Mr IGH

I said hello to 4 people on the way to work, two walkers and two riders. Said hello to two bikers on the way home. A new record! A pickup driver said something when I took the lane, I waved at him like we were friends....I'm such a freaking hillbilly at heart

swwhite

I have noticed that as a benefit of commuting by bicycle. Neighbors I never have formally met greet me. People who live too far away to be "neighbors" but who have seen me repeatedly also say hello or wave. Biking is a civilized way to travel.

Kabir424

The best are the little children that see me on my various routes. I always wave at them and ring my bell and they always shout and wave back with big grins on their faces. I can't help but have a happier day after those encounters.

zephyr

I've been pedaling the same commute route for almost 10 years, and it's amazing the number of people that I see on a regular basis, especially in the mornings.

I see a lot of the same fitness walkers, dog walkers and joggers, many of whom say hello or wave. Several bike commuters going in the opposite direction always wave, and we've been passing each other by for years. I go by two street corners where a dozen or so undocumented workers hang out, waiting for somebody to stop and offer them a few hours work of gardening, painting or whatever. Even those guys all recognize me and we chat (in Spanish of course) if I hit a red light at their corner.

It's funny that in the afternoon, people are more tired after a day at work or school, and seem more in a hurry to get home. Don't get many afternoon greetings on the way home.

rumrunn6

one afternoon someone blew their car horn at me and I think it was someone I knew so I waved. I don't really know for sure. thanks for the reminder about one benefit of being out of our cages. had a horrible drive in to work today - commuting with other cars stinks!

Jim from Boston

Over the past several years, I have given such early morning acquaintances nicknames. There was Good Buddy whom I saw almost every morning at a predictable time riding in the opposite direction; The Stalker, a driver in a windowless white van driving in the opposite direction, who always gave me a distinctively friendly honk; and the Fleet Goddess, a jogger running in the opposite direction on my side of the road.

I have also befriended the early moning talk show hosts I listen to. I don't often call in when on the road, though I do sometimes E-mail them when I arrive, signing off as their "Number One Fan among Boston's Bicycle Commuters." Since I am such a talk show fan, my screen name on Bike Forums is how I'm introduced when I call in, "... and now here's Jim from Boston..."

wunderkind

Yeah same here. I notice kids like to say "Hi" as I ride by. I will then reply with a bell ring.

Hirohsima

When I ride in downtown traffic I nearly always take one of the lanes keeping with the flow of traffic. Once in a while there are kids in the back seat and they smile, wave, and jump up and down waving me on to keep up with them.

It makes me go faster, and give me the biggest grin on my face. And it never fails to make me want to see my own kiddo at home that much more.

Kids have the power to be the pure definition of joy and happiness

Andy_K 

One of my favorite things about southwestern Pennsylvania (having grown up just over the border in MD) is that you can drive through there and wave at absolutely anybody you see in their yard and they always wave back and smile.

TempeRider

I exchanged 4 greetings on the way to work this morning. All near my neighborhood before I hit the major roads. 2 walking there dogs. One of them sometimes says "Good Morning Sir!". Hey, I'm old, but not THAT old!.

Monday a fellow cyclist passed and said "Hop on!", so I did, and chatted. Turns out he works for the same company as me, and showers in the rec center we have also. Now I have a new freind!