FYI this is me coming down off two days solid of little food, little water, a lot of sleep, and a whole bottle of NyQuil. You've been warned.
Tl;dr - I wave.
So I stumbled across a craigslist rant this week from someone moaning about biker's waving at him. He didn't see a point to it, didn't see a reason, and sure as shooting wasn't going to wave himself. Fine, dandy, whatever, moving on.
Of course, this little nugget stuck in my head and got me questioning why do I wave whenever I see anyone out on two wheels. Scooters, cruisers, sports, dual sports, tourers, even the occastional mountain or road bike get a wave from me. I don't care, I wave. It really doesn't matter if they wave back or not either, doesn't add to or subtract from my day. But i do have this habit: See a biker, wave.
Why?
The obvious answer is "Well, saying hello!" Ok, then why don't I say hello to the numerous other users of the road I pass throughout the course of the day? Pedestrians, cars, trucks, RVs, semis, none get a wave unless they do something generous and I'm thanking them.
"Well, then saying hello to those who share the risk riders take." Seems rather a morbid acknowledgement. Hi, we're bikers and our odds of death are higher because of that, let me wave at you to make this moment better. I really hope it's deeper than that.
"Well, saying hello to those who share a love for motorcycling!" But how do you know? In reality a bike is just a machine. Visually from opposing directions at 60mph it is difficult to tell the bike that is loved from the one neglected. Tohe other rider, is the bike a means to an end; commuting, saving gas, saving money, etc? Is the bike a luxury; a second vehicle, a weekend getaway, a track bike, etc? Or is the bike a extension of a rider who has more oil and grease in their veins than the blood and sweat shed over hours wrenching to bring a dead bike back to life?
"Well, then just being friendly!" And I refer you back up to the first answer. My inner voice starts getting grumpy by this point and turns to the "cold shoulder" treatment that lets deeper thoughts and musings have their turn in the spotlight.
"It feels good to be friendly." Ah, so by waving and smiling at random folks who have no clue who I am I can feel good about maybe making them feel a bit happier. That might work if everyone returned the wave, but there are those that don't and even a few grumpy faces as they pass by.
"But you saw them and you waved, you feel good." But I don't really, it doesn't matter if I do or don't wave. I wave when it is convenient sure, but in the middle of a corner, they'll be lucky to get a head nod as all my focus is on the line ahead and not the biker going the other direction. I chose safety over "feeling good" about waving to another biker I see.
"But you saw them and acknowledged them." True, whether through a wave, nod, just looking in their direction, I did see them. I know they were there and saw where they were in relation to me. Its a small physical movement to seal in the awareness in my head that saw the other biker and recognized they were there.
"You saw them." Ah, for me this might be it. It is more than just being friendly to another motorcyclist who is out there enjoying the day on the open road while still being at a greater risk than most. It is more than just an automatic motion that happens without thought or awareness. It is me actively and with mindfulness acknowledging seeing another rider on the road. Training my mind to recognize another rider when my eye sees them and forcing an action to cement that recognition into part of the awareness of the environment I am riding in. I see you, I see you now and I will see you later, regardless if I am on a bike, in a car, or as a pedestrian. I *see* you.
Don't just see; observe.
-Namaste