Bad Good Morning

Despite my recent video featuring 100 Good Mornings, not all good mornings are good. Sometimes they scare people bigtime...

I've seen that woman a few times on my morning commute but this is the first I've ever spoken to her... she, obviously, was super nice. She may be a little twitchy about unsolicited kamikaze Good Morning attacks for a while though.

Wait a sec. That is redundant. You can't solicit a kamikaze attack. I don't think. Maybe you could, but that would be pretty damn weird, you know? Think about it all weekend and get back to me.

Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K

100 Good Mornings

I've been kind of stuck on the topic of the individual human element of cycling as opposed to the planning or traffic or advocacy angles for some time now, as evidenced by most of my more recent posts, as sparse as they have been.

I have not become unstuck, it would seem. There are few human interactions as commonplace and universal as saying good morning. I've been collecting bicycle good mornings for a long time... I think I started a couple of years ago. For me, THIS is a big part of what is so great about riding a bike:

It took me many hours to trim and string all those clips together and do the counter and all that stuff. I suppose I could have made things much easier for myself by doing a nice bunch of the best ones instead of 100, but once that notion was in my head anything else just seemed like an unacceptable compromise. I hope you enjoyed it... I still enjoy watching it even after working with it for so long, so if you didn't, that's OK too. Birdsong and repeated pleasantness isn't for everyone. Have a great week and I'll try to write something caustic or at least snarky in the next little while.

Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K

Things People Say Fridays #7 - Good Morning!

When I bicycle on the paths running along the Thames River here in London Ontario, I often say good morning to those I meet. Not always, though. I'm sure you are familiar with this: When approaching a stranger on foot or on a bike, your gut tells you whether to smile and whether to speak or greet, based on factors like age and gender and other vibes that are largely intangible or unconscious. I probably say good morning to about half of the people I approach. Because I'm on a bicycle rather than on foot, they often don't have enough time to respond; I would say that about one quarter manage to do it in time. I'm working on saying it sooner, but with increased distance comes increased volume, and with increased volume comes increased startle / "you're a freak" assessment factor.

Is it strange that I don't greet people in the same way in the afternoon or evening? Are you the same? I never say "good afternoon" or anything along those lines, or even "Hey" or "How's it goin', eh?". I only greet those I meet in the morning, which I have only just realized. It must be that what optimism and kindness I've got hasn't been stomped out of me yet. Or maybe I'm just tired after work. Let's go with that. It's a little less negative.

On Thursday morning I came across an older guy with an off-leash dog. That doesn't bother me in the least, by the way. If your dog is obedient and predictable, why not? Nicer for the dog, nicer for you, and everybody else should just relax, in my opinion. Unless you are the parent of a baby who smells like bacon. Don't relax then, or ever: If your baby smells like bacon, potential biters are EVERYWHERE and are not limited to dogs, not by a long stretch.

Anyway, that off-leash dog made me slow down more than usual, which is awesome because I recorded the best return "Good Morning!" I have ever received:

That solid, energetic "Good Morning" set the tone for my whole damned day! Thanks, oldish guy! Now, just gotta put in one good day and it's the long Thanksgiving Weekend! Superb.

Yer Pal,

R A N T W I C K