I had an exciting Thursday morning here in Sydney. After several days without a workout (yes, the #RWRunStreak is dead…), I downed some pre-run Fitmixer Aminos and ventured out in the cold, dark morning hours to attempt a run.
Have you ever noticed hard it is to get your butt moving again when you take a few unexpected days off? It always seems to happen to me!
We are staying close to the Sydney Bridge, so I decided a run across the bridge was a great way to start the day. Plus, I forgot my headlamp at home and I noticed the bridge is lit well in the dark.
I found the stairs that lead to the bridge path and headed up them in the wee hours to start my run.
There were a surprising number of cyclists out so early in the morning – it was pitch-black when I started, but they were undeterred by the dark or cold, commuting into the city. I thought it was weird that several of them said things as they passed…but I’m used to ignoring people as I run.
About halfway across, some crazy guy was bundled up and tried to stop me to ask me a question. Umm…it’s dark, I’m alone, I’m so not stopping. I ran around him and continued on my way. Stupid guy, can’t he see I’m running here?!
After about 1.5 miles, I realized I was running short on time and turned around to head back across the bridge. This time, there were many more cyclist and more people looking at me funny. I wonder where are the runners are?
About 3/4 of the way across the bridge, I saw that stupid guy again. The sun was coming up, so I could see him better this time. His hat said Security. Uh-oh.
I proceeded to be informed that there were two paths on the bridge – one for bikes only, one for pedestrians only. I was on the bike only side. He took forever explaining that he would let me cross this time, but I needed to use the other side in the future (didn’t he know he was interrupting my run?!). He also wanted me to run on the side of the path toward the bikes – yea, that’s not going to piss them off even more…
As I finished my run, the cyclists seemed to get more vocal and now I understood why. There was certainly some creative language thrown my way and I felt so bad – I swear I didn’t know! I was so embarrassed and couldn’t get off that bridge fast enough.
The big question is:
Where in the world was the sign?!
So – the next time you’re in Sydney and you’re looking to annoy a WHOLE LOT of people, just run across the bridge on the cyclist side.
Disclaimer: This post is obviously meant in jest and I am certainly not endorsing breaking any laws to anger locals or officials in a foreign country.
*******************
Last chance: the Banjees Wrist Wallet giveaway ends tonight! Remember you can get an extra entry every day by tweeting about it (and saying so in the widget). Good luck!
*******************
Question for you:
-
Do you have a travel faux pas story to share? I can’t be the only idiot in the group! ;)
{ 21 comments… read them below or add one }
Don’t sweat it hun, cyclists (ok not ALL of them) are grumpy and seem to have a never ending hatred for cars and pedestrians. I got cycled into the other day as I was getting on a tram… I mean, how dare I use my right of way to access public transport? clearly the cyclist had somewhere much more important to be.
Hope you enjoyed your run!
I’m a cyclist myself, so I know. I actually felt worse because I knew I probably would have been annoyed. :)
haha and i bet you were running on the right side instead of the left! i did that SOOO many times in NZ. THey have good rules there but its confusing. Makes for great stories though.
But it was a bridge – so I didn’t realize there were whole different sides of the bridge – not just a road with a left/right. Does that make sense? ;)
oh totally. I meant that i did that on bridges too. I didn’t know they had a right side cyclist, left runner, etc. I think thats what you mean. haha, either way, i feel ya! at least you got in a run. tee hee.
Driving in Naples, Italy during the morning commute was just crazy. I’m trying to find the entrance to the Autostrada so we (husband and 3 kids) could get back home to Sicily, Italy. After stopping twice to ask the police for directions, we finally saw the entrance and I attempted to enter the
Autostrada through the exit! Red face, oh well…Lots of yelling and honking, but we made it safetly and continued back to Sicily.
Italian driving IS crazy. I can totally picture your story, stressful and funny (in hindsight). :)
Yep, this is the kind of behavior that puts a woman’s father at ease. Half way around the world, my daughter takes a law-breaking run in the dark and angers lots of people.
But I didn’t stop and talk to strangers until it was light and I saw that they were security – that counts for something, right?! ;)
That does sound scary!! And how were you supposed to know??
I finally did see the sign, but it’s on the side wall when climbing the stairs and not lit – definately not something you see when running in the dark! :)
oh gosh I hate moments like that, especially when you really had no idea! eek.
Yea, really didn’t like being “that girl”.
Oh no!!! I hate when I feel l like an amateur in a new city. How weird they are so prescriptive on their unmarked paths.
And yes, I know exactly how hard it is to get moving when you take a few days off. I’m feeling it!
Yea, everyone I told in Sydney about what I did were pretty shocked that I made it across – they also apologized for “that side” of the city. :)
Oops! I hate that feeling when you know you’ve done something dumb and everyone noticed.
As you can imagine, I made a few travel faux pas in Japan, mostly food-related. The one that stands out the most was when we went to tempura restaurant and were served what I think was some kind of fish roe in a tiny cordial glass. We had no idea how we were supposed it eat it. Do you shoot it? Do you sip it slowly? Do you scoop it out with a spoon? Do you put it on rice? I tried asking the chef but he had no idea what I was saying. We both felt so nervous that we would be laughed at for doing it wrong that we both ended up just not eating it. I think the looks on some of the patrons faces, the absolute horror that we didn’t eat what was obviously the best part of the meal, were worse than any teasing we would have gotten for slurping it up rudely.
So many ways to mess up with food in Japan. I learned too late that mixing your wasabi and soy sauce together is terribly wrong. As well as dipping your nigiri in the sauce rice down. Yikes!
Great post & great info! I nominated you for the “Lovely Blogger Award” because I think your blog is awesome and you offer so much great, useful information Swing by my blog to see more about this award! Look forward to reading more from you! :)
-Jesica (runonorganic.wordpress.com)
Wow – thanks Jesica!! I’ll head over to your blog to read more about the award. And thanks so much for the complements!! :)
Oh no! Sounds horrible for you, but great story to share. Hee hee!
VERY good point – it is a funny story now. :)