Saying Hi on the Bike Path

In article ,
Jorg Lueke writes:
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 dunno about bike paths, but on the street it's
often better to scan at ambient traffic in
Panavision instead of concentrating attention
on one street user, and distracting that other
rider from their own situational awareness.

Early morning cycle commuters don't really
want anybody buggin' 'em. They just wanna
get to their workplaces in time for a pre-work
cuppa coffee or tea. If you're regular cycle
commuters on the same route and encounter each
other on a daily basis, a simple nod and fleeting
eye-contact can be pregnant with communication --
"Have a nice day," "Ugh, such weather," "Nice to
see you again," etc.

In lighter traffic I might give 'em an acknowledging
smile & spread-fingered "wave" without actually
taking my (left) hand off the grip.

I gently honk my horn for sk8board grrls,
when they can see it coming and it won't
startle 'em. They get a kick out of it.
Lotsa people ask me to honk my horn for 'em.

I stop & cork for duck families crossing
the street. Even if they're jaywalking.
Especially if they're jaywalking.

Rats are the only creatures on the streets
I'm mean at. I aim for 'em, but they're
always too fast for me.


cheers,
Tom

--
Nothing is safe from me.
I'm really at:
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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...

I usually say hi and nod my head.

max wrote:

i cruise the trail in my tandem offering hott chi.xx a rrrriiiiide.

Speaking of chicks, I once did see a group of cute gosling's on the
trail by Funway.

--
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.”

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...

Play "chicken"

In article ,
"ZBicyclist" writes:
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...

Play "chicken"

That's for wrong-way riders.


cheers,
Tom

--
Nothing is safe from me.
I'm really at:
tkeats curlicue vcn dot bc dot ca

On Aug 20, 9:17*pm, sally wrote:
Jorg Lueke wrote in news:d08d390f-0483-4db2-88b1-
:

When passing by another biker on a path do you:

Vocalize a Greeting?

I always say hi when I am passing someone from behind. *That is less likely
to startle them than just riding by. *Startled riders can be unpredictable,
i.e., swerving into your path.

I'll tell them in a clear voice before I do, "passing on your left/
right"; it never hurts being cautious as it does being reckless

On Aug 20, 5:40*pm, Claus Assmann ca+sendmail(no-copies-
wrote:
Leo Lichtman wrote:
[[...]] *I ignore anyone who clearly doesn't want to interact,
e.g., high end bike, full costume, pedaling hard, [[...]]]

That's a strange assumption... How long does it take you to
distinguish between a "high end bike" and a "normal" bike?

The only time I don't greet someone is when going downhill at high
speed because that's too dangerous (and it doesn't make sense trying
to greet someone who is riding uphill while you go downhill at more
than, say, 60km/h).

oh, that's when you tell them it's easier going the other way (down),
or if when climbing and the other guy is zipping down I'll yell
"cheater!"

"Claus Assmann" WROTE: That's a strange assumption... How long does it
take you to
distinguish between a "high end bike" and a "normal" bike?
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I don't think it's so strange. I was trying to present a picture of a rider
who is concentrating on HIS/HER ride, and not socializing with slow riding
senior citizens like me.

In article ,
Tom Sherman wrote:

max wrote:

i cruise the trail in my tandem offering hott chi.xx a rrrriiiiide.

Speaking of chicks, I once did see a group of cute gosling's on the
trail by Funway.

sssssss.

i've taken to cutting through the parking lot there; too many
bythatmuch misses from kids three-across on their BMX bikes behind the
gocart track. i saw a screech owl there last spring

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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.

The main difference is that one is not obliged to be social if the
approaching person is performing a self important schtick, like
pretending to be a solo breakaway in the TdF, grimacing with feigned
exhaustion and wearing black glasses (stolen from Ray Charles) while
spinning at high cadence, occasionally glancing over the shoulder
looking for an imaginary chase group down an empty road.

I find exchanging a greeting with motorcyclist and antique car drivers
a reasonable and pleasant encounter, if they don't happen to be
performing some self important act as Mr. TdF is. Such people
generally don't acknowledge a greeting. One gets to recognize these
folks with time.

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.

Jobst Brandt