Almost everyone I see gets a wave or a nod…I occasionally miss someone, but i don’t miss many.
I’ve long since moved past worrying about if they wave or nod back…I don’t know what is going on with them and it doesn’t impact me either way. They could be in the middle of an interval, just not see me or lost in their thoughts…or they simply could be an asshole. Whatever it is, I did my bit and that is all I can control.
Numbers of cyclists have shot up here in SE England (or at least when the weather’s OK, anyway) and the waving hit ratio has fallen substantially as far as I can see. I put this down to simply not knowing, and do my best to educate by waving at or acknowledging everyone I see.
I can’t tell you how many times I didn’t see someone wave until very late and by the time I made a wave back they had long past.
Never seen any of this supposed snobbery in southern Ontario, near Toronto. The ones in the ‘zone’ will nod, and those riding easier will wave or say hi. If anything there can be the awkwardness of the opposite problem, in which a conversation about the weather can go on too long when one rider is overtaking.
OT: the camera guy’s gear crunching makes me cringe. 
Had to stop watching the video after about 30 seconds.
Yes, that a raw video. His edited video are very nice tho
Yeah, I think this is a good point. I’ve only been cycling for a couple of years, but the only place I ever really heard mention of waving to fellow cyclists as a matter of etiquette has been online. And while I think a wave is pretty universally understood as a friendly greeting, if you’re not really ‘involved’ in cycling outside of the occasional ride it may well be that you’re just doing your own thing and don’t really think anything of it, or you simply don’t expect it and either don’t see them or react too late. Kind of like being waved to in a grocery store- I’d be like “wait, what? are they waving at me? should I recognize them from somewhere?” and by the time I thought to wave back they’d be long gone.
In any case, I’m generally of the opinion that most people are too busy with their own stuff to care much about me, so my guess is that the number of people who think I’m not ‘worthy’ of a wave is far smaller than the instances where something just got lost in translation. The roads can be a busy place 
Amen. You want to wave, wave.
This whole thinking/demanding/wondering why someone doesn’t wave back? Creepy.
Reminds me of those old farts that insist a young lady (strangers on the street) should be smiling. Super creepy.
nb; When you are out on a ride and “starring” in your own movie, remember the rest of us are not merely bit players and supporting roles to your LARPing fantasy…we’re hanging out in our own movies.
Good points, i will try to do the same.
If I’d wave to every roadie, I’d never have my hands on the handlebars. That’s just not save. 
I’ve posted this previously in the thread but I’ll say it again. I’m a serial waver. I’ll wave/nod and say ‘Morning/Afternoon’ to everyone I see. Walkers, horse riders, cyclists… I don’t care who you are, you’re getting a wave.
I remember reading about isolation a few years back. One particular study said that some people really believed they were invisible. Just saying ‘Hi’ to someone had the power to really lift that persons spirits. In this current COVID situation, if a simple acknowledgement can help a person, I’m happy to frantically wave at everybody 
I’ll echo @pusherman on this thread: I’m a serial hello’er (or Morga or Grüezi or or Grüezi wohl or Hoi here in easter Switzerland) and I love slowing or stopping, as the trail requires, for horses because I am grateful for and enjoy that I get to ride where horses also tread. Often, depending on where I am and especially if I think I recognize the horse, I’ll give a separate hello directly to the horse. (Note: I’m often kitted out in Rapha, so I take exception to the stereotype 
)
To add to @pusherman’s comment about raising spirits… anytime I see a trail runner (which I’m also one if the name didn’t suggest that) and they give me an enthusiastic hi or a big smile when (or before I get it out) say it, that gives me a huge lift and puts a smile on my face for a long time. That seems to happen more with trail runners I see while in the saddle than mountain bikers, though I get a fair smile from the (very few) gravel bike riders I encounter.
On the flip side, echoing the start of this thread, I’ve encountered cyclists, and the culture they seemed to help create, that really ruined it for me. Then living in the North Shore of Chicago, I returned to cycling after staying off the saddle for about 7 years. Though cyclists there were open to accepting a new person to their groups – which I joined only a few times due to me schedule – their aggressive behavior nearly took me out on the road and helped, I suspect, fuel a toxic relationship with drivers with unnecessary behavior I witnessed as a driver and felt from drivers when I was in the saddle. The incident mentioned above was the last, but not the only, straw. I was cycling south into a well known chicane of sorts with two right angle turns very close to each other with nearly zero visibility: a left turn followed quickly by a hard right, and obviously the reverse for the northbound. The regular group ride was heading north while I was southbound near the end of my ride. I chose to ride on the outside (right side) of the lane for no reason and against good practice considering there was no traffic on this one-lane each way residential street. I could have been in the middle of my lane. But, it was good that I went where I did because the group was coming up and was halfway into my lane and had I been where I should have been there very likely would have been either a collision or a crash resulting from someone swerving. Unsafe maneuvering on their part, and this was not the only time. While on its face this is not an issue about a “friendly cyclist” it is fundamentally. It reminds me of riding here. I can’t crank it around blind corners on the trails because I don’t know if there will be a horse, a dog off leash, or an people (elderly or otherwise) walking. I get a grateful Danke or Merci for slowing (or stopping as required), and while sometimes I say no problem or you’re welcome, sometimes I say, Die Wege sind für Alle (the trails are for everyone), which sometimes gets a big smile.
If you’re walking up a trail and a bike comes barreling down at you, even if it’s fire road-ish width, it’s still disturbing when you’re grinding dirt or gravel or even mud into the air, it’s ok to slow down and be polite, whether or not there’s a pet (which typically doesn’t have to be leashed in part because here you have more testing to get a dog than to get a gun in the US)… I’ll get off my soap box now…
Not at all. I whole-heartily agree with your entire post.
I’m a real believer in the fact that my actions have consequences. If I can try and represent my fellow cyclists in a good manner, then I have a responsibility to do so. Keep myself safe, try to keep others safe. We all enjoy the journey, regardless of how you make that journey.
Seeing a smiling face only makes that journey better 
There is a lot of projection in this thread. Remind me who the friendly ones are again?!
THIS.
Hope you’re not wearing a Rapha jersey though, otherwise you’ve just been found automatically guilty of being a snob who hates other cyclists
Team kits are Voler, God&Famous (my new fav), Ale, Pedal Mafia, Cuore and Eliel but, no Rapha. 
Hahah I guess that makes me a snob because that is all I wear and ever bought
Yeah, IMO there’s a big difference between “I think waving at other cyclists is something that should be appreciated and encouraged” and “everybody who does not wave is an asshole and thinks they’re better than me.” In the latter case you’re making some fairly big assumptions about a person’s character and motivations based on a 0.2 second interaction, and that’s probably a you thing at that point.
Same, we must be the “wrong” kind of cyclists!