I live in a smaller, rural community with few bike lanes and no bike paths (that I know of). When I ride, I do try to ride the few roads that actually do have a marked lane, but there is no way for me to get to those roads without traveling unmarked roads.

So when I'm on my bike and a vehicle makes a noticeable effort to give me room as they pass, I always try to give them a "thank you" wave. I figure it's just good karma and helps dispell the jack*** cyclist stereotype.

So do wave or otherwise acknowledge courteous drivers? Do you do anything for those drivers that "buzz" you?

Yes, both when cycling and motorcycling. I will react with positivity when treated nicely, but I will not react with negativity when not treated nicely.

Don't get me wrong, it's not that I am not capable of reacting negatively, I've simply learned that it has no upside and always brings me down. I refuse to harsh my own mellow.

Positivity is its own reward.

I'll usually nod rather than wave on the bike, but on the one-and-a-half lane roads around here that take cooperation to get around each other in the car, I wave, sure!

Sure, it costs nothing and only puts out good vibes.

Difficult to wave a thank you most times. With vehicles as public enemy #1, we mostly deal with their jack**s maneuvers.
On nearly every ride, however, I wave motorists thru intersections (when they deserve right-of-way) or when I judge it safe for them to pull out before my arrival.
It never does any good to get angry and give them the finger. They could be packing or they may circle back to zap me.

I don't know if I would say I react negatively but there have been several instances when drivers have been, what I can only assume, is intentionally discourteous, i.e. they "buzz" me when there's plenty of room not to. I will throw my arms up in a giant WTF? kind of gesture. Nobody has ever stopped (yet) but I feel better that they know I think that was a d**k move.

Might be a dick move, but it was likely done to get a reaction. You reacted, they won. If it gets a reaction, it gives them what they wanted, and they'll do it again to the next cyclist.

Yes, I definitely wave when drivers are courteous.

In Japan people are friendly, the roads are busy enough that people don't take their eyes off the road. Tokyo is a kind of strange place in that everyone seems to exist in their own little bubble, and don't pay much attention to anyone or anything outside it. In the American Southwest, everyone waves, cars, pickups, motorcycles, or bicycles. In Tokyo out on the Tama, Arakawa, or other cycling courses, maybe one-in-ten other cyclists will wave. The one who waves is probably not from Tokyo.

No. I want them looking straight ahead rather than in one of their mirrors to see if I have waived after they have passed.

In our rural area waving is common among drivers on dirt backroads. The “wave” is often just a finger raised from the steering wheel. I wave when I’m biking, too. I figure it’s a goodwill gesture.

Besides my *thank - you* wave there are times I give a be it as a *Thank You* alternative or NICE CAR recognition. There is also my in disgust *left hand quickly raised with PALM UP and a verbal DUMB ASS.*

Just don't encourage the 'nice-holes'.

Giving a cyclist a leeway when passing from behind should be a requirement of the laws of every state. When they do that I don’t wave. I don’t want them to hit me anymore than I believe they want to actually hit me. When I get buzzed I might yell but it’s just a surprise reaction on my part. When drivers pass you they’re not looking back so the wave or giving them the finger for buzzing and all is really pointless IMO. Here in southern Delaware everyone waves including cyclists, pedestrians and other drivers but generally as a result of making eye contact by coming at you from the opposite direction not from passing you from behind. In NJ no one waved especially other cyclists.

I don't wave at drivers just for giving me a safe pass.

"Do you wave?" threads might be a better prediction of a continued winter than groundhogs.

Not if your camera footage gets them ticketed. Sure, they might do it again because they enjoy paying fines and having points on their license, but repeat offenses only stack the punishments.

Any driver who waits for me to pass rather then simply pulling out in front of me like I don't exist, gets a "thanks" wave. And any classic car traveling in the opposite direction gets a big thumbs - people keeping those old beasts on the road deserve all the encouragement they can get

I always thank with a wave courteous drivers.

Rewarding proper behavior, whether legally mandated or not, is like awarding participation trophies. As someone who walks a lot, I’m always amazed by pedestrians who wave to motorists to thank them for stopping at lights and stop signs. “Thank you for following the traffic code and not running over me.”

I use a helmet mirror to maintain situational awareness of what's coming up behind me. My practice (which isn't 100%; sometimes my attention is up front or my hands aren't available..)

• If I see a motorist in the lane next to me change lanes for more separation, I wave to them in a "thanks" manner.
• If I see a motorist approaching in the lane next to me and getting within 100', I swing my head (I don't really look) then I'll lift fingers off left side to acknowledge their presence as they pass.
• If I see any large vehicle (commercial truck, semi, pickup truck pulling a visible trailer) I'll wave to them early 200-400' to let them know I know they're coming up. I yell out either "trailer" or "heavy" to remind myself that there will be more exposure in both length and width, and to be ready for a wind buffet.

I don't know which motorists appreciate this or which ones it infuriates. Most likely 99% don't notice at all. However, these practices make me feel better.

Along with waving I have a bell that I ring, neighborhood streets, people know my bell.

it depends

Is that you, Yoda?

you need to look in their mirrors to know if you waved? for me i don't need any visual reception to know i waved, heck, i don't even need to look at the cars i wave to.