Kendall Card 2.0

For each of the past two summers I’ve biked to work in Park City, Utah from Kamas where I live. It’s 20 miles each way with about 1100′ vertical feet gain each direction thanks to a couple of good hills. Doing this ride 2-3 times each week has kept me in good shape for ski season. Additionally it helps keep the Subaru parked and the gas gauge from dropping any lower.

Despite the many cyclists around this area and the popularity of the Park City to Kamas route, it’s not often that I see another cyclist and never have I been able to ride either direction with another cyclist.  If timing is indeed everything, I’m horribly off the mark.

I remember one day starting out from home and seeing up ahead a girl on a bike. It was the first person I had ever had the chance of riding with. As I frantically pedaled to catch up I’m sure she was alarmed at my enthusiasm as I blurted out, pulling up along side of her, “You headed all the way?” assuming she would know that “all the way” meant from Kamas to Park City. She gave me that confused, “Do I know you” sort of look and promptly said, “No, I’m turning here” hastily veering off down Democrat alley, the last street before committing to the climb over the Jordanelle hill.  I felt like the kid at Christmas who after opening the last present realized that yet another year had passed without getting that Beebe gun.  Sigh…

Regardless of the apparent rejection that day, one of the more fascinating things that has happened to me as a new cyclist has been the camaraderie that I feel with other riders.  Like the motorcycle riders and their simple wave or nod as they pass (I know you’ve seen it happen before) road cyclists share the same common acknowledging wave.  I’ve even gotten to the point where if the other cyclist doesn’t wave it rubs me the wrong way.

Like Baskin Robins Ice Cream there are many kinds of waves and I’ve tried them all.  Here are a few of my favorites:

• The “I’m feeling strong” wave – This wave is typically reserved for when you are descending  a mellow incline and/or happen to be cruising along at a solid pace.  From your drops you give a low and firm salute with the left hand, fingers closed, only a short distance from your bars.  It can be accompanied by a nod but is purely up to you.  Essentially you are telling the other rider that you’re the superior rider here due to how strong you feel and how fast you’re cycling
• The “I’m hurting but won’t show it” wave – This wave is generally done with the opposite hand in a simple yet distinct motion where your right hand leaves the top end of the bars (no, this wave is never done from the drops) and crossing your body you give an actual back and forth of the hand as if to say, “I’ve got all the energy in the world, check out this energy sapping move”.  A big teeth exposing smile confirms that despite the 9% grade you’re as fresh as an antelope.
• The “What’s up?” nod – Not typically considered a wave this nod is actually a wave in disguise.  It’s generally exchanged when you can’t let go of the bars due to road hazards, downhill speeds or you just don’t feel like waving.  Unlike the approving nod your college professor use to give you, this nod starts low and moves upward with a small yet brisk motion.  Eye contact is optional but generally considered additionally friendly.

Then there is the genuine “hello” wave, the kind that feels warm and despite 60 feet of cold (or hot) hard asphalt that separates you from the other cyclist this wave makes you feel like you’re family, like they are one of “yours” and you are one of theirs.  And for that brief moment you are equals, you are cyclists.

It was this type of wave which yesterday I shared with a woman who upon cresting the summit of the Jordanelle hill, next to the Tuhaye Golf Club entrance, she headed east while I heading west we passed, exchanged waves and put our heads down to enjoy the reward of our climbing.

And so it was while descending I reflected upon the brief yet impactive exchange that is a wave between two cyclists and what it has come to mean for me.