Two honk Tuesday/ Waving Wednesday "utter failures?"

A bike community member I know described these efforts as "utter failures" the other night.
Just wondering what people's experiences have been-- have you participated? Any response out on the road?

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Permalink Reply by Joe TV on December 29, 2010 at 7:39am

Exactly. The worse out the weather, the more likely I am to wave.

When I was in school at a huge Big Ten University (GO STATE!!!), black students made up about 10% of the undergrad student body. It didn't take long to notice that among this population, the custom was to acknowledge one another (usually with a nod) in passing on campus.

Bikers have a minority status on the streets (especially in winter) so it's comforting to have some sense of solidarity! You don't have to wave back if you don't want, but I'll still recognize your valor for being out there in sub freezing temps.

Tank-Ridin' Ryan said:

Camaraderie in winter?

Justin Lee Miller said:

Waving and honking is lame. The last time I waved was when I saw a guy about my dad's age on a recumbent with a trailer in falling snow and traffic. He smiled and waved and I had to do the same. I don't wave. What's the point?

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Permalink Reply by Andrew Bedno on December 29, 2010 at 8:19am

"Happy (day of week)!" however has been a huge success. Bicyclist OWN "Happy (day of week)!"

As popularized by CCM, I find pedestrians now call Happy Friday to me even on non-mass rides. We've trained them well. Similarly I regularly call "Happy Tuesday" (or whatever) to fellow cyclists, and get a good 50% understood, also presumably due to CCM's effect. In contrast I never adopted these two because they require a hand.