Saying Hi on the Bike Path

Jorg Lueke wrote in rec.bicycles.misc:
When passing by another biker on a path do you:

Vocalize a Greeting?
Gesture a Greeting?
Stare at the other biker to se if they are going to say or do
anything?
Stare stoically straight ahead?
Pay no attention to what other people are doing?

or...

I take my cue from the other person. If he doesn't look at me, I respect
his apparent wish for privacy and do nothing. If he looks but in a
blank or abstracted way, I acknowledge him with a silent nod. But if
he smiles, or speaks, or indicates by expression or gesture that he's
receptive, I offer a "Good morning" or "Nice day" or something similar.
This is the way I deal with cyclists, runners and pedestrians whether
I meet them on a path or on the street.

--
F. Wayne Brown

Þæs ofereode, ðisses swa mæg. ("That passed away, this also can.")
from "Deor," in the Exeter Book (folios 100r-100v)

Wayne Brown wrote:
I take my cue from the other person. If he doesn't look at me, I respect
his apparent wish for privacy and do nothing. If he looks but in a
blank or abstracted way, I acknowledge him with a silent nod. But if
he smiles, or speaks, or indicates by expression or gesture that he's
receptive, I offer a "Good morning" or "Nice day" or something similar.
This is the way I deal with cyclists, runners and pedestrians whether
I meet them on a path or on the street.

How do you look at them? Is your gesture receptive enough that somebody
using the same algorithm would choose to talk first? I could see a lot
of missed greetings with this approach. :-)

--
Work and recreation are not often effected at the same time.
One using a bicycle in business makes an exception to the rule.
- Dr. Edgar H. Earl, Rochester. (~1892)

I've usually only see one recumbent on my way to and fro work. He heads
the same direction as me, so it's a rare day I see him.

Since my commute went the opposite way, I saw him every day for years.
There's actually two regular recumbent commuters, but one's an everyday guy;
the other one is more of a fair-weather rider.

--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
http://www.bicyclemeditations.org/
See the books I've set free at: http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky

wrote:
On Aug 21, 9:18 pm, Tom Sherman
wrote:
DennisTheBald wrote:
On Aug 21, 11:32 am, " wrote:
On Aug 21, 12:20 pm, " wrote:
On Aug 20, 10:46 am, Jorg Lueke wrote:
When passing by another biker on a path do you:
Vocalize a Greeting?
Gesture a Greeting?
Stare at the other biker to se if they are going to say or do
anything?
Stare stoically straight ahead?
Pay no attention to what other people are doing?
or...
IF they are wearing a helmet, they get a nod, a wave, a smile and
sometimes all 3.
When they have no helmet I don't even notice them.
Lewis.
*****
As someone who rides in a ball cap, this post made my day. Anyone who
would make a post like this, especially with the capital "IF", is IMO
a capital twit and I'd rather be splattered with dog poo than your
attitude.
yep.
sounds like it was posted by one of those self obsessed gits in
spandex, you know the sort - they haul their bikes around all week and
the back of their SUV and then ride in a big clump with themselves on
Saturday.
Hardly a description that fits Lewis. This is a guy who rides barefoot
after all.


A barefoot helmet-nazi? Please tell me you're kidding! VBG

Do our eyes deceive us? http://www.bikeforest.com/limey.jpg

Clothes are more Johnny Cash than Fabrizio Mazzoleni.

--
Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia
“Mary had a little lamb / And when she saw it sicken /
She shipped it off to Packingtown / And now it’s labeled chicken.”

Dane Buson wrote:

Overtaking another bicyclist is a sensitive act. I slow down, roll
up to the other rider and say a few words to not give the
impression that this is a race, the racing aspect is a given for
many riders. I am not in such a hurry that I need to dash past
slower riders.

I actually don't do this for one big reason. There are a lot of
idiots here who draft without asking. I'm not racing, I'm either
commuting back and forth to work, or riding for pleasure by myself.
I don't like pacelining much at all, and certainly not with people I
don't know. Passing people at a brisk pace discourages this
behaviour.

