# How often do you see a jogger smiling - ?



## simongt (24 Mar 2018)

This point always amuses me. It's common among I'm sure all of us cyclists, to pass a cyclist going t'other way and exchange a smile, wave, greeting. However when it comes to joggers, I've yet to see one smiling or even looking vaguely content. 
If jogging is that good for you, why do joggers never appear to be enjoying what they're doing - !


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## Drago (24 Mar 2018)

I'm too busy trying not to look like I'm having a coronary to be able to smile!


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## theclaud (24 Mar 2018)

Does it count as a KER-CHING! if the offender is a jogger? @ianrauk


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## Markymark (24 Mar 2018)

Maybe because joggers think you’re ugly?


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## Reynard (24 Mar 2018)

My thoughts exactly. It's why I've never felt inspired to take up jogging...


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## simon.r (24 Mar 2018)

I’d never thought of it before, but @simongt is right, they do always look as if they’re doing it for reasons other than pleasure. 

The only exception I can think of is one local running group that sometimes stops at a chippy I frequent from time to time - they seem happy then!


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## Venod (24 Mar 2018)

I used to do a lot of running, I always made a point of smiling and saying hi to people just to freak them out, they expect you to be a miserable git if your running, and for some reason if running you get all sorts of odd stuff shouted at you, I never get this walking, people are strange.


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## Sharky (24 Mar 2018)

I've had a jogger overtake and drop me!


It was a long time ago and I was about 3 miles from home after a long long ride.


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## Shortandcrisp (24 Mar 2018)

Last summer my son pointed out to me that we’d cycled 26 miles in about the same time as Mo Farrow takes to run a marathon. I wasn’t smiling.


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## MossCommuter (24 Mar 2018)

Shortandcrisp said:


> Last summer my son pointed out to me that we’d cycled 26 miles in about the same time as Mo Farrow takes to run a marathon. I wasn’t smiling.


My commuting pace is about Mo's marathon pace


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## Archeress (24 Mar 2018)

Sharky said:


> I've had a jogger overtake and drop me!
> 
> 
> It was a long time ago and I was about 3 miles from home after a long long ride.



We did today actually, we were on our way back from the city centre up a cycle path that has a short but sharp climb easing off to a slope. I had my fiance with me and I had to be gentle with him as he doesn't do much cycling and we had already done some big climbs on the way into the city centre. So whilst I was being gentle on with my man on the cycle path a jogger came running past 

Hugs
Archeress x


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## glasgowcyclist (24 Mar 2018)

They certainly do a convincing job of making it look like it's a punishment.


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## ianrauk (24 Mar 2018)

theclaud said:


> Does it count as a KER-CHING! if the offender is a jogger? @ianrauk


Depends how upset one gets at a random human not saying hello.


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## Smokin Joe (24 Mar 2018)

Sharky said:


> I've had a jogger overtake and drop me!
> 
> 
> It was a long time ago and I was about 3 miles from home after a long long ride.


At least it wasn't a mountain biker, now that would have been humiliating.


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## Shortandcrisp (24 Mar 2018)

Archeress said:


> We did today actually, we were on our way back from the city centre up a cycle path that has a short but sharp climb easing off to a slope. I had my fiance with me and I had to be gentle with him as he doesn't do much cycling and we had already done some big climbs on the way into the city centre. So whilst I was being gentle on with my man on the cycle path a jogger came running past
> 
> Hugs
> Archeress x



An Ironman event in Cromer 4 or 5 year’s ago. One poor fella was so done in after the swim and cycle that the wife and I actually walked passed him on Cromer Prom as he was ‘running’ the marathon!


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## simongt (24 Mar 2018)

Markymark said:


> Maybe because joggers think you’re ugly?


With the pained expressions I see on some joggers faces, no contest - !


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## Heltor Chasca (24 Mar 2018)

I always do the wave/greet/be friendly thing with joggers. Never have they even offered a grunt back. Miserable baskets.


