I live out in the middle of nowhere and ride a rails-to-trails path in the middle of nowhere. I might see 3 people in 20 miles of riding and usually it is older folks and they all say hi and I say hi to all of them. Rarely do I come across anyone who doesn't give a wave or greeting, though there is one guy I see every day who will ignore the greeting.

The other trail I ride is around a lake and the snobs are all at that one. They ride side by side and take up the whole trail even when they see you coming the opposite way and I have to go off the trail on the side to get by them. Those people I'd like to kick my leg out as I go by rather than greet them. Freakin rich entitled people from the local city who think everyone should bow down to them. They are the same people who come into my wife's retail work and think they should get everything for free just because they holler and scream at her. I don't understand those kinds of people and why they enjoy putting retail cashiers in tears sometimes with they way they act in public.

I think it is funny to be riding on the greenway with other bikers and people just dont say hi to one another.

Talked to a guy this morning about how cars don't look out for bikes as he rode the walking path around the round about instead of in the lane of traffic :/ but it was good to chat with someone.

I always greet solo riders. Group of riders, not so much as they are always busy chitchatting.

It's variable depending on the circumstances, but mostly I do. I have two special greetings besides a finger or hand wave. My most perfunctory is just to yell out a hearty "Yo," or "Ho" with no expectation of a reply if the other rider declines.

When I have the chance to meet up and speak to a "serious" cyclist," I like to mention about Bikeforums, since I am an avid fan as a self-described serious cyclist myself. These exchanges are often brief, and it's hard to explain BF, and its varied subforums quickly to a total stranger; and the URL of Bikeforums.net. as a plural, and .net instead of .com as the domain name can easily be forgotten.

So I made up some business-type greeting cards as illustrated below to pass out. I keep them with my professional business cards as well. Hence even when in a social or professional circumstance, if I encounter another cyclist, I can inform them about BF. (I myself learned about BF serendipitously from a Cartoonist's Blog .)

Since taking that photo, I have changed the last sentence to read, "If you join, send me a message saying hello via My (User) Profile,” and have addded Fifty-Plus to the list of subforums.

A few weeks ago on the Wall Street Journal this Morning radio talk show was a discussion about greetings among runners and cyclists out on the roads.The point I remember and seemed the strongest argument for a mutual greeting was to acknowledge each other as particularly vulnerable users of the road.

To me if I'm out cycling or walking it is just common courtesy to say hello to people that pass me going in either direction. That's how I was raised .

I disagree. Nothing to do with vulnerability on the road. Waving is an indication that you are a member of an elite, secret subculture. Which is why I usually don't wave.

Only if you decide that's what it indicates. I greet almost everyone I encounter on the MUP, usually with a nod - and it can get a bit out of hand in the spring when the paths are busy - and I offer it as a gesture of respect and deference to others who have chosen to share the path with me. I commute on a carbon race bike when it's not raining, but that doesn't stop me from acknowledging wal-mart MTB riders; the equipment is not the point. Having commuted full-time for several months now on a 20km one-way route, I've come to recognize a lot of people I share the route with, and I'll exchange a full-voiced "good morning" with several different dog-walkers, old folks on scooters, and lycra-clad speed racers who've come to form parts of the community I now consider myself a part of. That sense of community has become a rare bird in our culture, and I'm always delighted to have a piece of it, especially when the cost of entry is as low as a momentary greeting.

When you're walking down the sidewalk, do you nod at or wave to everyone? If not, then are they not a part of your community, by your reasoning.

Cycle-tourists from around the world pass through my Town in the Summer.

years past I rode through some of theirs..

I too have had several routine greeting encounters on my early morning commute over the years, and I have even learned some of their names when I have met them, usually other than on the commute.

If I don't know their names, I give them nicknames, like "Good Buddy," an oncoming serious cyclist riding in the opposite direction, and the "The Stalker." (The stalker drove a windowless van in the opposite direction, and gave me a friendly toot when passing.)

It's always going to be a good day when I pass a runner also going in the opposite direction known as the "The Fleet Goddess."

There's usually a Fleet Goddess on my route too

Those aren't people I know, yet. You get to know people by spending time with them; I see most of my fellow MUP users every single weekday, if only for a moment or two. There's Old Asian Guy with Golden Retriever; Lady Dragging Empty Trail-a-Bike (presumably finishing her commute after dropping off her child - that's some dedication!); Captain Marinoni Masher of the 32km/h pace at some absurdly low cadence; Elderly Navy Vet w/ Accompanying Hat Who Always Stops to Say Good Morning; Local Municipal Planner Guy Who Asks About Trail Conditions Every Time He Sees Me; and of course The Other Trail-a-Bike Mom Whose Chain I Helped Fix That One Time. I've exchanged more conversation with most of these folks than I have with many of my neighbours. That's a community. Nobody's saying you have to be a part of it if you don't want to, but I personally derive great satisfaction from doing so.

