Living Car Free - Dating (and more) without a car?

Do you know what bothers Me? I am 14 years old and I have not ever even met one girl my age that likes to mountain bike. No offense to girls but every one I know, does not like mud or streams or rocks, jewels excluded. But I do have a atv and dirtbike that the ladies love so heres my spin on how girls see me. Bike= Geek = Motorized Vehicle = Cool I just don't know why. I wish I had a girlfriend that would mountain bike with me. A girl that likes to do the things I do. Thats how I feel.I have no car. But when your fourteen you can not drive one legally on public roads. Thats how I feel. I feel like the first young guy in this thread too.

Seriously, don't worry about it. Easy for me to say, I know. Just do what you want to do. At least you'll have something to show for it. Better than chasing girls and trying to please them. Eventually, you will find one who actually likes you. In the meantime, keep biking.

I guess I'll add an opinion that doesn't concern the "relationship" aspect of cycling (as most of the relevant points have been posted).

I'm sure there's probably other cyclists out there that get this treatment from friends/family; the persistent sympathethic "well, we can give you a ride" treatment. Don't get me wrong, I love my friends, and am grateful that they are willing to drive me around whenever we get together, but they just don't seem to understand the fact that I CHOSE to ride a bike everywhere I go, and I ENJOY riding it. I'm very curious how many more years it will be before people stop offering rides.

And for anyone that's worried that cycling is inhibiting their chances with women/men; a ray of hope has landed a couple weeks ago in the theaters. Even the 40 year-old virgin isn't a virgin anymore.

IR

Hey Trekbikedude,

I'm 21 and a little bit up the road from You, but I remember how it is. You have to try to contain your superficial impulses (which tempt us all) and simply focus on investing in yourself via Education, Staying Healthy, Opening Your Mind to New Healthy Experiences etc. Later on in college You'll find the "Quality" girls to whom being "car-free" won't matter (Hopefully) Just yesterday I explained to two cute girls in my Child Development that I was car-free and that I by choice choose to ride a bike. Both of them were really cool about :) and seemed to admire this mark of individuality.

Good Luck Pal :)

Just yesterday I explained to two cute girls in my Child Development that I was car-free and that I by choice choose to ride a bike. Both of them were really cool about :) and seemed to admire this mark of individuality.

Since this anecdote doesn't end with the sentence "I got her number", I'm forced to question your interpretation of their perception.

(Just kidding man...)

Don't worry though, Original Poster! I've got a car and it doesn't help.

I think when you are considering the "odds" so to speak it's important to consider the psychology of the motor car. Driving is a very gladitorial activity and it gives people some people a feeling of power. Because of this percieved power they are more confident and therefore their "odds" improve.
I'm happy and confident with just mah bike. Infact my bike has peddaled my ass off vastly improving my odd's. Biking hasn't just improved my physical shape, but the strengthening of my muscles has given me greater flexibility, agility, poise and balance. The way you carry yourself in my opinion has more of an affect on your attractivness than your static physical apearance. But regardless, I don't think your life descision should be motivated by the dating game. This qoute sum's up my views on the dating game.

Be who you are and say what you want
Because those who mind don't matter
And those who matter don't mind
- Dr Seuss

If they don't like me the way I am I'm not interested.

I am wondering if this superficial interest in the kind of car a guy drives is confined to the "typical" American girl. I'm an American girl and I've never cared about the type of car a guy drove, or if he even had one. Then again, I'm the atypical girl who doesn't even care about getting jewelry or anything like that.

Basically, if the girl is so concerned about material things like that then she just may not be worth it. :D

I think what's most important is that your major life points are in sync. My eldest son is venturing into the dating scene and one of the things I tell him is to figure out what's important to him and find a girl who shares them.

Haha in India a batchelor might be able to carry his girlfriend on his bike easily, in the USA said girlfriend might weigh 200 lbs.

Just sayin'

lol! so true!

I always found it easier to meet women without a car. I am in better shape than most people that are dependent on their cars. I have met women using public transport on the bus and at the bus stop, and as well as others that you would never meet in a car because you are going so fast. On a bike you can stop and talk to other women you see on the street. They see that you are in good shape and take care of yourself.

At the weekly time trials I have met some very pretty women that were interested in the same thing that I am. At rest stops on my bike. The opportunities to meet women are endless on a bike. The only time you stop a woman on the street to talk to her is if she is a hooker when you are in a car. On a bike you can stop and talk to any woman you want. At a drive through it is hard to meet the women that work at the coffee shop of burger joint. When you are on a bike or on foot you have so much more opportunity to stop and talk to the honeys.

