Arrogant SOBs

[buellbabe]

As for the 'Cagers' term?.... even those with cars, go on and on about 'cagers'. I just dont get it...
Is it the caged in thing?.... why not just say 'fucking Sabaru drivers' as they cause all the grief dont they?

OI! don't dis my choice of car! he he he
That reminds me of something I saw yesterday (involving a WRX and a coppa that didn'y have a shit show of catching it) but never mind...

Showing appreciation?
Yep! if a car driver is obviously creating space for me to cut thru heavy traffic then I will give them the 'biker nod' as I go past or if its safe to do so will give them a wave. Then everyone gets those warm fuzzy feelings and the world is a better place bla bla bla.

That said, when ever I am in my car I ALWAYS move over for bikes and very few of them have ever acknowledged it but so what? I know I made their journey home a bit easier/less stressful and maybe they will think more kindly about F**king Subaru drivers in future... he he he

[90s]

More often than not I'll not wave as I prefer to keep both hands on the handlebars for safety reasons.

I'm reluctant to take my right hand off the bar because a) engine braking as I have the bike at higher revs than I usually would for the speed to make my bike more audible and b) I want my front brake covered damnit. Call me sensible.

I'm a nodder.

+1 on the nodding when splitting.

There is no way I will take one hand off the bars when using the old 'fourth lane'.

[ambler]

I mostly agree with Katman too. I'm not going to wave for every car down the line that moves over a bit for me, especially surrounded by cars in rush hour with a narrow bit of road to use. It's not that I'm not grateful, I just don't think it's such a big deal, moving over a bit whoopdedoo.
On the other hand if someone clearly goes out of their way to help me out (ie. they inconvenience themselves when they didn't have to) I will make every effort to let them know I appreciated it.
Ideally this kind of trivial courtesy should be such a matter of course thing that we hardly mention it, but I guess NZ is not like that yet. Over the coming years I hope having more bikes on the roads will head us in that direction.

[The Joka]

I lane split too fast to take my hand off the bars.

Well you are what I like to call a temporary New Zealand!

[Alive]

Dude you think you have it bad... giving way to 10 bikes and not getting a thank you....

What about those of us who travel the Gt Nth Rd, NW, Northern every day on a bike, overtaking hundreds of cars and being lucky if 1 a day actually moves over for them.

I give a nod to people who move over a little for me but to be honest I'm too busy looking for the cage drivers that I see everyday changing lanes without indicating or that 1 "fucking cage driver" a week that pulls out in front of me that I usually have to brake heavily or manoeuvre quickly to avoid hitting.

So to you I give my heart felt thanks for being that 1 cage driver a day to give me enough room to get past

[Number One]

hmmm so what about the car drivers who purposely block. Lots of arseholes in Welly do...

I have only kicked in one car in my time and that was purely to stop him running me off the road (btw - I wasn't splitting I was in the right hand lane taking it easy and right beside him) but just lately there seems to be more of it happening....is this because we aren't acknowledging them when they do move over?

Dunno and don't really care but I'm considering going back to wearing my MX boots with the nasty metal toecaps again....

I always try to give a quick wave or salute for those that do move over....but then I ain't splitting at 100 miles an hour either so don't feel concerned about 'control' as I feel pretty capable of piloting my bike at low speed with one hand off the handle bar for what probably doesn't even amount to a full second to give acknowledgement where it's deserved.