Salmon Run

A and I got into a conversation about bicycle safety with the hipster who was ringing us up at Trader Joe’s this weekend.  Considering the configuration of his facial hair and tightness of his jeans, I was not surprised at all that he was a rider of bikes, and based on his profile I’d venture to say they’re fixed gear ones at that.

He told us that he was a “salmon rider”.  As an animal lover I was shocked and horrified until he explained that it just meant he biked on the wrong side of the road, riding towards traffic instead of with it.  He acknowledged he’s breaking traffic laws, but as a nonconformist badass who laughs at the face of convention, he felt it was the safest way to ride.

I realized that A and I are Salmon Runners.  (Sidebar: that reminded me of the hilarious Salmon Swimming Upstream we saw at the Bay To Breakers race in San Francisco.)  If the sidewalk is crowded or nonexistent, we run in the street towards oncoming traffic.  It feels safer for a number of reasons, but mainly because we can see that the drivers are seeing us.

It seems that the general consensus amongst the running community is that one should run against traffic, but there are detractors.  I read an op-ed piece by a runner who claimed you are just as visible running with traffic as against – in fact maybe more so because a driver is more likely to expect you on his side of the road.  Furthermore, since you are running away from his car and not toward it, he has a longer time to see you and adjust accordingly.  The writer also claimed that runners who are on the wrong side of the road have an increased risk of being hit by drivers making right turns who don’t look both ways.  This was a particularly compelling argument for me because I encounter this all the time, even when we are on the sidewalk.

Despite the validity of these arguments, A and I are still dedicated to our salmon running.  We have learned to always expect drivers to do the wrong thing, and the best way to do that is to be able to see what’s coming our way.  If a car hits us, while it might technically be the driver’s fault, we’ll be the ones who live with the consequences so the onus is on us to keep ourselves safe.

And if the sage behind the Trader Joe’s counter can do it, so can we!