Plus you will have tons more money so you can rent that vagina magnet that you could never afford to lease or own when you want to find a superficial woman that just wants to have sex with you because you own an SUV.

Because you have more money you can now afford to take your date out to nicer places, instead of being a cheap bugger and trying to have sex in your car, you can take her to your place and have sex in your bed, or maybe be even able to rent a decent hotel room.

If you meet a woman at the bar or club most people do not bring their car if they are planning on drinking, so if you want a one night stand there is no need to even mention anything about a car since you will be both taking a cab.

In Vancouver I made friends with a carload of women when they passed me and were yelling at me about my legs. The sky is the limit.

You just have to understand a culture where a car is not necessary. Too many today are fixated on a car culture and do not see any other choice. If you can step back from the car culture and give car free culture a chance. Take car free as more than not having a car but as a process that guides your life or culture. All the process of meeting women takes is the time and effort to stop and talk to as many as you can, and a car free culture is the perfect opportunity because it slows you down to take the time to talk to people.

I have pondered this lately. getting laid and long term dating sans car.

turns out being car-less means little for getting laid. you got game or you don't. one thing you don't do for the getting laid strategy is give up your position quickly, if at all, before at least making first base. After all, having a car is a resource that is attractive to women, even if they just want to hook up. you don’t want to back pedal into the long version of why you are car-less as it takes away focus. I am talking about shallow women here. Cool girls mostly care less. At least here in the bay area. Also depends on who you are working on.

for dating, the long version is needed and this is your chance to shine. own it but dont preach it. should be an afterthought unless she picks it up. I have plans for getting the anti-screw-me prius when it is up near 100mpg and that is my goal so I wont be carless forever. But car or not, when a girl knows your income, and the fact that you've had cars before, then puts it all together, she knows whats up. no matter your income/status, there is someone for you.

Girls that run are from you for being carless are really saying you either have no game or have not taken the time to prove you are a worthy long term partner. But they are the shallow ones anyway. Sorry ladies.

On riding side saddle like in Holland/India, I have done this quite a bit by just sitting someone down on the top tube, on a blanket, with their legs kicked out to one side. Not sure a rack set up is needed. Its fun!

A woman or man is either interested in you for you or not. End of story! This of course depends on how you present yourself, and confidence is everything. If having a car is what it takes to make you confident then you'll need a car. If riding your bike 200 miles a week keeps you in shape which makes you confident then the car aint gonna do ***** for you in the dating world (other than pure logistics and creativity can overcome most of that).

I have been greatly surprised at the understanding, and often envy, people give me when they understand just what a car-free life style is like. It is a good conversation starter and can go so many different directions. It has opened more doors than it has closed, however it is possible that it has closed doors that I am unaware of. Taking someone out to an expensive restaurant, bragging to them about your job/car/salary/house/etc. just isn't going to make them interested in you. They might be interested in using you for those resources temporarily though, in which case good luck to you both.

Now I just gotta find me a woman that can teach me to master a track stand and that I can draft off when I get tired and I'll be in love. :)

Most of the women I've met in the last few years seem impressed when I say I prefer cycling to driving. That part of my lifestyle doesn't seem to be a barrier.

In more practical terms, car-free dating is not easy for me. I'm quite visible and well known here so if I want any privacy on a date, I need to get out of town. (At times, I've been interrupted when I'm out with friends in town.) Because of some of the logistics involved, a car is now involved.

Now I just gotta find me a woman that can teach me to master a track stand and that I can draft off when I get tired and I'll be in love. :)
Surprised this thread took off from my first post on lcf and it came back to life... Anyway I dated a woman like this for a few years. They're out there. She left me for a tougher biker but she taught me a lot. The posts on this thread and other dating threads are saying a lot about how America can leave the car as sex facilitator behind.

The posts on this thread and other dating threads are saying a lot about how America can leave the car as sex facilitator behind.

I don't have a problem leaving the car behind as a sex facilitator. I'm just hoping to run across a woman that will see my new Cross Check as a sex facilitator. :)

Hey, now--not all women are afraid of being outside! And I think some of us mihgt envision a future family that is car-free.