In reverse, I sometimes see what I experienced in my youthful days,
that riders put on an extra burst of speed for the passing
maneuver, a speed that fades as they get about 50 yards ahead and
return to their actual travel pace. That is a gesture I wish not
to emulate. On mountain climbs this is more obvious because there
isn't much margin for such riding and eventually the stronger rider
takes the lead. You can't draft on the hill.

I don't tend to have this problem on hills since people can't draft,
as you say. I just pass at my normal pace, say "on your left"
pre-pass, "Good Morning/Afternoon/Evening" (as appropriate) during
the pass. Sometimes I'll get someone who is somehow offended I
passed them and they'll race up the hill ahead of me for a while.
But they don't try and draft me.

Why do you prefer to ride alone over a pick=up riding partner? The
way you describe it, you find your precious bodily strengths to
precious to share with others, which I see as selfishness. I have for
years, and even today, picked up interesting riders to whom I caught
up. As I rode south to Santa Cruz today on a 200km loop, I met a
rider from Berlin (D) who was touring the coast. We had a great time
just as so many other times. Towing other riders is an effortless
addition to riding alone and if you can give someone a lift, do it.

I get put off by all the gratuitous intelligence riders feel is their
mark of expertise... "Car back", "car up", "on your left/right" and
all the other BS that "In folk" use. It's often the guy at the
front/end of a string of riders who offers the most "car up" to
"car-back" although there are riders closer to the approaching
vehicle. Experienced riders ride in a safe location on the road all
the time where visibility isn't great. The warning comments are
usually given after everyone is aware of the condition (at least
around here).

The folks with whom I have over these may years, fortunately don't
offer these "in bicyclist" advisories that are an insult to the
intelligence of fellow riders, like the drivers who refuse to pass a
bicyclist (up hill) on a mountain road and finally do so by going to
the far side of the road because bicyclists are so unpredictable and
out of control in their perception so extreme caution and a wide berth
is a condescending insult.

Today I was passed by a large loaded Ready-mix truck that did not
touch the center stripe as I road on the 24" shoulder. Some following
cars could not pass without going to the opposite road shoulder,
thereby nearly causing a head-on collision with opposing traffic that
honked at them. All this to accommodate those irresponsible bicyclist
who dare to ride on roads these drivers would never attempt.

No three foot passing law would improve this situation.

Jobst Brandt

Tom Keats wrote:
In article ,
writes:

I suppose, taking long tours in the Alps has exposed me to more
pleasant fellow humans on all sorts of conveyances or on foot than
most local riders experience.

In the Alps, there must be all kinds of languages
for passers-by to express or receive greetings.

I'm absolutely amazed by how well two people can
non-verbally communicate in the absence of a
language common to them.

A long time ago I heard the suggestion that only
about 20% of inter-human communication is verbal.
The rest is, to put it colloquially: "vibes."

I find it rather beautiful. But I don't like to
verbally talk very much.

For a high functioning autistic person, the best solution is to avoid
unnecessary social interaction, since non-verbal communication generally
is misinterpreted.

--
Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia
“Mary had a little lamb / And when she saw it sicken /
She shipped it off to Packingtown / And now it’s labeled chicken.”

Dane Buson wrote:

Overtaking another bicyclist is a sensitive act. I slow down, roll
up to the other rider and say a few words to not give the
impression that this is a race, the racing aspect is a given for
many riders. I am not in such a hurry that I need to dash past
slower riders.

I actually don't do this for one big reason. There are a lot of
idiots here who draft without asking. I'm not racing, I'm either
commuting back and forth to work, or riding for pleasure by myself.
I don't like pacelining much at all, and certainly not with people I
don't know. Passing people at a brisk pace discourages this
behaviour.

In reverse, I sometimes see what I experienced in my youthful days,
that riders put on an extra burst of speed for the passing
maneuver, a speed that fades as they get about 50 yards ahead and
return to their actual travel pace. That is a gesture I wish not
to emulate. On mountain climbs this is more obvious because there
isn't much margin for such riding and eventually the stronger rider
takes the lead. You can't draft on the hill.

