"How are you doing?" is all that it takes.

I went on that Thursday night bicycle ride again. I brought plenty of beer along this time. Now that I know what the scene looks like, I came better prepared. Like last week, I was hoping to meet new people. Riding with hundreds of folks through the streets of Austin is good enough for me, but meeting some new friends would be that much better.

I figured out the trick for meeting people. What you do is ask "how are you doing?" Nobody wants to talk first. Gobs of people want to meet other people. They are more than happy to talk, but most will not speak up first. I've tried the "silent and aloof" approach, and it has always been far less successful.

So I asked a couple people how they were doing. It worked way better than I expected. I met some new people who I like. I am thankful for bicycle rides with a party atmosphere. The Thursday ride is making my quality of life a shit-of-a-lot better these days. I honestly wonder what the fug else I'm doing right now. Buying vintage sewing machines on eBay is one thing.