In Which a Craigslist Troll Raises an Important Issue
Every once in awhile, a ridiculous Craigslist ad will circulate around the Internet and we will all laugh and laugh at its absurdity, like the recent one wherein a rental was offered on the basis of giving prospective renters the “Girls experience.” Most of these Craigslist ads are designed to do just that: circulate around the Internet, make people laugh, and get a lot of fucking attention. Which is all fine. It’s totally ok to be a Craigslist troll, I guess. It’s nothing to be proud of exactly, but we all do what we have to do.
Sometimes though, even inadvertently, a Craigslist troll will raise an important issue that really needs to be addressed. Gothamist reported finding a Craigslist ad that claimed to be looking for people to join a runner’s club that would run only in bike lanes. The ad in full reads:
Hello fellow running enthusiasts!
I’m looking to gather like minded individuals who love to run, are based in Williamsburg, and don’t feel safe doing so (or are just plain annoyed with other pedestrians) on sidewalks. And let’s face it, the track at McCarren park is just plain boring to run on. I’m starting to love running in bike lanes, especially on Kent Ave. It’s great to feel like you’re not in anyone’s way, and also great not having to deal with pedestrians walking about on sidewalks. I’ve seen a number of other runners taking to that bike lane lately, so I figure why not join forces? Let’s see if we can get a group of 30+ to meet daily/weekly and run the bike lanes together! All runners welcome, strollers too!
If this goes well, perhaps we could even take to the Williamsburg Bridge bike lanes for a group run too!
Bike Lane Runners Club 2013!!
Now, first of all, I never trust anyone who uses two exclamation points. I feel like you should either go with one, which is concisely emphatic, or three, if you really want to be effusive. But exclamation points should never be used in even numbers. That’s a fact. But so anyway, it seems pretty likely that this Craigslist poster is not interested in running at all, but is only interested in trolling the Internet and seeing what he can dig up. But the thing is that people run in the bike lanes all the time and it is a terrible and dangerous thing to do, rivaled only by the scofflaws who ride the wrong direction in the bike lane aka “salmoning.” And in light of the fact that the city bike share program is going to be coming soon and that it’s finally warm enough to ride a bike without feeling like your fingers are going to freeze off, I think it is incredibly important to remember that, even though this Craigslist post is probably not real, there are actual people who think it’s ok to occupy a space that is clearly marked and reserved for cyclists. To quote the great George Costanza, “You know, we’re living in a society!” Be considerate out there.
Follow Kristin Iversen on twitter @kmiversen