I was out for a run along the river in London tonight. Because we drive on the left here, the protocol for joggers and cyclists on the pavement is to run and cycle on the left too. As I rounded a corner on the path by the river a woman came round on my side of the pavement heading directly at me. I stepped as far as I could to the left, but she seemed to freeze in her reactions and then swerved towards me. She would have hit me except that I stopped dead and then caught her handlebars and stopped the bike in its tracks. Admittedly she was braking, but she would have hot me had I not stopped the bike for her. I said to her,

"You rode right at me!"

She said,

"No, I gave a clear signal that I was changing direction and you ran at me"

That was the stupidest thing she could possibly have said since I was in my lane and I moved further to the side of my own lane to try and avoid her. I couldn't be bothered to argue the point and she was slowing me up, so I just said,

"You didn't get hurt, I didn't get hurt, just watchout next time ok"

To which she said "asshole" and cycled off.

There was a old guy on the other side of the pavement. As I started running again he said, "stupid woman cycled right at you".

I wonder if she made it home without crashing. The only consolation is that this heatwave has to end soon and then we won't see any girls on bikes again until next summer.