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## Drago (24 Mar 2018)

I might not smile when I'm out jogging, but I smile when I remember that I'm 49 and have a RHR of 38.


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## SkipdiverJohn (24 Mar 2018)

Heltor Chasca said:


> I always do the wave/greet/be friendly thing with joggers. Never have they even offered a grunt back. Miserable baskets.



Running has got to be about the most mind-numbing human activity imaginable, with the added bonus of pounding your feet and joints for added pain & displeasure. I remember if we had cross-country running scheduled by the PE teacher at school, I used to just take a crafty shortcut to reduce the distance or even bunk off the lesson completely. It was a total waste of time and effort in my book, and I completely understand why joggers are almost always such a bunch of sour-faced buggers.


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## Ian H (24 Mar 2018)

Which are we talking about: runners or joggers?


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## screenman (24 Mar 2018)

I used to enjoy running and would certainly be seen smiling at times.


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## Venod (24 Mar 2018)

SkipdiverJohn said:


> Running has got to be about the most mind-numbing human activity imaginable,



If anybody is bored with running and I can see why just pounding the the streets is boring, get off road there is a lot of countryside out there and plenty of public footpaths, I have cycled all my life but my main sport was Orienteering (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orienteering) if you get a chance give it a go, I still do bike orienteering.


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## 400bhp (24 Mar 2018)

Generally, when jogging you’re running at threshold. It’s a dark art to smile at that effort level.

More often than not, cycling is done below threshold.


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## screenman (24 Mar 2018)

Let's face it cycling can also be very boring, but the benefits are sometimes worth it, same as running.


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## Drago (24 Mar 2018)

It's not a pleasurable experience, and I do it out of sufferance for fitness reasons, not because I get a lazy one going at the thought of it. That said, occasionally one does get mentally into a zone where ones body enters an autonomous rhyhm and ones mind drifts in idle on a lake of endorphins, and while it's not exactly nice I can see why some folk dig it. 

As an elderly git who broke the six minute mile the other day (I'm aiming to do sub 5 ultimately) the feeling of achievement is no less gratifying than a roadie gets with a KoM on Strava.


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## SkipdiverJohn (24 Mar 2018)

screenman said:


> Let's face it cycling can also be very boring, but the benefits are sometimes worth it, same as running.



I cannot say I've ever been bored whilst out riding a bike. I've sometimes been pretty hacked off, usually if I've got completely soaked in a sudden unexpected downpour, but I never regard riding a bike as a tedious chore. I think a lot of joggers/runners just go out to try and clock up a target mileage, even if they aren't in the mood. When I ride a bike I'm either doing it for a specific reason to get somewhere, of if I'm doing it for the physical activity aspect I just go out until my legs tell me enough is enough. I never ride to a mileage or average speed target.


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## jefmcg (24 Mar 2018)

simongt said:


> With the pained expressions I see on some joggers faces, no contest - !


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## Tommy2 (24 Mar 2018)

I have yet to get anything other than a funny look or blank expression from acknowledging a runner when I'm cycling or a cyclist when I'm running (I rarely acknowledge anyone when I'm swimming as they tend to want to chat at the end of the lane which isn't possible with such short recovery periods).

I guess it's because they don't see you as being part of their clan if you aren't training the same sport.
I have a little chuckle to myself if I know I either have or will be doing the same sport as them that day or (or straight after in a brick session) and wonder whether they would smile back if they saw me doing the same as them 5 mins later.


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## Tommy2 (24 Mar 2018)

Shortandcrisp said:


> An Ironman event in Cromer 4 or 5 year’s ago. One poor fella was so done in after the swim and cycle that the wife and I actually walked passed him on Cromer Prom as he was ‘running’ the marathon!


