_Fist Bumping Crazy Man

There’s this one route that I take often. It’s a good route that has both up and down hills and will get me about 9 or 10 miles. It’s also a bike lane road, so, it feels a bit safer to ride on.

As I’ve been riding this route fairly frequently I’ve come to notice a runner that’s out almost every day. He’s a gentleman probably in his 60′s who looks fairly rugged like he could have been a career military man who fought in many battles or something. He runs against traffic, so, you’re always riding towards him, never passing as you go the same direction.

As you get close to ‘military man’ he starts to rev up (and I see him do it with every cyclist or runner that he comes upon). He’s always making some kind of noise, but, it gets louder as he gets close to you. Then, as you pass, he sticks his fist out for a fist bump and yells something loud, but, unrecognizable. With my personal designation as a military man I can’t help but think it’s some war cry or something. Personally, I love his enthusiasm. It’s fun and entertaining to watch. He always gives me a little chuckle.

Well, until today, I’ve never seen anyone actually fist bump back. Everyone, including myself, just leaves him hanging. This morning, though, as I saw him running towards me I decided that I was going to reciprocate the fist bump. So, as he extended his weathered fist towards me I took my hand off the bars and stuck my fist out towards his.

As our fists met I was greeted with an unexpected response. He turned around as I passed and yelled even louder. I mean, really loud! It was like he had found a kindred spirit or something. I turned quickly so that I wouldn’t spoil his victorious moment with my laughter. It was pretty darn hilarious.

Definitely makes for a fun ride in the mornings. I think I’ll be fist bumping a little more often…

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