To say hello....or not?
Robi55
Posts: 13
A road riding point of ettiqute. I've been road riding for 10 years, mainly in the central Bedfordshire region. When I started out, I would estimate 9/10 riders would say hello or good morning, or at least wave. It was polite and friendly and engendered a feeling of togetherness which surprised me but was welcome. Out on my ride yesterday, after I was completely ignored even after calling out "Morning" enthusiastically to the first three riders - including one who was passing me! - I gave up. Which is a shame. I live in an area of the county that has had a massive influx of new folk many of whom have moved out from London and surrounds, which means there are more bikes on the road (good) but ridden by folk a whole lot less friendly than used to be case (bad). I commute 18 miles a day by bike as well as doing Sat or Sunday morning rides, (commuting is a whole lot tougher btw) and have never understood the aloof or snotty attitude of some of the folk out on a Sunday morning. What's the general opinion here? Should I "just get over myself" about something that doesn't really matter, or is friendliness and etiquette among cyclists on the road still important?
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Do you say hello to everybody when you're walking or wave to everyone in a car if you're driving? Just don't worry about it. I generally do raise a couple of fingers or nod to other cyclists in acknowledgement, but if it's not returned I don't think any more of it.1
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Carry on your normal behaviour.robinbartlett1 said:I live in an area of the county that has had a massive influx of new folk many of whom have moved out from London and surrounds,...
They'd adapt, or sod 'em.The above may be fact, or fiction, I may be serious, I may be jesting.
I am not sure. You have no chance.Veronese68 wrote:PB is the most sensible person on here.2 -
it's déjà vu all over againmy bike - faster than god's and twice as shiny2
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Try the middle finger, see if that gets a response!Giant TCR Adv Pro Disc 0 2021
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Really? This question comes up again and again on these forums. Surely it’s not worth losing sleep over? Do what you want and let other people do what they want. Simple.
PP0 -
I’m not sure its etiquette exactly, Robin. The initial wave, hello or good morning is more to do with rarity of the beast, cyclist in this case. [Ahoy a fellow cyclist, amazing!] but cycling is not alone.
In the case of motorcycling, I have noted that when I ride in the UK and across Europe there is a hand gesture or nod from fellow motorcyclists. However when I visit the IOM TT on my motorcycle this all stops. There are simply too many to acknowledge. When I visit the TT on my bicycle however other cyclists do acknowledge with a wave or nod etc.
Perhaps cyclists have become too common an occurrence to acknowledge? The same sort of thing happens when walking the fells, it’s the volume or perceived volume of similar ‘traffic’
Just carry on saying hello, it certainly doesn’t do any harm and cheerfulness is contagious you know
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This is undoubtably the case.Charlie_Croker said:
Perhaps cyclists have become too common an occurrence to acknowledge? The same sort of thing happens when walking the fells, it’s the volume or perceived volume of similar ‘traffic’The above may be fact, or fiction, I may be serious, I may be jesting.
I am not sure. You have no chance.Veronese68 wrote:PB is the most sensible person on here.0 -
I've only just twiggedsungod said:it's déjà vu all over again
what you are talking about
I'm slow on hills too0 -
Keep waving, but don’t worry if someone doesn’t respond. They may be going over some rough ground, getting something out of their pocket. Or might just be deep in thought.XC: Giant Anthem X
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I had a cyclist give me the "w*nker" sign the other day.
Haven't got a clue what I had done to raise his ire.
All I'd said was "Ayup".
Some strange people out there
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Perhaps you did nothing and it's just that he knows you?Cargobike said:I had a cyclist give me the "w*nker" sign the other day.
Haven't got a clue what I had done to raise his ire.
All I'd said was "Ayup".
Some strange people out there2 -
Quite possible, with hindsightballysmate said:
Perhaps you did nothing and it's just that he knows you?Cargobike said:I had a cyclist give me the "w*nker" sign the other day.
Haven't got a clue what I had done to raise his ire.
All I'd said was "Ayup".
Some strange people out there
Perhaps being a loud-mouthed, opinionated, dickhead isn't everything it's cracked up to be.0 -
I dunno. I quite like it.Cargobike said:
Quite possible, with hindsightballysmate said:
Perhaps you did nothing and it's just that he knows you?Cargobike said:I had a cyclist give me the "w*nker" sign the other day.
Haven't got a clue what I had done to raise his ire.
All I'd said was "Ayup".
Some strange people out there
Perhaps being a loud-mouthed, opinionated, dickhead isn't everything it's cracked up to be.3 -
If I were somewhere busy with loads of cyclists around, I would wave to none of them.
If I were somewhere quiet with a cyclist every 20 mins, I would nod/wave to all of them.
I'm still not sure exactly where the balance is.0 -
In London, not a chance, if I see the same rider regularly on my commute I might nod/good morning eventually.
Local park = No good mornings
Local common = Good mornings to everyone.
Humans are weird!Pinno, מלך אידיוט וחרא מכונאי1 -
I always ,nod, speak , lift my hand , the majority acknowledge
if they don’t well it’s not the end of the world1