Known as the doing the IM shuffle (sung to Harlem shuffle tune)


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## screenman (24 Mar 2018)

SkipdiverJohn said:


> I cannot say I've ever been bored whilst out riding a bike. I've sometimes been pretty hacked off, usually if I've got completely soaked in a sudden unexpected downpour, but I never regard riding a bike as a tedious chore. I think a lot of joggers/runners just go out to try and clock up a target mileage, even if they aren't in the mood. When I ride a bike I'm either doing it for a specific reason to get somewhere, of if I'm doing it for the physical activity aspect I just go out until my legs tell me enough is enough. I never ride to a mileage or average speed target.



Fine, that just goes to show we are not all the same.


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## Reynard (24 Mar 2018)

SkipdiverJohn said:


> I cannot say I've ever been bored whilst out riding a bike. I've sometimes been pretty hacked off, usually if I've got completely soaked in a sudden unexpected downpour, but I never regard riding a bike as a tedious chore. I think a lot of joggers/runners just go out to try and clock up a target mileage, even if they aren't in the mood. When I ride a bike I'm either doing it for a specific reason to get somewhere, of if I'm doing it for the physical activity aspect I just go out until my legs tell me enough is enough. I never ride to a mileage or average speed target.



Mmmm yeah, much the same here.

Then again, living in the countryside I'm lucky there's always lots to look at while on the bike; flowers, wildlife, some amazing big fen skies, lovely views, and the same is true whether I'm commuting to the station, bimbling to the shops or out for a "proper" ride.

On the flip side, kudos to the bods I do see out jogging, as they're out doing exercise.


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## DanZac (24 Mar 2018)

For some obscure reason runners dont even tend to acknowledge each other let alone other lesser types.
I have noticed though that the worse the conditions the more likely it is that cycists and runners are to share a smile or wave. Probably a shared what are we doing here or shared pity than anything else.


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## Drago (24 Mar 2018)

Dogtrousers said:


> If I see anyone grinning in public I assume that there is something wrong with them, regardless of activity.



Or they're retired.


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## Archeress (24 Mar 2018)

Afnug said:


> If anybody is bored with running and I can see why just pounding the the streets is boring, get off road there is a lot of countryside out there and plenty of public footpaths, I have cycled all my life but my main sport was Orienteering (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orienteering) if you get a chance give it a go, I still do bike orienteering.


I did some orienteering some years ago. Became quickly disillusioned though after the ones in my area had a habit of hiding the points. One I remember in the Killerton Estate had me and a female army officer searching for a full 20 minutes to finally find it in a depression full of brambles, ferns and nettles. It was obvious the army officer had more experience and she was fuming saying they're not meant to hide them. We'd both been right on top of it all the time.

Hugs
Archeress x


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## MikeG (24 Mar 2018)

My wife is a serious runner. She'd be even better, I keep telling her, if she didn't smile so much. "It's meant to be hard. Grimace, for goodness sake".


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## Venod (24 Mar 2018)

Archeress said:


> I did some orienteering some years ago. Became quickly disillusioned though after the ones in my area had a habit of hiding the points. One I remember in the Killerton Estate had me and a female army officer searching for a full 20 minutes to finally find it in a depression full of brambles, ferns and nettles. It was obvious the army officer had more experience and she was fuming saying they're not meant to hide them. We'd both been right on top of it all the time.



I have experienced lots of them, commonly referred to as bingo controls (you find them by luck rather than skill) and the army officer was right.


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## slowmotion (24 Mar 2018)

Do a lap of Richmond Park on a Saturday. You won't see any smiling cyclists. They all look miserable.


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## Ian H (24 Mar 2018)

My son won yet another park run this weekend.


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## ColinJ (24 Mar 2018)

Smokin Joe said:


> At least it wasn't a mountain biker, now that would have been humiliating.


It depends who she is ... the woman who overtook me at warp speed on her mountain bike rode for Britain in the Olympics!


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## Shut Up Legs (25 Mar 2018)

I really enjoy cycling, but you'd have a tough time getting a smile out of me while I'm cycling. The external isn't always indicative of what occurs underneath.


