Is walking more difficult than I remember?
 

This morning I had 2 separate run ins with pedestrians.

The first was a guy walking in the road (perfectly good sidewalk next to it) against traffic, who I had to go around. He yelled something to the effect of "get on the sidewalk, a-hole!" when I went around him. I'm assuming he was crazy.

Then I'm stopped at a red light. I'm behind the line, out of the cross walk....right where a car would stop. Dead stopped. Sitting there for a good minute. Remember the part about how I'm stopped. That makes this funnier.....I've got more blinking lights on my bike than a fire truck. A woman jogging is crossing the street, avoids the crosswalk, and nearly runs clean into the side of me. She stopped at the last second and didn't actually hit me. But she looked up and had this look of shock and terror on her face like I'd just jumped out from behind a tree to scare her. Just running along totally oblivious to the world around her. (This one was funny as hell)

Interesting morning. Last night I had someone yell from a pickup truck going the opposite direction "SIDEWALK!" I took that to mean he thought I should be riding on the sidewalk, even though my being on the other side of the road caused him no inconvenience whatsoever.

And this morning I took the sidewalk/MUP for a quarter mile or so to get out of the way of a particularly congested two-lane bridge. I get up and around the bend and there's a pedestrian in the middle of the sidewalk. So I say "excuse me" as politely as you like. She moves to the right side of the rather wide sidewalk, so I figure it's safe to swing to the left and pass her, going quite slowly, mind you. Nope. Head phones in, she had no idea I was there, and as soon as I went left, she wandered to the left too. I just barely squeezed by. I didn't have time to look, but I'm guessing it probably frightened her.


-Matt

Was it PT Barnum who said 'You will never lose money betting against the intelligence of people?' Antelopes must visit a waterhole each day. Lions know this and try to intercept the antelopes but the antelopes know this so they are wary but not perfectly wary. Being attentive to surroundings enhances chances for survival but it is not always easy. Learning to pay attention I believe is a skill we can develop.

Usually, when I see something like that, it turns out the person is talking on the bluetooth.

Everyone thinks they can multitask, but actually the human brain really sucks at it.

Technologies of the last 20 years have created a generation of zombies. Unthinking, stumbling onward, seeking...what? I fear for the world.

People walk around in a trance (usually because of cell phones) and I make no apologies about snapping them out of it. The other day some women nearly runs into me and I said, 'focus cell phone zombie." And she said, "you don't have to be rude" And I said, "back at ya!"

It never ceases to amaze me how people can get mad when you admonish then when they're dead wrong. They run into you then tell you how you're suppose to react. Where does that even come from?

You didn't just admonish her, you called her a name. People generally don't respond well to that. "Hey", "watch out", "pay attention", any one of those would have "snapped her out of it" without the insult.

I got admonished to "get out of the road" twice this weekend by people claiming I was supposed to ride to the right hand side of a right turn lane while going straight. They always seem a bit shocked when I don't take their "constructive" criticism well. I might be inclined to be a bit more polite about correcting them if they didn't lead with the always snarling "get off of the road".

Was she wearing ear buds and listening to music from her smartphone? This is a large cause of pedestrian deaths these days.

That's the participation trophy generation.

No one knows what it's like to be wrong because their feelings have been protected for their whole lives.

I didn't notice. I was too busy laughing at her SHOCKED face when I 'jumped out in front of her while standing still'

(Seriously. I almost had to step over to the side of the road and miss the green light I was laughing so hard)

Yep I tend to do that by the 4th time in a day I've been rammed into, stepped on or sideswiped by someone's parcel while they're not looking where they're going. Its the least I can do to return the favor for their disrespect and lack of focus. I can count the times where someone has even apologized in the last 6 months. That would be once.I'd be more interested in your adherence to policy, rule, laws than your disposition. Accident happen when people allow themselves to become distracted and fail to pay attention to their surrounding; and I've been hurt to many times by the carelessness and inattentiveness of others. If it were an accident, they'd apologize. At that point when it comes to "politeness," I'm fresh out. I don't even understand that. I wear headphones but I can always still hear what's going on around me.

