05-24-2017, 12:06 PM
My very first motorcycle ride as a brand new 40 year old rider I missed the first person that waved. It didn't register that he was waving at me and I was now part of the club. I felt a little bad about not returning the courtesy. After that moment I became a bit hyper vigilant about waving to anyone on two wheels. Motorcycles, bicycles, e-bikes.
After a few weeks of riding I figured out a few things. Most bicyclists look at us the same as a car, but the odd one will give a nod or a wave in two wheel comrade-ere. E-bikes around here anyhow tend to be ridden by people who have had DUI's and can't get insurance. There is even a work program that has these as part of the transportation solution. Most people on e-bikes do not wave or smile as they are not on ebikes for pleasure. I'm sure there are exceptions to this, and I'm sure every region has their own e-bike culture, I'm just commenting about what I observe around here.
So I've grown into the habit of not making eye contact or waving st bicyclists or e-bikes. It was quite strange today while turning left at an intersection that turning left in the opposite direction was a gentleman on an e-bike eager to give me a nod and a wave. His opportunity to turn left occurred just a tad before mine and I was surprised as his face on view turned to profile that his e-bike transformed into a Honda DN-01. So this begs the question, was I supposed to wave?
After a few weeks of riding I figured out a few things. Most bicyclists look at us the same as a car, but the odd one will give a nod or a wave in two wheel comrade-ere. E-bikes around here anyhow tend to be ridden by people who have had DUI's and can't get insurance. There is even a work program that has these as part of the transportation solution. Most people on e-bikes do not wave or smile as they are not on ebikes for pleasure. I'm sure there are exceptions to this, and I'm sure every region has their own e-bike culture, I'm just commenting about what I observe around here.
So I've grown into the habit of not making eye contact or waving st bicyclists or e-bikes. It was quite strange today while turning left at an intersection that turning left in the opposite direction was a gentleman on an e-bike eager to give me a nod and a wave. His opportunity to turn left occurred just a tad before mine and I was surprised as his face on view turned to profile that his e-bike transformed into a Honda DN-01. So this begs the question, was I supposed to wave?