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## Slick (25 Mar 2018)

Shut Up Legs said:


> I really enjoy cycling, but you'd have a tough time getting a smile out of me while I'm cycling. The external isn't always indicative of what occurs underneath.


I remember years ago, a work colleague made a comment to my sister about smiling more and she tore strips off him as she was at her work and far too busy for pleasantries.

She is a dental nurse.


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## Slick (25 Mar 2018)

Shut Up Legs said:


> I really enjoy cycling, but you'd have a tough time getting a smile out of me while I'm cycling. The external isn't always indicative of what occurs underneath.


Come to think about it, I probably don't smile until I get off the bike.


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## Mashing (25 Mar 2018)

You can't win parkrun, it's not a race


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## srw (25 Mar 2018)

Mashing said:


> You can't win parkrun, it's not a race


It's not a race in the same sense as a sportive is not a bike race, with the added twist that parkrun publishes all results in time order and a list of "first finishers" each week. So it's even less not a race than a sportive.

Anyway - I should probably get my kit on and go and grind out another 2.5km. I'll probably be smiling for at least some of the time.


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## srw (25 Mar 2018)

srw said:


> It's not a race in the same sense as a sportive is not a bike race, with the added twist that parkrun publishes all results in time order and a list of "first finishers" each week. So it's even less not a race than a sportive.
> 
> Anyway - I should probably get my kit on and go and grind out another 2.5km. I'll probably be smiling for at least some of the time.


Very disappointed to report that the only other person jogging who I passed didn't even break into a slight smile - perhaps I (overweight, wearing cheap jogging bottoms and a hoodie) wasn't a _serious_ enough _runner_ for him. But I got a smile and a wave from the mother and toddler who moved to the side of the pavement to let me past, the pair of women in sports kit a good 15 years older than me and with the sort of figures that speak to a lifetime of exercise and the family playing in the park.


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## simongt (25 Mar 2018)

Dogtrousers said:


> If I see anyone grinning in public I assume that there is something wrong with them, regardless of activity.


Keep smiling, it make folk wonder what you've been up to - !


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## Wixsteman (25 Mar 2018)

I never smiled when I was a runner.....tbh I’m not much of a smiler now


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## thom (27 Mar 2018)

How many cyclists doing time trials do you see smiling ?

I can't remember the last time I saw a commuting cyclist with a smile on their face.


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## smutchin (27 Mar 2018)

thom said:


> How many cyclists doing time trials do you see smiling ?



I was going to make the same observation. Running requires a sustained effort - there's no coasting - so it's more akin to time-trialling than leisure cycling. 

I certainly don't smile when I'm parkrunning, nor when I'm time-trialling, and I don't smile when I'm cyclocross racing either - that's a flat-out effort for 50 minutes. All these things give me a real buzz though, and I'm usually smiling afterwards - when my heart rate eventually returns to normal...


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## smutchin (27 Mar 2018)

Mashing said:


> You can't win parkrun, it's not a race



I won an audax once. Every other audax I've ever done wasn't a race.


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## Ming the Merciless (27 Mar 2018)

smutchin said:


> I won an audax once. Every other audax I've ever done wasn't a race.



And you can't win by being back first.


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## DRHysted (28 Mar 2018)

I’m told I smile when I run, which I find interesting because I don’t smile most of the time.


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## Tommy2 (28 Mar 2018)

Although there's no coasting when running if you're not doing tempo or intervals and just doing recovery or LSR then the effort shouldn't cause you to grimace.
If it does then you're going too hard and probably not in the training zone you want, so there should be plenty of times when runners could smile or acknowledge others.


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## Ming the Merciless (28 Mar 2018)

Is this not the effect of years of the lips bouncing up and down during jogging leading to droopy lip syndrome where you can no longer smile?


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## bigjim (29 Mar 2018)

I don't find running boring, but I don't run long distances. I'd rather run in an urban environement than off road where there is just trees and grass. I find long bike rides boring. Anything over 70 miles and I'm just turning pedals to get home. I find bike riders just as miserable or smiley as runners.


