaching a blind bend.
Get Karter said:
shirt said:
on the rare occasion i go jogging the miserable expression is one of pain and saying hello would use up my last breath and the energy needed to get me home!
Same here.Nothing to do with being miserable...just too knackered to even focus on anything other than the ground 2 meters ahead.
Edited by Get Karter on Tuesday 2nd September 14:35
No...oxygen...in...head
head...won't...work...
nice...bloke...really...
Speed12fanatic said:
Joggers round here are ok. However, there is one guy who NEVER steps onto the grass verge when there's two cars coming each way. He makes ME, the driver, slow down to avoid hitting him, rather than getting his lardy arse off the road (you know, the thing designed for CARS) and onto the grass verge. He was once on my side of the road on a blind bend, and I nearly cleaned him up on the way through. He then gave me a load of abuse, despite the fact he should have crossed to the other side of the road when approaching a blind bend.
You do know the roads are for EVERYONE, yes? (Pedants: excepting the motorways and some dual carriageways). Also, how much effort is it for you to regain lost momentum in your car? A bend of the right ankle? How much effort is it for a jogger to regain momentum after stopping?
A tenet of advanced driving - always be able to stop in the distance you can see to be clear.
It sounds like the jogger's behaviour isn't perfect but then again, neither is your driving behaviour. Neither of you want to share the road space, both are inconsiderate.
Edited by ewenm on Tuesday 2nd September 15:05
Twincam16 said:
Chris, those aren't joggers, they sound like a freelance hit team to me!
I think the only generalisation you can make in this case is 'some people can be right obstructives'.
Oh yes. I think the only generalisation you can make in this case is 'some people can be right obstructive
s'.
They certainly have the demeanor of one.
Yet still I have nothing really against joggers - like I said I've been known to do it myself on occasions. I also cycle, drive cars, walk the dog and I've even got on a horse before now. I'm all of those things and if I choose to be obstructive when, say, jogging it's still just me being a miserable git.
So why all the anti-cyclist threads? Not you TC, just a general observation... Yes, there are some t
tish people around on bikes, but that's characteristic of them being tts, not cyclists. It's no different to saying all car drivers are BMWists. (I've been one of those too briefly 
)So please, no more "all cyclists are out to burn anything with a V8" or "cyclists always run red lights whilst slaloming between children, fluffy animals and oncoming traffic" threads. It's siumply not true.
That said, those joggers near me are a seriously miserable bunch. I concede they can't all be like that and I was of course being flippant originally, but seriously the local ones are a bunch of t
ts. 
Gassing Station | The Pie & Piston Archive | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff