[Closed] New Cyclists = ignorant or just shy

I rarely get a wave from folk in other cars when I'm driving.

Cyclists, or just people riding a bike?

I like to acknowledge other riders...Lycra lot seem the rudest(most unresponsive) 😀

I dont get this waving at strangers thing .Do you do it when driving or walking ?

druidh - Member
I rarely get a wave from folk in other cars when I'm driving.

One of the nice things about cycling is that you're not cocooned away in box so interaction is easier. Much the same as if you are walking along a quite path and you pass some one you would not ignore them.

Sometimes..when I'm feeling happy..but I'm a passenger in a Vw T25 so we get a lot of waves from other van owners.
Seems like a lot of grumpy/negative people out riding...I already knew that most drivers a dicks!

Do you do it when driving or walking ?

When I drove a classic mini I would wave at other mini drivers. 😛

Do you do it when driving or walking ?

when walking in the mountains yes, it's part of the old climbers and mountaineers look after their own thing. Say hi to folks,if you get in trouble they'll be the ones that may be risking their own skins to come and get you.

you are obviously just a joyless misanthrope who hates interacting with people 😀

Yes but I take it that this is more about the road.

Shot put

Shot put

Javelin

I'm an old cyclist, and I'm shy and ignorant. Like others I never feel the need to wave to other car drivers so don't wave when I'm on my bike on the road. I do however speak to folk when out in the hills...

I wave at other Mazda Bongo/Ford Freda owners when I'm driving. They wave at me too.
I say "hi" or "morning!" or whatever when I'm walking in the countryside
I nod in acknowledgement when I pass cyclists.

It's all nice and costs nowt

Do you do it when driving or walking ?

I always say hello to people when walking. And I say hello to people walking when I'm cycling.

Driving's a bit more impersonal.

[quote=TheBrick ]Much the same as if you are walking along a quite path and you pass some one you would not ignore them. Oh - if I'm somewhere quiet and see a cyclist I might acknowledge them, but I see too many going through town normally to make it a rule.

When I drove a classic mini I would wave at other mini drivers

I had a VW Beetle and used to wave at other Beetle drivers.

My mates would be hanging out of the windows lobbing the V's

In some ways it's actually a good thing. There are now so many folk out there riding bikes that it's not really practical to say hello to them all. I still nod or wave when out in the country, but on my commute there are just too many. And I'm happy about that.

I say hi or nod, and just mutter to myself miserable gets if they don't return the acknowledgement 😆

Maybe its your bike project 😉

[img] https://encrypted-tbn1.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQ3RSjoW_v_rNkP9qaBbcuJ_pvfm_nPWXEeKTyb6A-c0fNAxWTwPw [/img]

Edric 64 - Member

I dont get this waving at strangers thing .Do you do it when driving or walking ?

Yep - often say 'hello' to people when out walking.

Mind you, we're in the civilised bit between rude southerners and dour Scots - quite normal round here. 🙂

I think the op can consider himself so much more awesome than new cyclists, well done.

shy :0I

I think the op can consider himself so much more awesome than new cyclists, well done.

+1 I think you're just trying to make a point that you've not jumped on the TDF and Olympic band wagon! 😉

A few years ago while cycling around Islay I was amazed and charmed at how almost every passing motorist waved at me. Maybe I was being mistaken for a local or maybe it's just a very friendly place. From my experience of being there, I wonder if there's a whisky correlation.

[quote=Kunstler ]A few years ago while cycling around Islay I was amazed and charmed at how almost every passing motorist waved at me. Maybe I was being mistaken for a local or maybe it's just a very friendly place. From my experience of being there, I wonder if there's a whisky correlation.
Pretty standard routine on single-track roads throughout Scotland

Christ! IGNORANT does [i]not[/i] mean rude. Sorry - just one of the many stupid misuses of the language which irrationally wind me up.

[url= http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/ignorant ]Again, apologies for pedantry...[/url]

When driving, it's a [s]pathetically childish[/s] good game to give a quick "bib" of your horn and a wave at strangers when you're driving through strange villages. See how many waves you can get back.

Everybody acknowledges you when you ride a unicycle.

