Happy Trails to You

I'm pretty traditional when it comes to weather...I like the winters to be cool and the summers to be hot. When those things get reversed my system goes a little out of kilter.

Still, the best thing about yesterdays temps topping 70 was....

Shirtless joggers!
And plenty of them too on the Rock Creek Park trail.

The next best thing to a shirtless jogger is that move joggers do to wipe sweat off their faces, by lifting their shirts up to their brow, briefly exposing a hot, sweaty mid-section and, if you're lucky, a hot sweaty happy trail.

Speaking of happy trails, as an avid biker I'm constantly amazed and horrified by the careless and dangerous behavior of pedestrians on the trial. Yes, yes, I know bikers can be reckless and dangerous but I'm a biker and this is my blog so we're going to focus on peds.

1) Walk on the right. I know it may seem safer to walk on the left and thereby face oncoming traffic, but that move will get you tangled up in someone's spokes for sure on a trail as winding as Rock Creek. There are too many blind curves and I've come close to taking out several peds who were walking on "my" side as we both rounded a corner heading straight into each other.

2) Don't walk in the middle. I have no idea then which way you are going to move as I pass.

3) If you must listen to music as you walk, keep the volume down enough so you can hear my audible warning as I pass.

4) If you hear my audible warning this means you should move over, instead of thinking that the pretty bell sound and "passing left" are just things I do for my own amusement,

5) Don't cross in the middle of the street. I can't see you step out between two parked SUVs until I hit you. And in city traffic I have little margin for error.

6) And whenever possible, jog shirtless.