Once Upon a Time There was a VERY ANGRY Biker...

When you run at about the same time and same place everyday you usually start to notice the same people everyday. MOST people are really friendly. They smile at you, nod their heads, say hi, tell you your baby is cute etc. Let me tell you a story about someone who is, well, let's say she was the OPPOSITE of friendly.

If you have ever run up Provo Canyon you know there is a picture painted of a guy walking on one half of the trail, and on the other half of the trail there are two pictures of bikers. One is facing one way for the bikers riding up the canyon, and the other is facing the other way for the bikers riding down the canyon. Obviously the "biker" side of the trail is much larger than the "walker/runner" side of the trail. Now that you know that I can continue with my story, but before I tell you the REAL part of the story I need to give you a little bit of background from yesterday.

Yesterday I was on my way down the canyon and I was all the way over to the left (the side with the little walking guy). ALL the way over as far as I could get. I noticed there was a lady biker coming toward me, but I didn't think twice about it because for one there was a HUGE amount of trail to the right of me that NO ONE was on, and for two I was seriously over far enough that I was almost not on the trail anymore. As she passed me she told me in a not so friendly manner that I was on the wrong side of the path. I didn't say anything back, but I just thought to myself how strange that was that she felt the need to say that when it would have taken almost no effort for her to turn her handlebars 1/2 and inch and move over a teeny tiny bit to the HUGE side which I was pretty dang sure was the biking side anyway.

Now for the REAL part of this story....

Today I was coming down the trail from my run and I stopped to answer my cell phone. As I'm looking down at my cell phone I hear a couple little whistles. I look up to see the same lady that told me I was on the wrong side of the trail yesterday basically waiting for me to get out of her way. Yes, she was whistling at me to get out of her way. Only, here's the funny part. I happened to be standing RIGHT ON TOP of the walking guy that was painted on the trail. Like I said at the beginning, when you go running at the same time and place, you will see the same people. I didn't want her to keep telling me every single day that I was on the wrong side, especially when I wasn't, and I wasn't even in her way either. Again, there was a HUGE path to the right of me with painted bikers on it that NO ONE was using, so why was she on my side whistling for me to get out of her way??? I wouldn't have done this if she didn't tell me in a not so friendly way yesterday that I was on the wrong side, but I conveniently pointed at the walking guy and told her as she passed by that I was on the walking side. Apparently, she didn't like that because she turned around on her bike and screamed, "GET OFF YOUR #%$*%#%&$ CELL PHONE!!!!!!!" Wowser. I didn't know cell phones weren't allowed on that public outdoor running path.

Afterward I felt terrible like I did something horrible, but I'm pretty sure I didn't. You know that feeling you get when something really rubs you the wrong way? That's the feeling that I had for the rest of my run. I wonder how she felt? Did she feel stupid that she was wrong and she realized it today? I mean, I had the proof sitting directly under my feet today. Was it rude of me to point to the walking guy and tell her she was on the wrong side? It actually dosn't feel rude at all after her little string of profanity. Did she feel better for yelling and swearing at me, or did she have the same "guilty/got rubbed the wrong way" feeling I had? I'm curious. I wish I knew. Anyway, I guess some people are just angry and I should try not to feel too bad. I already feel better after writing this story down. It's actually quite funny to me now. Writing is therapeutic. I hope you are all having a good day, and if you aren't, try writing your feelings down. It really helps, and if you don't you might end up like the VERY ANGRY biker.