Pole vault

Just sounds like needy behaviour to me Project, not everyone wants to talk when they're out on a bike, not everyone cares. Stop looking for interaction!

riding through town i wouldnt bother, but heading up a cycle track or out in the woods i would nod, or a brief wave, maybe even a hello.
manners cost nowt, and they go a long way, you never know when you may rely on a person youve just passed for help.

a few years ago, i got on my bus (im a driver)at 4am, heading back north from scotch corner. i was passenger up to newcastle, so as was normal would often have a brief, hushed conversation with passengers at the front if they were awake. on this occasion, 4 20something girls were at the front, so i said hello, its a long night sitting in one of these old buses eh? they agreed, and that was pretty much the conversation done.
got in drivers seat at newcastle, set off up the A1 to edinburgh, just after we passed berwick i was forced to brake when a truck pulled out in front of me, managed to avoid a collision but was hit from behind by another truck.
no injuries, minor damage to vehicles, but when i asked if anyone had seen the truck pull out of the layby all 4 of the girls at the front immediately said they had.
ive often wondered if they would have been so keen to be witnesses for me if id been a grumpy sod.
no harm in being decent to other people out on the trails imo.

I pretty much wave at anything on a bike, inc. people on Bromptons and even the odd fakenger, sure it's nice when they acknowledge you and wave back but doesn't bother me if they don't. There's also been quite a few times where I've drifted off into my own little world and someone's waved at me and they're long gone before I realise I never waved back.

It's nice to be nice..... costs nowt and after all you do have a common interest with the other guy/s ... Rude people suck balls.

Maybe the OP (and some others) look like the kind of people other cyclists wouldn't want to interact with?

I'm not seeing this at all - seems to be a few more cyclists about but can't remember last time I didn't get a nod or suchlike (roadies in full Lycra included) . Guess I must just live in a friendly place.

I nod and smile at cyclists coming towards me on the opposite side of the road/track and they always reply.

I often speak to other riders at traffic lights on my way to/from work, and they speak back.

I often speak when overtaking other riders, but strange now I come to think of it, rarely in central London. Too many, and often they are not 'proper' cyclists or they are on the phone.

I can't understand why some riders seem to feel so threatened by new riders, and have to look to have a pop at them to reinforce their own 'proper' cyclist status. It's a bit sad and pathetic really.

New people riding bikes is a great thing in my book 😀

lots of niche groups on the road do it in a form or another.

Classic Mini's, VDubs, Mods on scooters, a lot of motorcyclists, smart cars to name but a few.

if you're not an "enthusiast" on a niche group and never have been you've probably never seen it.

I might say "morning" or something as I pass another cyclist out on a country road but I seem to drop in (not consciously) when I get into town or into "commuter country". I S'pose that's 'cos I feel one lot are likely to be enthusiasts and the other lot after a cost effective means of travel. obviously the two groups aren't mutually exclusive but there are certainly more "means to and ends" cyclists now than ever.

Went out for an early morning road ride this morning,(in full lycra if you must know)spoke to everyone i saw, there were quite a few conmmuters. Just a nice thing to do and if it makes the world a happier place why not.

When I drove a classic mini I would wave at other mini drivers.

I've got an MG, which opens a whole confusnig world of waveing etiquet!

ZS/ZT/ZR drivers wave, but rarely seem to get aknowlaged by 'propper' MG drivers, because depsite protesing otherwise, they're driving an Over 75 with alloy wheels 😛

Rubber bumper drivers wave at chromed and rubber bumper drivers but sometimes dont get a wave back as they're still no 'propper' MG's.

what 29er keith said, niches/gangs/cliques/whatever, cycling is a minority sport/means of travel so plenty of people like to acknowledge one another. Also we are not isolated in tin boxes, much more sociable (if you want) What if you are waiting at a redlight next to another a cyclist? Feels weird not to [i]atleast[/i] say hello.

I wunt say it's confined to new cyclists, in fact many of what i'd pre-judge as being newbies tend to be quite responsive to a nod or an "eh up" or similar acknowledgement.

In fact it appears a lot of the type the OP describes are on this very thread. 😯

on the road, i usually just nod, if im passing someone, i speak, bit more enthusiastic off road, maybe a short chat if im walking the dog.

i dont get upset if my nod/greeting is ignored/missed - for it is better to give than recieve...

Hill reps last night. Amazingly there were 2 other cyclists and a runner all doing the same. Brilliant. We all managed some sort of shared grimace 🙂

Kabbadi