But think about how much effort most women put into getting ready to go out. They do their hair & make-up, dress up in clothes & shoes not particularly suited for biking...There is a societal expectation for women to look 100% polished, hence the need to travel in the enclosed environment of the car. No matter how much time I spend getting ready to go out, it's virtually impossible to arrive at my destination without looking rumpled, being sweaty, or having helmet hair. Men's expectations of women make it pretty hard for the car-free female, too.


Actually, mens' expectations are considerably more modest than you imagine. Men don't really care if women look polished or not. They do want women to be healthy, friendly, intelligent, and emotionally available. That's it. If you meet a man who wants any more than that, he's probably gay and doesn't know it yet. Personally, if I meet a woman who's a bit disheveled and "glowing" from a decent bike ride, she's already a lot more interesting.

I really can't have a problem with women who have no interest in car-free men, as I have no interest in ugly/fat/dumb/old women who smoke cigarettes. Everyone has their own set of criteria, some is arbitrary, some is well thought out, some is handed down from parents and if you want to get into evolutionary psychology, some of it is picking someone who will best facilitate reproduction, which, (if there is one,) is the whole "point" of biology.

Men don't really care if women look polished or not. They do want women to be healthy, friendly, intelligent, and emotionally available. That's it. If you me

Uh-Oh. What does "emotionally available" mean? My ignorance of this might explain a thing or two about my social life. I pretty much agree with the people who post here saying that car free is less of an issue than other parts of a persons personality. To the non-car free it seems like a big issue because by definition cars are a big part of the car dependent persons life.

Actually, mens' expectations are considerably more modest than you imagine. Men don't really care if women look polished or not. They do want women to be healthy, friendly, intelligent, and emotionally available. That's it. If you meet a man who wants any more than that, he's probably gay and doesn't know it yet. Personally, if I meet a woman who's a bit disheveled and "glowing" from a decent bike ride, she's already a lot more interesting.

Obviously some men do care about a woman looking polished, but those men are probably not living car free and in fact are probably the ones using their cars as sex facilitators. Good for them, but they're probably not reading this forum either. I prefer women that look attractive without all the make-up and primping. A woman that takes an hour (or more) to get ready for the simplest thing just isn't going to work for me, along with the fact that she might be so scared that she'll break a nail that she won't do anything fun.

Actually, mens' expectations are considerably more modest than you imagine. Men don't really care if women look polished or not. They do want women to be healthy, friendly, intelligent, and emotionally available. That's it. If you meet a man who wants any more than that, he's probably gay and doesn't know it yet. Personally, if I meet a woman who's a bit disheveled and "glowing" from a decent bike ride, she's already a lot more interesting.

I'd add "honest" to your list, and change "emotionally available" to "emotionally stable", but otherwise you're pretty close to the mark. Personally, I think someone who takes care of themselves will probably hold their looks better than someone who looks like a supermodel when they're younger, but doesn't. In my experience, however, "honest" seems to knock about 90% of people out of the game right away. But then, as I've said in other threads, most Australian men are looking overseas for women anyway (including the ones who have cars). It's now reached the ridiculous stage where the government are paying people to have children because it won't happen otherwise.

That aspect of life really hasn't changed for me: Women weren't attracted to me when I drove, and they're not attracted to me now that I don't. And to be honest, I haven't yet met a woman around here who even remotely shares the same interests as me anyway. They all seem to be hell-bent on getting married, having kids, owning a couple of SUVs, and living 15 miles from town. That's the opposite of what I want, so I figure it's pointless to bother worrying about it.

On a side note, since becoming car lite and now car free, I've come to notice certain facial expressions of the different sexes. Women usually look at me with a "Bless his heart, that loser is so poor he can't afford a car" look. Men usually give me "I hate you and you're an idiot" kind of look. Obviously I can't know what they're actually thinking, but this is the impression I get and I never got these looks before I started riding for transportation. I also couldn't care less.

I'm car-light but I've considered this issue as well. Moving into a new city, I was concerned about meeting friends and dating people that shared my bike-centric interests. I made an effort to get involved with the "bike culture" in New Orleans and have met many interesting people, including a now ex-gf (still friends). If you continue to socialize with non-bike folk your car-free lifestyle will most likely eliminate some car-centric dating material. That's not really a problem in my eyes...

double post, sorry

That aspect of life really hasn't changed for me: Women weren't attracted to me when I drove, and they're not attracted to me now that I don't.
Goodness, that is funny. No matter what you do in life, people are going to have some issue with it, that is why it is always best to do your own thing. I find it fascinating to meet other cyclists, runners and triathletes because we always have something to talk about. Fortunately enough I met my boyfriend at a bike ride so we had that in common. We now ride together and have great times together.

