(I posted this in /r/running, but the mods didn't like it. Color me unsurprised. So, I'm trying a slightly revised version here, one more suitable for /r/CCW.)I've been cycling for years and have gotten pretty seriously into running within the last year. I'm doing my first half-marathon this fall. Most runners I've encountered have been friendly, encouraging, and awesome. But today I met the runner who gives runners a bad name.This morning, I took my family on a bike ride. Another family joined us. We're quite the entourage of adults and young kids going down the road. I was leading the pack, pulling my toddler daughter in a wide two-seater trailer. Early in the ride, I rounded a corner and got into the bike lane. Fifty yards ahead is a runner coming towards me in the bike lane. No big deal, I thought. Usually when this happens, the runner hops onto the curb and continues running on the sidewalk, which is only a couple feet away from the bike lane. (So, the setup here is that there is a traffic lane, a small bike lane, and then a sidewalk.)Not this time. The runner comes doggedly charging straight at me, and I'm not about to swing out into the traffic lane with my daughter in the trailer. So, we're locked into this absurd game of chicken. I slow down to a near stop, and at the last moment, he skirts around us, shouting "Can you not see?!" Then he proceeds to curse me out in front of my young daughter. I informed him that I'm on a bike, this is a bike lane, and there's a perfectly good sidewalk where he can run two feet away from him."What?! What?!" he shouts. Now he's stopped his run, walking toward me, peacocking the whole way and acting like he wants to fight. I never raised my voice at him, nor did I swear, but I once again stated that he's running in a bike lane, and that the object I'm riding is called a bicycle, and that it's illegal for me to ride on the sidewalk, and that this is where I'm supposed to be. He's getting closer now, repeatedly telling me that I need to get the f-ck out of his way, and calling me every name in the book.If my aggressor had been more observant, perhaps he would have noticed that I had a gaudy, horrifically ugly camouflage fanny pack strapped around my waist. It's within this fashion faux pax that I keep a concealed firearm. (I have a license to carry a firearm in the state of Texas, and I always ride with a firearm in the minimal, but non-zero chance that I have to deal with maniacal aggressiveness in the form of bad drivers, dogs, and now runners, I unfortunately suppose.) My hand had slipped down to the zipper on my fanny pack.Perhaps my aggressor did notice this, or - more likely - he finally noticed that a parade of other bikers was rounding the corner and he was about to be severely outnumbered. Furthermore, there was no way he could know, but all four adults in this bike parade have licenses to carry firearms (This is Texas, after all, and an armed society is a polite society). Either way, he stopped approaching me. I calmly told him to have a nice day, and he turned around and jogged off. A big part of legally carrying a gun in public means that you keep your ego in check, and this was one ego battle I was glad to lose. After all, I just wanted to have an enjoyable ride with family and friends, not get into some sweat-fueled dick-measuring contest.So, if you're a runner, please don't run in bike lanes. Or if you do, at least have the courtesy and decency to yield to cyclists. I learned today that it takes a special kind of person to think that you can run the wrong direction in a bike lane AND think that you have the right of way. I get that some runners prefer to run on the road than on the sidewalk, and I also totally get that - when we run - we often like to run against the flow of traffic (and can be legally obligated to do so). What I don't get is somehow thinking that this grants you the right of way versus oncoming bikes in the bike lane. I mean, I wouldn't get on the interstate on my bike, riding against traffic, and expect the cars to move out of my way. As a runner - I also completely understand the annoyance we get when encountering bikes on the sidewalk. For my part, I try to never ride on sidewalks, and in the rare event that I have to do so, I go out of the way to avoid walkers and joggers.But, in the infinitesimally small chance that my aggressor is reading this, I want you to know that I forgive you. Maybe you're going through an ugly divorce, or maybe you have a sick child at home. Maybe you just lost your job. Or maybe you're just an insufferable, self-absorbed prick. Regardless, I forgive you, and I genuinely hope you had a good run, and an even better day.I'm thankful that this wasn't a real member DGU, and that it never escalated to the point that anyone was in any serious danger. We all walked away from it without any new holes, and got to go home to our families that night, so I'm pleased with the outcome.TL;DR: Meet Dick. Dick likes to run against traffic in the bike lane and expects bikers to get out of his way. And when they don't, he curses them out in front of their kids. Don't be a Dick. via /r/CCW https://ift.tt/3BJQyHn
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