I wave at all the cars.


It gets tiring.

They all think you're going to turn right, too.

You should try being from WV....

You must be kidding......

i nod and smile and mouth the words "hey fatso!"

In Soviet Russia, bicycle waves at you

Not at all. I nod at some dudes, smile at cute chicks, and say "do these shorts make my butt look big?" to self-important poseurs as I drop them. (See my previous posts for details.)

Yo....

Nod Ya Head....

"Wh's'up"

Then get back to pedaling!

Love it -- "Your ball sucks." So does your sister, A-Rodless. Snobbery at its lowest.

I think I'll go to the Hotter-n-Hell Hundred on Saturday and wave at every cyclist I see, just for fun.

You're not my wife under a pseudonym are you? Here in Colorado people wave all the time. One time I was riding with my wife and waved at another rider and she asks, "Do you know that guy?" And I said no so she says that's weird and nobody does that (how she would know I have no idea since she rides her bike like once a year). We had a long "discussion" about it and she insisted that I not wave at any female cyclists.

Rule number one of Bike Club...don't talk about Bike Club.
Rule number two of Bike Club...don't do anything that would take away from our snobbish snubbery. We might wreck into swampish shrubbery, and then we'd be dampish and rubbery.
Rule number three of Bike Club...ride your bike very very super seriously. Make sure that riding for you is like taking a massively painful poop...that costs alot...oh, and don't wave.

Don't fret apricissimus, just take a spin down Battle Road in Lexington with a bottle of Harpoon in hand - purchased from the state packie in NH, natch - and console yourself knowing that the whole American Revolution wouldn't have happened if it weren't for a bunch of rabble rousing M*******s.

Bringing back a golden oldie....

Not waving is... well... not waving. But being instructed not to wave, and then not waving, is being a snobbish automatron.

Yeah, not to be rude but I've never intentionally waved to anybody from my bike and I can't think of a single time that somebody's waved to me since I started riding. I have waved to people I was hopping off the bike to see, and occasionally I'd give a wave to a friend just to tell him that I'd probably tie in with him a block down... but waving at random cyclists would seem a touch insane... considering that one of the routes I take daily features more cyclists than cars by leaps and bounds, and there's lengthy periods where I'm weaving through cyclist traffic (lots of people don't understand staying left or right... or... it seems safer here to assert in traffic than to take the bicycle trails on some days.

All your waves are belong to us!


(I have nothing else to contribute to this thread.)

I read this topic last night and thought about it constantly on this morning's ride, it started to piss me off that no one would even acknowledge me when I said 'good morning' as I passed. I'm back to focusing on riding and only saying hi to people I know. Oh yeah, I ride around Lincoln, NE and in three years of cycling have never once had someone wave at me from another bike before.

Hub of the Universe: A jocular definition of the state-house in Boston.... originating with the American humorist, Oliver Wendell Holmes; sometimes extended, in its designation, to the city itself.

- Dictionary of the Noted Names in Fiction, William Wheeler. Published by Ticknor and Fields, Boston, 1865.

I visited WV three times on tour this summer. The folks I met were some of the nicest I've come across anywhere. And I wouldn't have been able to complete my tour if it weren't for the guys at Pedal and Paddle in Shepherdstown.

The first organized ride my dad and I took was a charity ride for the Red Cross. My dad's bike has platform pedals, and mine has toe clips. Both of our bikes are aluminum. In addition, I was just wearing a t-shirt and blue jean shorts. We stopped at one of the SAG stops for a refill on water, and a guy was telling us about his all carbon fiber bike and about how we'd never get anywhere dressed like we were, or without biking upgrades. Not in a particularly helpful friendly way, but really snobbish. What I found interesting was that he wasn't able to finish the ride, and both my dad (who was 72 at the time) and I breezed across the finish line without any problem. I do see the advantage of having a nice bike, and clipless pedals, and proper riding gear, but if you've got all that and still can't finish a 50 mile ride, then really you've gotta drop the snob attitude. The point of the activity for me is dropping weight (50 lbs so far!) and enjoying the ride, not showing off how much money you've spent on a bike and equipment.

I wave at cyclists... even when I'm driving

Has anyone complaining about the alleged rudeness of Bostonians and other people from the Northeast considered that, from the other side, THEY are the rude ones for attempting to force a meaningless, empty interaction with a stranger who is minding their own business? 'Cause that's how Southern friendliness has been read by more than a few Northerners - as aggravating, insincere busy-bodying. Which is rude. That's just not how we interact up here. It's confusing and irritating. We're really nice people, I swear - once we've been introduced. C'mon, cultures are different. Try not to take it personally.

As for the alleged parochialism of people in Boston, I find it hard to believe that it's that much different from a lot of other places. How would most residents of a Southern city take to my Northeast-bred manners? Would they let it go, or would they complain about that rude, elitist Yankee who is too good for Southern friendliness? C'mon.

Oh, bikes? Um, sometimes I wave. Sometimes I'm tired and tuned out, or riding hard, or just plain don't really feel like interacting with other people. Rude Yankee that I am, I don't see anything wrong with wanting time to myself without pulling myself out of my personal reverie to validate passing strangers. Sometimes I ride for the solitude. That's not elitist, that's being an emotionally healthy human being.

Around here, on the road, I can't recall anybody ever waving. On the several less-populated MUPs we have, I usually nod at everybody coming in the opposite direction -- maybe half nod back. On the few heavily-populated MUPs we have, there is never waving or nodding because of so many people.

That said, lately, I've been riding my Surly Big Dummy, and I've had several Serious Roadies In Full Kit pull up and want to chat about it as we ride. They've been genuinely curious and I've had some nice conversations.

If somebody wants to interact in a pleasant way, all the better. If they don't want to interact, no worries.

^^^^^ I love it!

^^^ Now this is a true bike snob.

I normally wouldn't look down on anyone either if they cannot complete a 50 mile ride since people have different levels of ability, but he loses all sympathy by acting superior before the ride.

+1

Seriously, don't bother asking me about the weather unless you want to hear me go on about nerdy stuff like warm air caps. At least up here, I know that when someone's greeting me, they actually want to talk to ME and aren't just putting up a habitual facade.