Short Pet Peeve Rant

Riding along the bike trails in town I am reminded at regular intervals by signs that tell me to be aware of pedestrians, to yield to them and to make my presence known. I am very conscientious about that. I give my normal call out as I near, but not so near that I scare them:

On your left.

Then a "Thank you." as I pass.

But my peeve is the runners who are wearing earphones attached to some mp3 audio device.

They don't hear me. I am almost on top of them and yelling

On your left!!

while slowing down and passing them. Some never do hear me. They look shocked and sometimes perturbed that someone like me would interrupt their run.

Sometimes they are even running right down the middle of the trail, oblivious to anything around them. Especially me and my trusty Trek 7000 attempting to pass.

I have nothing against listening to music while you run. I have done it when I tried to get back into running a few years ago before a Duathlon. I do not wear earphones at any time when I am riding on the trails or streets. It is far too dangerous, I feel. I depend on my hearing to warn me of approaching vehicles.

So, if you are out running, jogging or even just a leisurely walk along bike trails, listen to your music, but don't put on noise cancelling headphones. Keep the volume low enough that you can still hear me and my ilk rolling along behind you.