Do you say "hello" to passing cyclists?

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mangid

Guru
Location
Cambridge
In town not much, less it's earlyish, before 6 say. Out of town almost always a hearty morning/afternoon/evening and a slight raise of the right hand. Will also greet runners, and walkers. Love seeing people out and about out.
 

Milzy

Guru
 

Stef 1

Senior Member
Location
Cotswolds, UK
Always a quick wave – doesn't matter what kind of cyclist. 50% of the time a 'mornin', or 'alright there' thrown in for good measure too...

Usually, the wave is in the style of a quick hand lift off the bars - in a subtle way, a little like saying 'thank you' to someone when driving. If I'm going hammer and tongs, then that wave may turn into just a finger wave (stretching my fingers / flattening my hand) but still with hand on bar... like saying thank you when driving whilst keeping your hand on the wheel.

Passing a big peloton in the opposite direction I always find tricky... what do you do? Can't be dishing out a wave to everyone, that's a bit too enthusiastic for me. Also a big, single, 20 second wave has freakish undertones too, so I often wave to the front ones and then give a periodic wave as the rest pass... some signal back, half appear a little up themselves or 'busy', even if I recognise them and know that they usually say hi when solo...

Overtaking a cyclist and saying 'hi' is somehow tricky to do right too without coming across as being overly weird or glib.
 
^^exactly as stef has said above, though sometimes I may not acknowledge if the cyclist looks like a "rude boy" or on a bmx or such haha..
Was out with son yesterday and acknowledged a young (I've thought about the next word and am going to say) lady must have been in her late teens in all lycra on her carrera zeros, got a strange look of "why are you acknowledging me you perv" but then she smiled and spoke both the 2 other times she overtook us (I'm blaming my son for that).
 

bluenotebob

Veteran
Location
France
It's slightly off-topic but I always wave at tractors when I'm out on the bike. I reckon it must be so boring going up and down that field in a tractor on your own - no social contact for hours - why wouldn't I wave? and most of time I get a cheery wave back.

I have noticed recently that some tractor drivers are now waving at me first - they've obviously recognised me from previous occasions. I can only assume it's because when I'm cycling I'm very distinctive - the only cyclist in Western Europe still wearing a snood in July. And proud of it
 
On the commute, don't generally say hello, unless overtaking someone - normally a wave-lite, from hood, or a nod. Onna weekend ride depends on the context, relative speeds etc but either a "hey" or a wave-lite, but sometimes a full on chat if 'passing' in same direction.

The other week I cycled in the opposite direction to the Ridgway Rouleur sportive (1200+ entry) for a few miles, after the first waves, I quickly stopped any acknowledgments...
 
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harrison_888

Regular
Location
Essex
After moving from a miserable NW London suburb out to Essex I was completely dumfounded by the sheer number of waves, hellos and nods I got from other cyclists.

I decided to adopt a system so as to be consistent because I'm weird like that:
  • Lycra clad road cyclists (in the opposite direction) - small nod/2 finger extension (I want to look as though I'm a serious rider and anything more might sacrifice speed).
  • Lycra clad road cyclists (in the same direction as I pass them) - "Morning" or "Afternoon"
  • Lycra clad road cyclists (in the same direction as they pass me) - "Show off"
  • Other cyclists on any other bike - hearty wave and a "hello" (these are usually friendlier folk who are interested in the view rather than eeking out 1 or 2 additional watts)
A simple "hello" can brighten up a tough ride.
 
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ianrauk

Tattooed Beat Messiah
Location
Rides Ti2
Sometimes I say hello to other cyclists.
Sometimes I don't.
Sometimes a cyclist will say hello to me.
Sometimes they don't.
We are not one big gang, we are not 'brothers', we are just cyclists going about our own business.
I'm far more interested in what to have at a lunch stop then worrying about some random saying hello or not then going on the interweb to moan about it.

So for this thread
upload_2018-7-10_16-28-4.jpeg

Penny jar was getting a little lite.
 
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