I have noticed on my early morning commute that there are significantly more women runners, Fleet Goddesses or otherwise, than men, in a ratio of about 5-10 to 1. I usually do give a wave or a “Yo” to runners if they pass me oncoming close by, maybe about 30 feet at most.

Sometimes I give a yell (judiciously and to guys only), “Good Form” when I pass a runner in either direction. (Whenever an acquaintance mentions they saw me on my bike, I ask, “How was my Form?”. )

There are a LOT of stunning looking women on the Greenway here, cycling and running. I don't think I can think of anything encouraging to say to them, so I don't say anything.

At a closing speed of 30-40 mph, it is difficult, if not impossible, to have a meaningful exchange, IMHO. A wave or finger salute is pretty much meaningless. I will yell out "watch it," "heads up," "leash" or some other short phrase to indicate unsafe behavior. Other than that, my bell is used frequently to indicate my presense and intentions. As I encounter hundreds of bike riders every day when the weather is good, concern with developing a community is not a priority. Safety is pretty much all I care about.

This.

I like to be friendly to -- or at least acknowledge -- other riders, but I'm not going to sit up and take a hand off the bars to give a full wave. Just a nod or finger wave, maybe with a "hey" if we're not too far apart.

+1, oh and a smile

I tend not to greet others. But, then I am very quiet, solitary person, so I do not want to be bothered. Here, in Ann Arbor, I do not see many cyclists greeting each other. That may be simply, because it is a "college town", and a lot of those on bikes are college students, and I think that explains it. Most of the time, when I am riding, I get greeted by motorists on the road next to me, or get pedestrians on the sidewalks talking to me (for example, the other night, I was riding home from a meetup.com event, and a woman commented on my Monkey Lights & said she thought they were different & very nice).

All in all, I should probably try to greet other cyclists a little more.

I've spent many years trying to figure out why so many cyclists are so unfriendly on the road, yet so pleasant to "chat" with on forums like this. At this point, I just accept that many of the people I enjoy exchanging posts with are either very shy in person, or total jerks in real life. I tend to lean toward the shyness excuse. I mean, what are you SUPPOSED to say when you zip by somebody on the road and leave him or her in the dust? Even if you say "Have a nice day!" chances are they're going to take it as sarcasm.

I fell on my bike when a random guy dinged his bell right when I was pulling out of a stoplight. I panicked because I thought he was warning me that I was doing something wrong... lol

As someone said, you don't necessarily nod and greet every single person you see as you walk down the sidewalk, because if it's at all busy you'd be nodding constantly. Living mostly in busy towns and cities this is certainly true for me, and this may very well inform some peoples' behavior on their bikes.

For me, it depends. I generally say hello or something if I'm passing another cyclist, after announcing my intentions beforehand. I usually nod at oncoming riders but as others have said who knows if they notice it or not. Surely I've missed such things if I'm not looking directly at the oncoming biker. I've noticed that people will respond if you make eye contact, but again if your closing speed is pretty high that might not happen either. I don't commute so I don't see that many other riders regularly (there are one or two, as well as walkers, because I have a couple of routes I like to ride).

I say hi when I get the chance. I often get passed by faster people, where I have no such chance, but when I'm at a red light with another cyclist or when I see an oncoming one, I wave and/or greet. I usually get a hi back or at least an acknowledging nod.

I ignore almost all other cyclists on my commute. The only exception is someone with a particularly interesting bike. Why? Well, most days there are dozens of other cyclists per mile, too many to be constantly acknowledging. Much of the time I am pushing hard, not much spare breath as I pass by. And anyway, when I walk down the street I don't say hello to every stranger I pass, why would I act differently on a bike?

On fun rides, I am more likely to lift a finger or give some acknowledgement .

Don't forget that waving is supposed to be a selfless act. It is supposed to be for the other person to enjoy, not a challenge for them to acknowledge you 'or else'.

I don't always wave but most of the time I give a nod or finger-lift etc. I pass about 3 of the same riders in the morning heading the opposite way. I give a nod to all of them or say g'mornin!' as we fly by. The 'retiree' always gives a full hand off bar wave. The 'young pannier guy' didn't wave at first but after about two weeks I now get a smile and nod. The 'beach cruiser mom' is a real trooper. She must get more mileage than you'd think in her regular clothes, teal bike and matching helmet and wicker front basket. I always gave her a smile and good morning when she showed up. After about two weeks or so she actually started relaxing enough to say good morning back.

I can put 100 miles a week on this stretch of trail, so I feel I'm just making it more of a community.