The Waving Issue

Look! My best picture of a deer yet! You can almost see the deer in this one.

This morning I was busy at work cooking breakfast and minding my own business, when a short man barged into the kitchen, past the swinging doors that are clearly marked, “Employees Only”. Startled, I turned toward him as he said in a loud voice that echoed through the kitchen,

“I waved to you yesterday when you were biking but you didn’t wave back!”

I smiled. If I collected a penny every time someone came up to me and said this, I would probably be able to use my winnings to buy a candy bar at a convenience store. However, this is the first time anyone has ever stormed the kitchen to tell me.

I would love to be the friendly cyclist who waves to everyone who waves to me, but it really is quite the daunting task. I would have to stare deeply past the windshield of every passing vehicle to monitor whether the driver was waving or not. And cars go by so fast! Also, I must admit, though I try to remain aware of cars to stay safe, my focus while biking is elsewhere.

I am riding past funny animals and beautiful trees and flowing rivers and puffy clouds and corn fields, which I find more interesting to look at then cars driving down a road. People who are outside, working on their lawns are much easier to smile and wave to then people in a speeding car.

But I have a solution for the customer who came back into the kitchen to tease me this morning.

“Ride a bike and I promise I will wave to you every time I see you on the road.”