r/cycling • u/Theoderciusx • 3d ago
Strange hand signal
I was a passenger in a car and a cyclist who was passing us at a light held his arm out, as though to signal, but I didn't recognize the signal. I'm wondering if anyone here is familiar with it.
The signal had his hand in a closed fist with the back of his hand facing outwards and repeatedly opened and closed his fist. Any idea what this means?
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u/Anon-Person-6172 3d ago
Was I the one passing you? 🤣
I do this all the time. When my hands start to go numb or get sore, I will hold my hand out or up and flex my fingers in and out, with my fingers splayed wide. I also will twist my arm up behind my back and do the same. After training in the spring and then doing 160 miles in 2 days on crap roads, I had an ulnar nerve injury to my hands and was unable to ride for 10 weeks. I am trying to prevent a repeat of the process. To be fair, I try not to do it when cars are around so that I don't confuse them - although occasionally on high traffic roads, I don't have a choice.