Blocking and passing

Anybody who watches motorsports knows that the object of the race is to be the first one to cross the finish line. It's not uncommon for the lead guy to have someone much faster come up from behind and try to pass. Slower guy in front doesn't want to be passed so he will try and block the other guy. He'll do whatever he can to keep from being passed, even if this means swerving from side to side. This is a part of racing. I get that. But it shouldn't be a part of frigging WALKING!

I was taking my daily Walk For Fun and Health this morning at the El Dorado Nature Center. The trails are mostly rather narrow. So I'm walking along at a healthy brisk pace and come up on a slower walker. This guy wasn't walking, he was LUMBERING along. In the middle of the trail. I have to slow my pace because he was quite a large person and I couldn't pass without one of us being sent into the wall of bushes that are filled with many, many spiderwebs.

Every time he would lumber to the side, I'd attempt to make my move. But just as I would attempt to pass, he'd swerve back, blocking me and preventing me from passing. He knew I was there. I don't walk quietly and gracefully, or so I've been told. In fact, you could say that I pretty much stomp when I walk. I can't help it. My family tells me the house shakes when I walk. I try to walk quietly and gracefully, coming in on little cat feet but to no avail. So I'm stomping right on this guy's ass, jingling my keys, clearing my throat to let him know I need to pass and he Will. Not. Move. He'd swerve to the left and I'd dart to the right, only to have him swerve back and cut me off. WTF? I don't care if he was listening to Slipknot at full blast on an iPod or if he was completely deaf, he knew I was there, he could feel my breath on his neck, fercryinoutloud, and he Would Not Let Me Pass.

Just as I was ready to bark, "Move it, Buster!" we came to a wider area and I was able to pass him on the inside and continue on my way. I glanced back just in time to see some new walkers get trapped right behind him. Yep, he caused a bottleneck. And didn't seem to care. I just don't get it. It's not like he's going to lose points or that podium finish if he lets the faster walkers pass.

I'm pretty sure he's that guy in the Prius I always seem to get trapped behind. The guy who drives just enough under the speed limit, in the fast lane, to keep you from changing lanes and going around him because the flow of traffic in the next lane is such that you can't get over and he's getting some perverse thrill out of all the cars bottlenecking behind him.

Bastard.