Tonight I went on two bike rides, one in the morning with my daughter-in-law and grandson, and one in the evening with my husband. Things happened on both rides that made me unsettled enough to want to write about them, because they happen just about every time I ride my bike. Having said that, most people are great, but a small minority of people need a tune-up on their outside behaviour,

First of all, the paths that have been made throughout the city are two-way and designed for walking and biking. So, pay attention. If you walk alone, don’t walk down the middle of the path, and especially don’t do it wearing earbuds. People on bikes don’t know which way you’re going to move when they come up behind you. And if you walk with friends, please don’t stretch out across the walkway. People can’t pass you in either direction when you do that. And if you are chatting away, laughing and carrying on, you won’t hear the dinging of a bell telling you a bike is coming up behind you. So, pick a side and walk there. Walk with one earbud out. And if you’re walking with a bunch of friends, walk in pairs and if you feel like you’re missing out talking to someone, switch up partners during the walk. Be considerate of others out there, it’s not all about you.

Now if you have a dog… sigh… dogs. I love dogs. And I know dogs get people out and about and interacting with others. However, if you are out walking a dog, keep it on a leash. We have almost hit dogs that were meandering around the path. And I have seen people, including small children, almost knocked over by friendly big dogs who rush up to say hello. Keeping the leash short is important for another reason too. Yesterday a little dog on a very long leash took off across the path. I had my eye on it and was able to stop, but if I had been looking away, I would have ridden right into the leash. That could have been disastrous all around. And if your dog poops on the walk, pick it up, please. It’s the law and some of you out there are breaking it.

On the evening bike ride with my husband, our destination was the river. We found a spot and settled in. After several small moves, we found a great spot to sit. It was wonderful, sitting in the sun with the water rushing by. There was a young couple just down from us. They had sushi and beer. And after consuming them, they left their garbage behind, to the delight of the crows. A group of young men floating down the river threw their empty beer cans into the bushes. I don’t understand people like that. They are out enjoying nature but their actions are harming that nature. If you take something with you, take it back with you. It’s just common sense people, but as it has been pointed out by many people, common sense isn’t very common any more.

We are responsible bike riders. We have bells, lights and mirrors. We wear helmets. We ride carefully around people. We are constantly scanning our environment and are very aware of our surroundings. In an urban environment every one needs to be conscious of others as we all share a limited amount of space. As I said at the outset, most of you are great. The rest of you, come on, get with the program; the world may revolve around you at home but it doesn’t out in the real world.