Younger people tend to listen to their music at ear damaging levels, whereas you probably do not.

I had a weird run-in with a kid 2 weeks ago... at the midway rest stop of a century. The bathrooms required riding on a little bit of sidewalk and then across a bunch of grass. Too far to walk and I was too lazy anyway. Regardless, I was meandering back at a very slow pace and some young man was riding towards me while staring intently at his phone. I barked at him "Pay attention!" and he looked up and very meekly said "Thank you".... kind of funny, and I mostly appreciate it because people get so angry these days when they're corrected.

Look, you might feel justified in insulting people, but don't feign surprise (as you did) when they tell you you're being rude. You are, deliberately. Own it.

My point on the "get off the road" admonitions is I'm clearly correct by MA and NH law when I go into the road to avoid being to the right of a right turn lane, and I might be more polite about correcting them if they didn't insist on being as rude as they can. Regardless of whether you're "right" or "wrong", if you put out rude, expect it back.

Where the hell are you riding that such things happen to you 4 times in a day? I've never had problems with pedestrians to that extent even when riding through Boston or New Orleans. I have way more problems with bad drivers.

just yell something positive or a nonsense word. It's not the words it's the volume that gets the attention.yell "CHECKMATE", or something else that you choose

Yep.

And there is an increase in selfishness. "I am the only one who matters." Earlier this year a woman was powerwalking against traffic on a busy city street. I had to pull out into the middle of the lane to get around her. She looked to be "normal." As I passed her I asked "Is the sidewalk broken?" I think she simply didn't want to have to deal with foot traffic on the sidewalk. Her wants were more important than my or even her own safety.

I have also been run into like the OP was in that second story. It's as if people are looking but they don't see.

Works with squirrels and wild turkeys too.

Been riding a motorcycle for 40 years and found this statement familiar, "It's as if people are looking but they don't see."

I can tell you first hand that people's eyes pointed in one direction does not mean they are looking. When one looks, one sees. Ride defensively at all times and avoid the MUP. Very dangerous for cyclists.

Totally disagree about the MUP, the lack of cars more than makes up the safety margin of close contact with pedestrians.

Since we're approaching winter, I will mention all the people who are so great at winter driving, but are scared about 'the other guy'. I got news. Most of the people saying that are 'the other guy'.

Yelling "POOP" or "Church!" Is fun to do.. do it a lot.

Society uses many forms of psychological strategies in order to achieve power & control. It's a spiral downward impact that is abused far too much.Such strategies/tactics or general habits used can be:Assumptions Impending dangerFearUncertainty/Doubt Disinformation
Propaganda

Associating the above with safety, values [principles, ethics, financial, career] or politics creates a recipe for someone to gain the attention they might be after or to achieve a goal. Currently, everyone is being given the Olympic trophy just for trying. When something does not go as planned or they do not get what they want, an episodic event occurs causing all sorts of chaos from not knowing how to react as well as from being conditioned with the entitlement mentality.

end result are the zombies we experience, like what the OP described.

I hate it when they are so into their phones that they dont wave back. Maybe they looked at me wave but they didnt see my hand.

Sarcasm? Sometimes I feel like getting one of those foam cutout hands and putting in on a stiff spring attached to my helmet, so that I never miss waving at anyone. Don't want to be rude.

I'm just going to mention that some pedestrians and runners intentionally avoid the sidewalk because it's made of concrete rather than asphalt, which is slightly flexible and easier on your joints.

Personally, I mostly stick to the many MUPs in my area, and I don't seem to have all these problems with rude people. Mixing cars, bikes, and pedestrians together seems to produce some really bad results.

I commute, by bike, to a college campus, where many of the students come from rural areas in which they have never experienced things like a stoplight or crosswalk. Add in a bunch of earbuds and smartphones, as well as limited parking near campus, and it is quite the experience...


I couldn't agree more. Here in the Upper Midwest, though, we are only rude when we get into motor vehicles, and we are polite the rest of the time. You can imagine the looks of shock, horror, and even fear that result when someone who is not in a motor vehicle dishes it back!