Originally Posted by
TandemGeek
IMHO, the best practice is to never give anyone who yells out or makes an unkind gesture the satisfaction that they may have gotten under your skin.
Instead, say what you'd like under your breath or to your stoker while waving and smiling. If, it turns out, they actually were trying to be friendly they they deserved the wave. If they were being idiots -- and lord knows that's the lion's share -- then getting a full hand wave (not the we're #1 sign) + smile will usually just piss them off and defuse any further escalation of stupidity.
Save the harsh words and hand signals for stupid cyclists who behave and ride in a manner that gives motorists (and other cyclists) a reason to dislike cyclists in general.
Doesn't the winking smiley indicate that I was KIDDING
Maybe I should have been a bit more ridiculous and suggested that upon hearing the usual "She's not pedaling" that the tandem team should totally flip out and go on a tandem riding rampage against society ala Michael Douglas in "Falling Down" but cover more ground since tandems are faster than walking.
