Hey All,
I was running a loop that is a popular spot for runners and bikers because it's flat, almost exactly four miles around and on a stretch of road that has little traffic. It's a great spot.
It's a two lane road, with about two feet of shoulder on either side, and maybe three more feet of gravel or dirt beyond that, though this sometimes disappears so one has to occasionally switch back and forth between the two.
As I was running the course, I was doing what I've done countless times, both alone and with other runners: I was running against the traffic. Each day I alternate which direction I run it, and today I was running the loop counter-clockwise. When I'm able, I run off on the dirt shoulder. When that is not available, I run on the asphalt shoulder past the white lane marker. Nothing different from any other time I've run this loop.
This time however, as I was running, I came upon a recumbent bike rider coming from the opposite direction. I kept as far over as I could, outside of the lane of oncoming traffic, on the shoulder. He had the whole lane. Yet when our paths crossed he yelled something to me. We passed so quickly that I could not hear what he said, except for something about "running on the line." He sounded very angry, which left me utterly perplexed, as he had plenty of room, and apart from us, there was no other traffic, vehicular or other wise, to compete with.
Did I miss something, or otherwise make a mistake in terms of sharing the road? Naturally I don't want to be one of those people who causes trouble for others by not yielding or giving enough space, but for the life of me I can't figure out what I could have done to upset this guy.
What do you all think?