You would think that the recent frigid temperatures and neverending snowpiles in the Midwest would have the effect of bringing walkers, runners, bikers and automobile drivers closer together— comrades in arms, battling the elements to exercise and live our lives the way we want to, and all that. Well, you would be wrong.
Take it from a usually nonbelligerent jogger who almost came to fisticuffs this past weekend, the vehicle-pedestrian divide is as wide as ever. Running along one of my usual routes, north along the lakeshore, I slipped onto the road for about a block. Yes, I know, runners belong on the sidewalk, but this particular block is on a barely-traveled residential strip of brick-lined road, with enormous mansions on one side and a public park on the other, and the sidewalks in this area are pretty much solid ice.
When a sleek, black Mercedes— the only car on the road— was coming in my direction, I assumed that the driver would be considerate and perhaps slow down a bit, or at least keep to his own side of the street. No such luck. Instead, the driver actually sped up, moved over to the opposite side of the road, and leaned on his expensively-loud horn, as if to say,
Get the [bleep] out of the street!
Now, you would think that as I’d just come from a restful, soothing prenatal yoga class and had already been running for a few miles, lulled into a fitness trance by the restful, soothing voice of John Legend on my iPOD, my response would be suitably mellow; perhaps I’d smile beatifically and wave, or flash the driver a peace sign. Well, you would be wrong again. I flashed him a sign, but it wasn’t too peaceful.
This was wrong for so many reasons, not the least of which is the visual incongruity of a bulging-bellied, ninja-outfitted pregnant woman committing an act of blatant vulgarity. I mean, mothers-to-be are supposed to be sitting peacefully in rocking chairs, knitting booties and gazing blissfully into the distance, imagining the face of their perfect future offspring. In addition, the sleek, black Mercedes started to reverse back towards me. Fear of being a victim of road rage did what nothing else can these days— it made me run FAST.
As you can see, I lived to write another day. But this little incident had me thinking about how easy it is to lose perspective. If, when we’re biking, we think about things from the drivers’ and runners’ points of view, and when driving think like a runner or a biker, many of our petty altercations (and even more serious road accidents) could be history.
Jeanine Casler lives, runs, and writes in Evanston, Illinois.
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October 19th, 2009 at 6:33 pm
[…] months and counting, I’m getting to the stage that some of you mothers out there may remember; my run is now more accurately described as a plod, and walkers and runners leap out of my way when they […]