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## alecstilleyedye (30 Mar 2018)

Smokin Joe said:


> At least it wasn't a mountain biker, now that would have been humiliating.


i’ve been that soldier


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## snorri (30 Mar 2018)

thom said:


> I can't remember the last time I saw a commuting cyclist with a smile on their face.


The only commuting cyclist I ever see is so well wrapped up against the weather that I can't remember the last time I was able to interpret her facial expression.


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## Drago (30 Mar 2018)

As an aside, albeit a topical one, we never see car drivers smiling. In fact, they're more likely to be foaming at the mouth that enjoying themselves, so why do they subject themselves to it?


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## PeteXXX (30 Mar 2018)

Joggers rarely smile as it appears to be the law that they have to listen to Coldplay droning on incessantly...


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## Drago (30 Mar 2018)

I'd sooner chop my own ears off than listen to Coldplay.


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## Heltor Chasca (30 Mar 2018)

YukonBoy said:


> And you can't win by being back first.



Oohhh @smutchin , I very so nearly cheated in an audax last weekend.

I couldn’t get onto the 200 I wanted to do so settled for the 100 which left the départ an hour later. Obviously I got back to the Arrivée quicker than the riders on the longer route as I had only done half of what they had to grind out.

But the volunteer at the control didn’t know that, and seeing my ACB kit, was delighted and announced to the hall and anyone interested that I was the first rider back!

Oh how I basked in the false glory for 30 seconds before producing my brevet card.


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## Ian H (30 Mar 2018)

smutchin said:


> I won an audax once. Every other audax I've ever done wasn't a race.





YukonBoy said:


> And you can't win by being back first.


It's an in-joke, done to death on another forum but still fresh and nearly funny here.


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## Ming the Merciless (30 Mar 2018)

Heltor Chasca said:


> Oohhh @smutchin , I very so nearly cheated in an audax last weekend.
> 
> Oh how I basked in the false glory for 30 seconds before producing my brevet card.



With 100 crossed out and 200 written in.


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## Ming the Merciless (30 Mar 2018)

Ian H said:


> It's an in-joke, done to death on another forum but still fresh and nearly funny here.



Seems the wrong way round. If you are first back then you have come last / lost in the audax.


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## srw (30 Mar 2018)

Another data point. As we walked around the streets this afternoon in full waterproofs looking glum and cold we passed a jogger in a waterproof top and shorts, who was positively grinning.


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## slowmotion (30 Mar 2018)

Drago said:


> I'd sooner chop my own ears off than listen to Coldplay.


If you really want to suffer, try jogging. You'll be begging for Coldplay after half a mile.


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## Seleucid (1 Apr 2018)

Sharky said:


> I've had a jogger overtake and drop me!
> 
> 
> It was a long time ago and I was about 3 miles from home after a long long ride.


Yeah, I was passed by the paperboy last weekend...I was on the way back too. Still didn't feel good...


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## Drago (1 Apr 2018)

With every pace I'm getting leaner and sexier, and no matter what happens I'll never have to marry Gwyneth Paltrow.


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## ColinJ (1 Apr 2018)

Drago said:


> With every pace I'm getting leaner and sexier, and no matter what happens I'll never have to marry Gwyneth Paltrow.


Phew, at least you will skip the inevitable _Conscious Uncoupling_!


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## briantrumpet (1 Apr 2018)

Drago said:


> As an aside, albeit a topical one, we never see car drivers smiling. In fact, they're more likely to be foaming at the mouth that enjoying themselves, so why do they subject themselves to it?


They don't even smile when I suggest (while they sit in a queue) that they too could get home earlier if they gave up their cars and rode to work. You'd have thought they would have given me a cheery 'thanks' for the free advice.


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## thom (15 Apr 2018)

srw said:


> Another data point. As we walked around the streets this afternoon in full waterproofs looking glum and cold we passed a jogger in a waterproof top and shorts, who was positively grinning.