Id have to say that if someone is judging how they are attracted to me based on me having a car, well thats not someone im interested in. My girlfriend sees my bike love/advocacy/car free life as an asset, and is jealous her job makes the choice for her impossible.

Also in relation to riding with your kids or a romantic interest, thats what is so great about a Bakfiet, or similarly designed vehicle. you deposit the said person in front of you, so you can easily talk and see eachother. since their weight is low, handling isnt affected too much, and you and your date, or kids can have that same nice chat youd have in the car, but at a more lesiurely pace and enjoying the sights.

Also theirs something to be said for being in shape FROM biking that can do wonders to counteract the attractiveness of a car owner who is overweight and flabby.

Finally though, I suspect that this very problem is why so many people move to places like portland: the bike culture allows them to maintain their social life, just in the new sphere of biking, since its such an accepted part of life there and id suspect a great way to meet people. Bike culture is just a way for chicks and dudes to meet up sans car :)

Id have to say that if someone is judging how they are attracted to me based on me having a car, well thats not someone im interested in.

Well, the judging is one thing we can get past but what Fitzgerald was referring too in the essay was also the physical opportunities afforded by the "mobile privacy". This is more of an issue for kids who live at home. One thing bike kids can do is take tips from the guerrilla campers and use their bikes to escape to private places to swing in a hammock or beach blanket or something. Bikes don't attract the attention of cars so there are more interstitial locations available to bike kids.

One thing bike kids can do is take tips from the guerrilla campers and use their bikes to escape to private places to swing in a hammock or beach blanket or something.

Maybe us bikers can start something along the lines of the mile high club, but call it the 3 foot high club for getting frisky on a bike. :) There's a marketing opportunity for some creative entrepreneur, create a saddle designed for 2. This might be the 1 case where you want a saddle with some springiness to it. :D

:cry:Do yourselves a favor and just be happy single. Woman are F@#@# INSANE! They literally make no sense and will do completely ridiculous things with no warning and give you no explanation!

Sorry, that's just how I feel at the moment, obviously it's not true about all women, but there is a good chunk of women on this planet that lack any sort of logic or mental stability. :cry:

You resurrected this thread to point out your misogynist views. Obviously not true of all, or probably 99%, of women. Perhaps you are having a bad experience with a woman, but you shouldn't generalize from that.

You resurrected this thread to point out your misogynist views. Obviously not true of all, or probably 99%, of women. Perhaps you are having a bad experience with a woman, but you shouldn't generalize from that.

Let's calm down. I thought it was obvious that I was being ridiculous and knew it. I don't truly believe that all women are insane.

in my experience, there is no dating when car-less.

I'ts probably not the reason though hahahaha

The perfect girl would be car-less as well, so then you can ride around together!

When I meet someone interesting, I want to have the important stuff on the table near the start. I'd much rather part ways over beliefs or ethics or philosophies of car use than to let a relationship flourish while the important topics are not discussed. If the big topics, whatever they may be for you, are ignored early on, then the temptation could be to compromise later. As a relationship progresses, logic takes a back seat to emotion. At the start, there's still a chance the voice of logic will be heard.

in my experience, there is no dating when car-less.

I'ts probably not the reason though hahahaha

The perfect girl would be car-less as well, so then you can ride around together!


dating works just fine for me without a car. I have met a fair number of girls who ride their own bikes while i was in different parts of the country.
Just get out and meet people.

I created a multi topic thread here but you responders seem to have focused
on the dating part of it. You all seem to be saying that we shouldn't worry
about it and confine our attentions to like minded people. In reading
everyones posts I was hoping to pick up some tips on talking with friends
and family who don't seem to understand that car free is a good way to live.
Also the "don't worry about it" approach, that I take by the way, works when
you don't mind blowing the person out of your life. Sometimes that car obssesed
person is also a decent human being that you'd like to associate with.

The posts about male/female differences made me remember what I've read about
secondary sexual characteristics as a subject of female sexual selection.
If you pay too much attention to commercial culture it looks like ostentatious
displays of material wealth is a human secondary sexual characteristic. To
the extent that this is true, guys who don't display the appropriate things
are at a disadvantage. They have to work harder to convince the females that
they are interesting and fun and can enhance the chances of their offspring's
survival somehow.

