When I started to write this, it wasn't intended to telegraph my level of butthurtedness (which definitely varies depending on the day, the time of day, the angle of the sun, my level of dehydration, and the wave/notwave ratio already encountered...), but the whole piece kind of got away from me. As you and many others upthread have pointed out, population density can play a large role in this, and country folk are definitely a little more willing to make eye contact with strangers than city dwellers. That said, when it comes to encounters out in the world, I have consistently found that cyclists are less responsive to others across the board, including their fellow cyclists, regardless of population density. I don't buy into the "blame it on the noobs/ebikes" argument, either.
I'm not advocating we all go out and start hugging every other cyclist we see, but as Lynx pointed out, it doesn't take much effort to nod, or lift a couple fingers. And I really want to believe that these tiny gestures could be a groundswell of goodwill and acceptance that might have upsides that we can't foresee. Like when the sneetches found themselves all broke but in that moment discovered their oneness.
April 19, 2024, 6:03 a.m. - Mike Ferrentino
When I started to write this, it wasn't intended to telegraph my level of butthurtedness (which definitely varies depending on the day, the time of day, the angle of the sun, my level of dehydration, and the wave/notwave ratio already encountered...), but the whole piece kind of got away from me. As you and many others upthread have pointed out, population density can play a large role in this, and country folk are definitely a little more willing to make eye contact with strangers than city dwellers. That said, when it comes to encounters out in the world, I have consistently found that cyclists are less responsive to others across the board, including their fellow cyclists, regardless of population density. I don't buy into the "blame it on the noobs/ebikes" argument, either. I'm not advocating we all go out and start hugging every other cyclist we see, but as Lynx pointed out, it doesn't take much effort to nod, or lift a couple fingers. And I really want to believe that these tiny gestures could be a groundswell of goodwill and acceptance that might have upsides that we can't foresee. Like when the sneetches found themselves all broke but in that moment discovered their oneness.