Saying "Hi!"

One of my favorite moments in riding a bike around town is the friendly nod from fellow bikers. Not only is it encouraging, especially during a downpour, but it's nice to think that someone else made the choice to take to the streets on a bike. I like to strike up conversations with people en route to work. It's really nothing more than a simple "Hi" or "I like your bike/helmet/whatever." This is why I am really excited for the "say hi to a cyclist at a red light" task for the 2010 LGRAB Summer Games.

I thought today would be a great day to do it too. It was slightly drizzly, which always makes the connection better. It's the sense that you both choose to suffer through the weather rather than take public transit. On my way home I pulled up to one of my least favorite moments on my ride home: crossing Flatbush. Flatbush is one of those streets that says "don't ride on me." I always wait for the light, which never works in conjunction with the previous light on Fifth, so I'm always huffing and puffing on this incline and hitting red. Lucky for me, Dave was standing there with his bike talking to his friend Sean. Slightly short of breath (note the incline), I jumped at the opportunity to say "Hi!" They were both so pleasant, and asked me to talk more about the LGRAB Summer Games. Sean took a picture of Dave and I:



Afterwards, I continued on, and what should you know, but not five blocks later I came upon my friend Max! To be fair, Max and I are more acquaintances, but how fortunate! Max is in Brooklyn for the summer to do some gardening, and we had a moment at a red light as well:



After promises to connect this summer, Max and I parted ways, and Dave rode up next to me with more questions about LGRAB Summer Games. I did my best to explain and gave him the URL because he seemed stoked to know more. He introduced me to his bike, Tarzan, and I introduced him to Maggie.

The Social Cycling tasks for LGRAB Summer Games has been so much fun! I think I'm going to try to incorporate the tasks more often into my life. Because biking in a city should be about getting to know more than how to avoid potholes and cars. It's an opportunity to get to know more people too!