Mind how you walk

Filed in archive Walking on November 1, 2007

Walking with friends or being a part of a walking group is great. What usually happens though is that you get so caught up in chatting that you don't pay attention to what happens around you.

I see this happen all the time when I walk, some days you have so much to talk about that all of a sudden you have walked for an hour and afterwards you can't remember where you walked because you didn't pay attention. If you have problems remembering directions then it's extra important, you don't want to get lost because you were chatting.

Walking in group also causes another problem. The sidewalk problem. Everyone knows how annoying it is to meet a group of people, walkers or not, that take up the whole sidewalk.

If you are a single walker you cannot understand why the approaching group is not making the slightest effort to move out of the way. This is something important when you walk, you have to mind how you walk. The sidewalk is not yours; you need to respect other walkers as well. And that goes for everyone whether you are exercising or not.

If you find that your walking group is creating this problem unintentionally to other walkers then you can set up a few simple rules;
* Decide that whenever you meet someone everyone will automatically "fall" back. Then you don't need to worry about who is going where.
* Walk in pairs. That way you won't take up as much space if you meet another pedestrian.
* Tell your group, they might not be aware that it is causing a problem for other walkers.
* Pay attention! No need to be like a hawk, just pay attention to where you are going and who you are meeting.

Do you think walkers take up too much space on the sidewalk?