Minnesota Nice?

I'm not sure whether to file this under Minnesota, cycling, or just general human behavior. I've put about 800 miles on my two bicycles across the past 5 months. During that time, if not on an organized ride where saying hi to everyone would be impossible, I've made a concerted effort to say "hi", wave, or at least nod to people that I have passed on the trail/road. I would say that less than 10% of non-cyclists greeted offered any kind of greeting in response, with a slightly higher percentage of cyclists acknowledging my existence. Those least inclined to any sort of response were women by themselves (especially those under 35), older folks (>60), and cyclists in full "Fred" get-up.

During previous stints of riding over the years in Minneapolis, this year definitely being the most miles, I've noticed similar behavior. I have a feeling that were I accompanied by a female, or better yet, children, my percentage would be significantly higher.

Perhaps people have gone through the same attempts as me, and getting no response, simply stop trying to say hi, thereby perpetuating the situation. It's not as if I go home and cry myself to sleep over this -- I'm just sort of surprised that so many people can't be troubled to be polite when encountering other people... maybe they're not used to being outside their 6000 pound SUV's.

No real point here, just kind of curious if this is a phenomenon unique to Minnesota, or Minneapolis in particular, or just general isolationist attitudes that all Americans have.

Closed-circuit to Splatgirl: Ha, I wrote something. Where's my chocolate cake? (Kidding.) :)