Near Miss

I was commuting home on the bike last night. Biking on DC city streets has its dangers. Biking on DC's streets at night ups the ante.

Usually the biggest danger I see (or don't see) are un-illuminated joggers on the George Washington Parkway trail. If you ever wonder if there are any optimists left in the world, look no further.

My commute starts south of Reagan National Airport. So I head home this time of year in the dark on the GW trail...it seems there are joggers who go out of their way to wear dark clothes with no reflective gear. I wish they knew how invisible they are at night. Fortunately most running shoes have some reflective material on them, so I watch for flashes of light on the path (I am not an optimist, I have a strong headlamp and tail light).

But it wasn't an invisible jogger that caused my near miss last night. It was an oncoming jogger on the wrong side of the path.

This happened at the foot of the 14th street bridge sidewalk, where it crosses E. Basin Drive behind the Jefferson Memorial heading into Haines Point. Some joggers think they are safer if they jog facing traffic. They are mistaken, as any cyclist who has rounded a blind curve to confront a jogger on the wrong side of the trail can tell you. But I saw this guy coming, the area is lit and there were no blind curves.

When someone's coming straight at you on your side of the road the inevitable game of chicken begins. It's unavoidable. Do I move to the left? What if there is oncoming traffic behind the guy, but on the correct side of the road? What if he moves to the same side of the trail with me? Then we're back in the same boat. Since he's breaking the rules of the road, I think he should give way. But I'm a damn cyclist, he's thinking, "screw him!" (Though he gets the longer hospital stay if we collide, so screw yourself). If this were on water, the rules of the road dictate that the more maneuverable vessel give way to the lesser one. Which one of us is that? I'm faster, but am more dependent on being on pavement for maneuverability. He can jog on grass with no problems, I would risk skidding. I'm also larger, with my bike, so there's more of me to move.

As it happened, he moved to "his" side of the trail in time.

But my "near miss" wasn't really this jogger. It was the car I almost didn't see because I was so focused on the jogger. The path here crosses E Basin Drive and I didn't see the car barreling down the road destined to be at the same spot as me and my bike. I did see it "just" in time and thankfully I have good breaks and that I didn't go flying over the handlebars.

It's my fault for not seeing the car -- but a good case-in-point about any distraction, whether it be unlighted joggers on the wrong side of the road or shirtless ones acting as eye candy -- on DC's dangerous streets.