Pet peeves while training (Page 2)

We have a saying at my school's Terry Fox run: "Its not about how good ya do, it's about how good you look!"

RedCorvette - 2006-05-03 9:49 AM Cars making right turns in front of me at intersections when I'm going straight.  Particularly when they speed up to cut in front of me, rather than just turning behind me.  Like they have to establish their dominance over cyclists or something...

Yes, yes, yes!  My #1 beef as well.  I was having a great ride about two weeks ago, right up to the part where I nearly got hit by a car.  I was doing 22 MPH at the time and THANKFULLY realized I needed to keep my radar up because of the entrances to a shopping plaza.  Sure enough, someone decided they had enough of a gap to turn in front of me.  Despite the fact that they had to overtake me.  Despite my 22,000 candle power yellow rain jacket with retro-reflective tape.  Despite my equally bright yellow helmet.

Water aerobics has never been a problem for me; however, at my pool, people can actually get in one of the four "guaranteed lap lanes" and screw around.  They don't swim laps and basically hang on the wall.  Don't understand it, but it happens.  Lifeguards could care less.

Then again, we all have this tremendous opportunity to pursue a sport we love that makes us healthier and has so many cool people doing it.  We are fortunate.  I'll put up with a few spikes of terror or resentment now and again.

I agree.  If you're going to drink and drive at least recycle.

This one is totally my favorite thus far. Something about being forced to share a shower with you ex-girlfriends fiance is cracking me up.

Must be one of those "funny if it's not you" things ...

"Track!  Track!  TRACK!"  There are actual rules of track usage, and perhaps the director of their group would do well to inform the group that, just like in traffic, the slowest folks should stay to the right, and leave the left-most lanes open for faster moving people.  In fact, I believe the rule is that the fast person has the "right of way" but I may be mistaken.

All I know is that if I stray too far to the left, I'm made aware of it nearly immediately by someone yelling "TRACK!" behind me as they nearly run me over.

Oh. My.  There is a guy at my gym who chews his gum really fast - it's, ah a really macho kind of gum chewing - a tough-guy, Mike Ditka kind of gum chewing, really workin' that chewing gum to death.  Right - and so  this guy struts around the gym in his skin tight underarmour shirt, while he logs serious mirror time.   In the past I've managed to complete an entire weight training routine, and not once did I see gum-chewing guy ever lift a single weight. 

The other thing that annoys me is when people pick their faces in the mirror - uh, publically.  People, we don't need to see you picking at your acne right there on the gym floor. 

When you pass a slow cyclist on their left and you yell "On Your Left!" and they invariably look around to the left and......guess what?  They steer their bike in the direction they are looking, right into you!  I swear, someday I'm gonna scream "ON YOUR LEFT" and then pass them on the right, just for chuckles.

Kids on bikes, riding on the left side of the road, right at you.  Then you play that old "Alphonse & Gaston" routine, both of you deciding which way to go to avoid each other.  It's amazing there aren't more head on collisions.

I was reading all these thinking to myself how lucky I am that I live in such an athlete-friendly place.  We have miles and miles and miles of running and biking trails, and roadways are being modified to make them safer for bikes.  In my suburb, I have 4 rec centers to choose from, each with separate play pools and laps lanes available all day long.  Then I read the peeve below, and it hit me.  That's the one that sends me into orbit!  

I would think that would "help" you up the hill all the more.

How about, when you are running and in the opposite direction comes a person with a dog on the leash, (one of those retractable leashes) and the dog is 20 feet from the owner across the trail/sidewalk.      So you either have to hurdle the dog or the leash.   The stupid owner doesn't retract the leash or control the dog to their side of the trail.

Oooh, got a few:

• Riding or running - Cars or trucks that whiz by you on the left with very little clearance, when they could have given you wider berth
• Riding or running - Anyone that litters.  Pick up and take your flat innertubes, your gel packets, your old water bottles, your CO2 cartridges, your clif bar wrappers, your used gum with you.  It's a training ride/run, for god sakes.
• Running - Cars that pull out far enough at a stoplight to completely block your access to the sidewalk - and now you've got to run around the back bumper.
• Swimming - four people, all in different lanes one-to-a-lane, paddling / splashing / bobbing at no pace.  That won't consider sharing.
• Swimming - folks / kids from the rec pool, whirlpool, or sauna coming to the lap pool that jump in your lane, whenever, just to cool off (the lap pool is cooler than the rec pool)
• Swimming - my pools have circulation where if you're in the two lanes closest to the nozzles, it'll literally push you to one side of the lane or the other.

OK.  That's it.  I'm all better.