You think women like "interesting and fun" guys because it may enhance the survival of their offspring? I think that human sexuality is a bit more complicated than that my friend....

I was literally just thinking about this. I prefer riding a bike and have been told many times I am good looking. The thing about me is, I own a truck and I dont plan on giving it up I usually drive once a week to keep the truck from falling into disrepair. When people ask if I ride a bike everywhere, I respond, "Usually, I have a truck but I prefer riding."

So, I have the luxury of picking a girl up for a date in my truck. Conversely, if we are meeting somewhere, I will ride my bike there. I have yet to have a date set closely to a girl's place but I should look into that. Heck, if I can do that, I can ask if she would like me to pick her up on my tandem.

Not being creepy/antisocial/ridged is going to do a lot more for you than having a car. Cycling has never been an issue for me when it comes to women, and if you aren't creeping women out then it shouldn't be an issue for anyone else either.

I was literally just thinking about this. I prefer riding a bike and have been told many times I am good looking. The thing about me is, I own a truck and I dont plan on giving it up I usually drive once a week to keep the truck from falling into disrepair. When people ask if I ride a bike everywhere, I respond, "Usually, I have a truck but I prefer riding."

So, I have the luxury of picking a girl up for a date in my truck. Conversely, if we are meeting somewhere, I will ride my bike there. I have yet to have a date set closely to a girl's place but I should look into that. Heck, if I can do that, I can ask if she would like me to pick her up on my tandem.

Sounds very similar to me. I have truck and love it, but it does end up sitting in the driveway for a number of days in a row quite often. For me it's due to riding my bike and my moped though. I have a boat to pull that I need my truck for since I haven't found a way to pull the boat with a bike or a moped yet. ;)

Dating is hard when you don't have a car especially out here in the suburbs. It seems everyone I date lives in the city which is actually nice since once you're in the city no car is needed. Getting out to the city, however, can be a pain. Thankfully within the month I'll have my own place downtown and then the necessity of a car will be non-exhistent.

Not only did I give up cars and television sets, I also took to sleeping on the floor last year because my back feels better that way. I only realized it after a few years of bike touring and enjoying my tent more than I did my bed. So goodbye, bed! Thanks for giving me more room on your way out the door! I have a Japanese Kakebuton and fold-up mat now instead, and they go into a closet when not in use.


Me too! I sleep in an indoors hammock made for sleeping most of the time, and on the floor with a little padding mostly when it's cold (I don't like using the heater either). Girls love the hammock (it's big enough for two).



My advice: I haven't got any, but if a person is shallow enough to nay-say another person based on their good, ascetic choices in life, I'm not sure I'd be interested.

I wholly agree here. When we go out, we usually have a big bike posse. It probably helps living in a college town, but I haven't had any problems with ladies and not having a car. It may also help knowing that I donated my car, who knows. Even the ones who weren't interested in bikes have never had a problem with it; in fact, I've had girls follow me home after parties and such in their car. Something about a nice view. I've never understood as it's always been at night down a pretty boring road. :P

I think that if you want your friends, potential gfs, etc. to understand and respect the car-free life, then you just have to live that life normally. You can't be cooped up in your house all the time, you need to hang out with your friends just as much as someone who owns a car. And I think most importantly, you need to be a hard worker and generous.

A lot of people think that the car-free person is poor or just cheap. Both are legitimate reasons to be car-free, of course, but if you are car-free for a simpler lifestyle, then you should still be generous and responsible. Whenever I hang out with friends, they're always the one to drive places because they know I don't own a car. So I think it's really important to pay them generously for gas. Stuff like that.

I think that a partial reason many girls are looking for a guy who has a car is because it's a sign that they are responsible. Some people think that if you don't own a car, then you're just lazy and bum off of other people all the time. Yeah there are definitely those people who don't have a car, they have no job, and have no intention of finding a job because they are lazy. But I'm assuming the people here are not so much like that. Part of the whole car-free life is just to work hard like everyone else, make plenty of money to support your financial goals, but to have a more simple life, possibly leaving money over for things you think are more important. Not to mention saving yourself from the annoyance of owning a car (insurance, repair, gas, etc).

In my opinion, you should get to know a girl pretty well before seriously dating her either in group settings or public hang-out locations. So even though she may have initially be turned off by your lack of car, if she sees that you are a hard worker and a generous giver before you seriously pursue her, then you have fine chances with her (assuming she's not a happiness sucking b****).

