[nonsleepingjon]

Toward the end of my saturday ride, I was coming up to a stop light just as it was turning green. There were only a few cars in my lane, so I didn't have to slow at all. The lane next to me was still getting up to speed, and so for maybe a couple hundred feet after the light I was really hammering it (with the aid of a slight downhill) and just pacing traffic. There was a guy and his woman on their motorcycle beside me in the next lane, so I looked over at him and yelled "CHEATERS!!" and gave him my big stupid "i'm on a bicycle" grin that I always show while I'm riding. I could hear him laughing over the wind and exhaust as they rode away. :-D

Just thought I'd share.

 

[weltyed]

happens to me all the time...

...but ya gotta make sure the person you are talking to is ok with bikes on the road. most people in cars arent used to having someone speak to them while they are in their car and can get a feeling of intrusion.

that being said, dont you find a weird kinship with those on motorcycles? i would say 95% of those on motorcycles give smiles/wave when im on my bicycle. must have somethin to do with both being at risk of getting creamed by a car.

 

[nonsleepingjon]

...but ya gotta make sure the person you are talking to is ok with bikes on the road. most people in cars arent used to having someone speak to them while they are in their car and can get a feeling of intrusion.

that being said, dont you find a weird kinship with those on motorcycles? i would say 95% of those on motorcycles give smiles/wave when im on my bicycle. must have somethin to do with both being at risk of getting creamed by a car.

The guy/gal on the moto had seen me, and I thought I heard him say something (couldn't make it out over the wind), and they looked friendly so I went with it. I wouldn't do the same with a car, although I have exchanged friendly hellos, waves, and smiles with cars (usually at stoplights) in an attempt to spread goodwill toward bikes.

That being said, I also ride a motorcycle and definitely feel the same way about it. There's just something about being on two wheels, about being out in the open... I've never quite been able to define it exactly, but two wheeled motion is just such a better feeling than being in a car. I like bikes because I know every inch I travel is by my own power, and I like motorcycles because I can go a whole lot farther on them. I try to wave to both no matter which I'm riding.

 

[Circles]

I had a rather "large" bearded gentleman on a Harley pull up next to me as I was out of the saddle hammering up a short hill. I looked over at him and all he said with a sad shake of his head, "there's a better way..." At that, he sped off. Me and my buddy laughed for days over that!

 

[MarkS]

After six years of riding on country roads, my preconceived notions of who is a "friend" and who is not have changed 180 degrees. When I started riding, I thought that nice suburban people, like my neighbors, were friends and that people on motorcycles and ******** were not my friends. Over the years I have had many negative encounters with suburbanites, especially cellphone using, soccer moms, and none with motorcyclists and ********. One of my favorite memories comes from about three years ago when I was riding west of I-81 in Virginia and had stopped at a burger carryout for lunch. I was sitting outside with my bike, clothed in lycra, exposing my skinny shaved legs, when whole club/gang of motorcycles came up and stopped. The guys, and the girls, all of whom seemed as if they were 200 pounds plus, were wearing leather and most of the men looked as if they had never met a razor. I heard the theme from Deliverance in my mind. Then a group came over to me, asked about my bike, the road conditions from where I had ridden. Then they gave me a good, alternate route to the one that I had planned to take and I sat down with them and we had lunch together. They may look different and their bikes may be a little heavier than ours, but deep down we all are doing the same thing -- having fun on two wheels and trying to avoid being the prey of four-wheeled vehicles.

 

[CFBlue]

I have never been on the side of the road and had bikers go by without asking if I need anything. I'm sure they would help if I needed it. Some of the more casual motorcycle riders probably wouldn't, but the real ones always stop. Real, of course, is by my definition.