Originally Posted by
SpeedyBlueBiker
I don't wave to anybody because there are too many people riding bikes around here. They don't wave either so I guess it's just not done here.
Interesting write up in Sociology texts many years ago about two populations of rats kept in the same size cages. The first cage contained 10 rats and the second was overcrowded with 20. The first group lived relatively harmoniously with few fights and scuffles/challenges for food or water. The second group was determined to be antisocial due to their very close proximity with constant attacks over food/water and/or territory. Having lived in big cities (Seattle and SF) and small towns (less than 5000) I have observed far less friendliness exhibited by the city dwellers (smiling or waiving) compared to the small towns. Purely a subjective observation and not saying there aren’t plenty of friendlies in the cities or grumps in the sticks but my observations (confirmation bias?) tend to validate the study.
Waiving or not waiving on a bike may solely be an environmental function of where you live and not being a ‘good’ or ‘antisocial’ person.