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Wednesday, May 21, 2008

I Heart Walking

Last night after filling all 3 of my yard waste containers and dragging them to the curb, I took both dogs for a walk. I can see it will take some getting used to, but I am happy to report that I made it through the entire circuit of my normal half hour walk. It took quite a bit longer though, what with all the dog wrangling. Esme walked at least half of it, with me carrying her while we were on the busier streets and when crossing (she's prone to stopping for no apparent reason). It's such a relief to know that I can manage it with a little patience and attention to detail (and extra poop bags).

While on the subject of walking, it seems that people these days either are not aware that there are rules dictating which side of the road you should be walking on or just don't care. I am always careful to be walking or biking on the correct side, but from what I see most people in my neighborhood do whatever they please. Sometimes I am the only person walking on the correct side, which makes me appear to be the one in the wrong! So to review:
  1. When riding a bike, you ride WITH traffic.
  2. When walking, you FACE traffic.

Any questions?

Last summer, I set a goal for myself to walk a minimum of 3 times a week. This year I am upping that goal to 4 times a week, with the exception of when class is in session. All bets are off then.

11 comments:

a friend said...

I wonder if walking on a paved sidewalk enables us to shew the rules. I do try to follow the rules and encourage my children to do so as well. But,when I go out the front gate east to the store I do not want to backtrack west to cross to the correct side;especially when the cross walk is closer going east. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy walking. In fact I take long one to two hour walks almost daily. But when there is a time crunch walking rules on the sidewalk do not always apply.

ps. I guess that is why the mall is such a zoo; everyone walks on whatever side they please.

a friend said...

I don't know about the grocery stores where you live, but a few around here have arrows to direct traffic down the aisle. The arrows are mostly ignored.(I confess - I occasionally ignore them as well.)

BrightBoy said...

I try to walk after every meal, which makes me feel much better than if I just sat around the house waiting for the food to digest.

Also, I follow the left-lane rule for both biking and walking; who wants to be stuck behind a bike?

Momma Val said...

I didn't think those rules applied unless you were actually walking "ON" the road itself. I walk on whatever side my feet bring me too (on the sidewalk). My subdivision is a walking free-for-all.

a/k/a Nadine said...

I guess I should have clarified that I meant while walking on the road. Every house that I have ever lived in has been situated in a neighborhood that lacks sidewalks.

Nicole said...

I am impressed with your resolve to keep walking. I do love to walk but have a million reasons why I don't do it. Goodness knows that the dogs are convinced by any of my reasons.

BerryBird said...

I agree that all bets are off if there is a sidewalk--as long as your on it, it shouldn't matter what direction you are going. People that disregard pefectly good sidewalks and walk in the road instead? Those people really get my goat.

Stacy said...

Do you compost? Just saw you mention yard waste and it got me wondering if you did or not. We started last year and have been rewarded with create compost that has boosted our plants 100% - our soil is crummy and it slowly helping improve it. And the thing about compost is that it can be as hard or easy as you want to make it. If you want compost quick, then you need to water and tend to it often - if you just want something low maintenance you can just let everything decompose on its own time.

Mary Stebbins Taitt said...

BB and I are generally super sticklers for walking and biking on the correct side of the road and yr right that few other people seem to be aware that there are not only rules, but LAWS governing that.

Another thing that bugs me is that bikers are no longer polite to let you know they are approaching from behind at a rapid rate. People used to be nicer and more courteous.

Mary Stebbins Taitt said...

Boy am I getting NICE soil out of the compost piles now. I planted more petunias in pots and mixed int he lovely composted soil into the veggie garden.

Mary Stebbins Taitt said...

Of course, on sidewalks you can walk on either side and walk on the sunny side when it's cool and the shady side when it's hot. But here, people ride their BIKES on the sidewalks--ADULTS! And don't warn you when they are coming up behind.

The LAW is, bike in the road on the right; walk in the road on the left IF there is no sidewalk. Otherwise, yr jaywalking.