Be Kind and Respond.

I love riding my bike to work. Commuting by two wheels has become a large part of my life. It provides a short adventure to the beginning and end of my day. It seems that when I ride to work, all rolls a little more fluid.

When I woke yesterday morning I noticed a little overcast but the temp gauge was reading warmer than usual. I felt a pleasant commute to work on tap. I packed a change of clothes and hit the Midtown streets: Avery Ave to Hollywood, Hollywood to Central. I clicked a gear and pretended like I was running late. Within the past few months we received a bike lane on Central Avenue. This made my work commute a bit safer. While commuting down the Central lane I saw an oncoming cyclist. He was a male, riding what seemed to be fixed gear by the way he was pedaling, his hands were off of the handlebar and in his pocket, and he was wearing headphones. As I got closer it was apparent he was staring at me. I slowed my pedaling, raised up and extended my fellow cycling brother a wave and greeting. He was stoic. His eyes were fixed on me with a cold gaze. I pedaled on, disappointed that I did not get a response.

A friend of mine who is a very accomplished ultra marathoner, once made a shirt that proclaimed, "If I had a nickle for every time someone said hello to me on the trail, I would have a nickle." Runners, cyclists, don't we all have something specific in common? Aren't we part of a group of people, a community? I think so. We are all trying to do something better for the environment, our neighbor, ourselves, or all of the above. We belong to a community together. Is a greeting not in order? There is no cool-aid to drink or a special handshake, just a wave or hello. Have you noticed jeep drivers? They all wave at each other. I drove a jeep for several years and I was always impressed how the jeep driving community shared a wave to their like driving friend. I once asked a jeep driver why this was and he told me, "It's a Jeep thing". Can it not be a "runner/cyclist thing" or a "community of health thing". On my bike, when I meet someone at a traffic light or coming in the opposite direction, occasionally the cyclist acts as if they want to start a pissing contest. Most of the time they do not respond at all. Heaven forbid they get passed going the same direction. There have been moments in that context that I have been cursed at!

If nothing else, I'm proud of what cyclists have done to cycling communities. It is because of our cycling, lanes have appeared. Keep riding! If you ride it, they will come. A reliable source tells me there will be nearly one hundred more miles of bike lanes built in the Memphis area within the year. It seems to me that we have done this together. That deserves a greeting, at least.