Let's start a bike amish community! just kidding

i used to have an ok-cupid account. my closing comment was. message me if you can keep up with me on a bike. basically sealed the deal on that. LOL :D oops.

Me too! I sleep in an indoors hammock made for sleeping most of the time, and on the floor with a little padding mostly when it's cold (I don't like using the heater either). Girls love the hammock (it's big enough for two).


You sir, are a genius. I do believe I will look into this for myself. Oh the possibilities. . .

me and gf have either went out on scooters, or bikes!
cant afford a car so we have no worries!

Let's not paint all girls with the same brush, right?

I have, at least, outgrown the age when the back seat was an acceptable place for intimacy. :rolleyes:

:rolleyes:
I actually take the time afterwards to paint pictures on the steamed up windows. Outgrown the backseat, physically yes, but maturity HELL NO!

I would think it wouldn't matter whether you had a car or not. Most of hte coolest people I know are still cool even if they have no car and I still want to hang out with them all the same. Work on your personality and your life and the rest will just fall into place.

But then again, what do I know? I haven't had a date in nine years, so my advice is worth about as much as a bucket of sand.

For those of you who got into a relationship when you were car-free or car-light, what was the initial response to discovering you didn't use a car as your primary transportation — surprise, questions, a light chuckle or no response because you met at a bike rack?

For those of you who got into a relationship when you were car-free or car-light, what was the initial response to discovering you didn't use a car as your primary transportation...?
Disbelief. I assure you, it's quite possible to tell someone very clearly that you don't own or drive a car, and still have it come as a complete surprise to them when they "discover" you don't own or drive a car. Sometimes it just doesn't register at all. "I thought you were joking" is another typical response.

Huh? What kind of research do you see that? On an approximately normal curve with a mean of 100, you should expect a standard deviation of 16.7-ish. Most IQ scales are very close to that number and the variation between males and females is similar.

However-- gifted young girls often do try to hide their intelligence to fit in more. But, that has nothing to do with their actual intelligence and hence nothing from that can be infered to the variability in the population.

Young men with higher IQs face larger issues - school and studying has become decidedly not a masculine trait. If women play it down to get a date it's because many men have as a consequence lost interest in learning.

BTW, who wants to spend time at a party talking to engineers! Woooo. :lol:

ZOMBIE THREAD!!!

For those of you who got into a relationship when you were car-free or car-light, what was the initial response to discovering you didn't use a car as your primary transportation — surprise, questions, a light chuckle or no response because you met at a bike rack?
Since I've never had a driver's license ever all of my romantic adventures have this in common.
I'll just use one anecdote for each side.

One time I met a gal and we hit it off in a club and she wanted to go somewhere else about a half mile away I said let's walk because I ride everywhere. She looked at her friend and said "this guy doesn't have a car" to wich I replied "nor do have a fat ass" like the one she was sporting.

The other side is when I put a personal ad up on a dating site I told the truth about car free and why, this weeded out almost all of the women that checked out my profile. It's amazing how many shallow women there were. But one messaged me and said she was intrigued by and respected me for having the car free lifestyle.
We have been together now for almost a year.

The other side is when I put a personal ad up on a dating site I told the truth about car free and why, this weeded out almost all of the women that checked out my profile. It's amazing how many shallow women there were. But one messaged me and said she was intrigued by and respected me for having the car free lifestyle.
We have been together now for almost a year.[/QUOTE]

Now that makes a lot of sense to me thanks for the info. on line dating going to give this a try. :):)

Well, the judging is one thing we can get past but what Fitzgerald was referring too in the essay was also the physical opportunities afforded by the "mobile privacy". This is more of an issue for kids who live at home. One thing bike kids can do is take tips from the guerrilla campers and use their bikes to escape to private places to swing in a hammock or beach blanket or something. Bikes don't attract the attention of cars so there are more interstitial locations available to bike kids.

Where I live it is a cultural tradition that kids live at home with their parents until marriage. Many even continue to live with their own parents after marriage for a few years so they can save up money for a house. What this means is that virtually all premarital sex and some martial sex takes place in cheap "love" motels or DVD rooms (private mini theaters with couches or beds). Combined this with extremely high levels of education which causes most people to put off marriage until their late 20s or early 30s and you have a huge super industry of VERY cheap places to go.

If cars were to disappear tomorrow the market would make accommodations for young people to do their thing. It also makes traveling really cheap for the rest of us with hotels for as little as $10 a night! ;)