Waved at, Ignored, Fingered, Thumbed, Saluted....
Hell, it’s all good!!....
Whether or not we admit we care, it’s fairly obvious that we all notice. BUT, does it really matter??
After a 40 year absence, I returned to biking last year when, in a moment of spontaneous inspiration, I broke open my retirement piggy bank and bought a Spyder. I then had to re-learn a whole bunch of things – safe riding, defensive tactics, biker identity/mentality, group riding customs and, of course, road courtesies. The ‘two fingers down’ with left arm visibly dropped off the hand grip soon came quickly back, no problem. But, was I doing it right; was anyone even noticing? Like some others, these questions nagged at me. Here are some observations:
There are no hard and fast rules about who will wave, not wave, or how; no guidelines; no definite expectations. I’ve probably had more of my 'salutes' returned than ignored, and it doesn’t seem to matter whether the others were on Harleys, Hondas, Suzi’s, Yam’s or even other Spyders. Some wave, some don’t. Other Spyders though are usually the most enthusiastic, almost jumping off their rydes in greeting, waving, or high-fiving, etc. There are a few ignorant bikers who simply seem oblivious (or too exalted) to acknowledge a friendly greeting. Sad, but too bad for them if they don’t wish to say ‘Hi’ to little old me.
I wave at everyone – I have saluted Slingshots, scooters, ATV’s, a couple of golf carts and, one time, a guy on a lawn mower trimming the highway median. One Sunday, a lady in a motorized chair was in the curb lane as I pulled up to a stop light; I looked over, waved, smiled, and challenged her to a drag race. Her laugh made my day. The most memorable wave ever given to me came from a kid on a crotch rocket screaming through the twisties. He was in a descending, tight left turn; I was climbing and bending right. He dropped his left hand off the grip and almost dragged two fingers on the pavement as he approached me. I barely got my hand down before he was gone. For reasons of safety alone, I would never have expected his salute; but he gave it. Cool kid!!!
I’ve had Harleys wave first, or not at all; same for other makes. Some wave noticeably, while others will barely lift a finger or two off the grip. I’ve even had (and given) a right-handed salute with barely a lift of the hand, depending on the situation and whether the other biker was on my right side. I often wonder if we sometimes miss seeing ‘little waves’ from others and then feel we’re being ignored, when really we aren’t.
Maybe we should all just think of our courtesy waves as akin to a gift – things we give away to others without a thought or care of repayment. As bscofield84 says above: if you walk down the sidewalk and say ‘Hi’, some will smile and return the compliment, others will ignore you. The important thing is that we feel good, and don’t allow the response (or lack thereof) to spoil our day.
Wave on; wave everywhere; wave at everything. Give freely. Friendly Spyders will ultimately prevail. Ignorance will be overcome. Your soul will be happier.