I don't tend to have this problem on hills since people can't draft,
as you say. I just pass at my normal pace, say "on your left"
pre-pass, "Good Morning/Afternoon/Evening" (as appropriate) during
the pass. Sometimes I'll get someone who is somehow offended I
passed them and they'll race up the hill ahead of me for a while.
But they don't try and draft me.

Why do you prefer to ride alone over a pick-up riding partner? The
way you describe it, you find your precious bodily strengths too
precious to share with others, which I see as selfishness. I have for
years, and even today, picked up interesting riders to whom I caught
up. As I rode south to Santa Cruz today on a 200km loop, I met a
rider from Berlin (D) who was touring the coast. We had a great time
just as so many other times. Towing other riders is an effortless
addition to riding alone and if you can give someone a lift, do it.

I get put off by all the gratuitous intelligence riders feel is their
mark of expertise... "Car back", "car up", "on your left/right" and
all the other BS that "In folk" use. It's often the guy at the
front/end of a string of riders who offers the most "car up" to
"car-back" although there are riders closer to the approaching
vehicle. Experienced riders ride in a safe location on the road all
the time where visibility isn't great. The warning comments are
usually given after everyone is aware of the condition (at least
around here).

The folks with whom I have over these may years, fortunately don't
offer these "in bicyclist" advisories that are an insult to the
intelligence of fellow riders, like the drivers who refuse to pass a
bicyclist (up hill) on a mountain road and finally do so by going to
the far side of the road because bicyclists are so unpredictable and
out of control in their perception so extreme caution and a wide berth
is a condescending insult.

Today I was passed by a large loaded Ready-mix truck that did not
touch the center stripe as I road on the 24" shoulder. Some following
cars could not pass without going to the opposite road shoulder,
thereby nearly causing a head-on collision with opposing traffic that
honked at them. All this to accommodate those irresponsible bicyclist
who dare to ride on roads these drivers would never attempt.

No three foot passing law would improve this situation.

Jobst Brandt

On Aug 21, 10:39 pm, Tom Sherman
wrote:
aka Jobst Brandt wrote:

Jorg Lueke wrote:

When passing by another biker on a path do you:

Vocalize a Greeting?
Gesture a Greeting?
Stare at the other biker to see if they are going to say or do
anything?
Stare stoically straight ahead?
Pay no attention to what other people are doing?

or...

Be a social being and say hello, just as one should when meeting
persons while hiking, or operating a self propelled vehicle when not
in the midst of throngs of others.

I wait to see what the other person does - gives them a choice to ignore
the recumbent rider.

I think a lot of people do this, and sometimes I fall into it being
naturally introverted. It can lead to a kind of goofy blank stare off
where you end up passing each other looking like two East German spies
of old. I try to either nod, wave, or say something based on the
exact conditions. Some people I see almost every day, and if they
ignore the greeting a few times I do leave them alone.

Rex Kerr wrote in rec.bicycles.misc:

How do you look at them? Is your gesture receptive enough that somebody
using the same algorithm would choose to talk first? I could see a lot
of missed greetings with this approach. :-)

Generally I give them a smile or a nod; something that invites (but
doesn't require) a response.

--
F. Wayne Brown

Þæs ofereode, ðisses swa mæg. ("That passed away, this also can.")
from "Deor," in the Exeter Book (folios 100r-100v)

"Wayne Brown" wrote in message
. ..
Rex Kerr wrote in
rec.bicycles.misc:

How do you look at them? Is your gesture receptive enough that somebody
using the same algorithm would choose to talk first? I could see a lot
of missed greetings with this approach. :-)

Generally I give them a smile or a nod; something that invites (but
doesn't require) a response.

I do the 'head bob'.

How about being asked for directions? On one ride I was stopped twice by
cars who wanted me to tell them where to go.

I almost did......