I encountered a young man riding towards me this morning on a multi-use path. He was IMHO going too fast for the path so I got off the hoods and into the drops to get better control of my bike and have better braking if I needed it. Then he waved and I was in no position to return the gesture. This has weighed heavily on me all day. We were both wearing helmets, he had a t-shirt and I was wearing a jersey. I will admit though I was wearing mountain bike shorts on a road bike which may seem wrong, but the bike was a vintage bike boom bike so there may be some wiggle room there.

I didn't want to start a new thread or drag this one off topic, but I did a search and this seemed like the best place to ask. Should I start going topless (shirt and helmet) so people won't wave at me making me feel awkward about not always being able to reciprocate?