Absolutely - if it isn't bitterly cold, a bit of rain can be quite welcoming and invigorating, especially during warm humid times.

Similarly, outdoors swimming in the rain brings an additional sense of proximity to the environment.


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## bigjim (16 Apr 2018)

I love jogging. Brings a big smile to my face. Knee problem at the moment is keeping me away from it and I'm really missing my smiley miles.


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## Nigel-YZ1 (16 Apr 2018)

Plenty of smiley joggers on the TPT between Penistone and Dunford Bridge. Plenty of scowling peds resenting you for making them look for where their dog is. Overall very happy, even when it's like the M25 rush hour on a Sunday.


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## Milzy (8 Jan 2019)

Running is for weirdos. Seriously though it’s not as fun as cycling but you can feel great afterwards.


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## Slow But Determined (8 Jan 2019)

I smiled after my jog today, knocked a whole one second off my personal best over six miles. At 63 I am over the moon I can still run six miles whilst people a third of my age weigh in at 20 odd stone.
Mind you I sometimes wonder who is the daft one, they are probably claiming they are unfit to work and in receipt of every benefit known to man while I who have looked after myself have to pay for everything.


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## Rusty Nails (8 Jan 2019)

When I used to run I was too knackered to smile. It's hard work.

Cycling is a walk in the park compared to running


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## Moodyman (9 Jan 2019)

Recently resumed running after a 5 year break. So liberating.

Shorts, top and trainers. No bike, no lights, no tyres to pump up, no special clothing.

It's a better all round workout than cycling. The bike ride that follows the run of the previous day seems ridiculously easy.


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## bigjim (12 Jan 2019)

I found myself a nice four mile woodland run a few months ago that seemed perfect ,as I usually run on pavement, but the off road stuff seemed to suit my dodgy arthritic knee and hip. I've now had to retreat back to the pavement. The reason. Dogs! I've now had enough of being chased, barked at, dogs jumping up at my legs or chest if I am forced to a halt, dogs on super extended leads and of course the inevitable dog muck to be cleaned off my trainers. Even worse recently, as there is a plethora of Xmas pups out there to join the mob. Also the local park is limiting dog walkers to three dogs now, so I imagine the ones turning up with six dogs are using this area instead.


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## steveindenmark (13 Jan 2019)

Rusty Nails said:


> When I used to run I was too knackered to smile. It's hard work.
> 
> Cycling is a walk in the park compared to running


Im with you on this.

Its why I took up cycling.

I smile a lot now.


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## Globalti (13 Jan 2019)

I'm not surprised runners always look miserable, they know cyclists will get there in a quarter the time for the same effort.


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## Rusty Nails (13 Jan 2019)

Globalti said:


> I'm not surprised runners always look miserable, they know cyclists will get there in a quarter the time for the same effort.



And motorists in a quarter of cyclist's time for no effort.

Why does anyone bother?


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## DanZac (13 Jan 2019)

Rusty Nails said:


> When I used to run I was too knackered to smile. It's hard work.
> 
> Cycling is a walk in the park compared to running



Agreed it's hard but it makes the cycling easier. It doesnt seem to work the other way though and no matter how many bike miles you do it never seems to make the running any easier.


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## trewlis (14 Feb 2019)

When I have eye contact with them, some will smile and some will look away.


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## antnee (16 Feb 2019)

Archeress said:


> We did today actually, we were on our way back from the city centre up a cycle path that has a short but sharp climb easing off to a slope. I had my fiance with me and I had to be gentle with him as he doesn't do much cycling and we had already done some big climbs on the way into the city centre. So whilst I was being gentle on with my man on the cycle path a jogger came running past
> 
> Hugs
> Archeress x


 Jacobs Well Road perhaps But yes I have seen many a jogger enduring a grimace when jogging for supposed fitness Though to be fair I have had one or two bare there teeth and say hi!


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## numbnuts (16 Feb 2019)

Every time I see this girl running she smiles at me.........or it could be a laugh.....


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