Touring - Do you carry a mascot?

One of the things I carry around with me is my little bear Blue.
He was made for me by a friend a long long time ago.
I have met several other tourists who also had mascots.

do you?

here is Blue with Monkey

monkey can be seen at http://www.moosetrail.ch/patagonia/

Just for fun I hang a rabbits foot (not the real thing) on my blowout bag. I get lots of people asking about it and it's fun for starting conversations. I tell them it's to keep the Chi evened out;) . The rabbit's foot with its fast Chi compensates for the slow Chi flat repair stuff in the bag.:D

I had a small traveling Buddha statue that I carried in my pack around Europe one time. It's still sitting on a bookshelf in my room. I bet he's getting cabin fever so I should probably pack him along for the next trip. Occasionally I'll pickup a neat mascot en route but they're usually lost soon afterwards.

not a mascot, but I've got a very old bicycle license plate issued by the city of Austin TX mounted under the saddle. I can't even recall where I got it, but it's been on whatever happens to be my 'main bike' since the early 90's

How could one do the Lewis and Clark Trail without The Corps of Discovery?

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r181/cyccommute/TheCorpsontheColumbia3.jpg

On the Columbia River in Rainier, OR.

Lewis, Clark and York made the trip downstream with me on the Missouri in 2003.

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r181/cyccommute/Myboys8.jpg

How could one do the Lewis and Clark Trail without The Corps of Discovery?

Haha...:roflmao:

Those guys are great. What a great bunch to accompany you for the trip.

Haha...:roflmao:

Those guys are great. What a great bunch to accompany you for the trip.

Thanks. In both trips on the Lewis and Clark Trail I've done now, only one person knew who they were;)

I have a Manekin Pis replica. With a little help of some duct tape, it sits on my handlebars, acting as a "St Christopher".

On my trip to Netherlands and Belgium this past fall, my friend was having so much trouble (mechanical and gravity) that I decided that it couldn't hurt. So, we drank beer in Brussels, came across a tacky souvenir store, mounted the statue-ettes on the handlebars, and, no more problems after that!

I think we should elevate the MP as the Patron Saint of (edit) bicycle tourers.

Thanks. In both trips on the Lewis and Clark Trail I've done now, only one person knew who they were;)


For my trip along the Underground Railroad (future trip) I'm taking Harriet Tubman (http://famousbe-an.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=22&Category_Code=B150) and Sojourner Truth (http://famousbe-an.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=86&Category_Code=B150). I wish they'd make one of Sherman...so I can go to Atlanta:eek: :D

It's not really a mascot, but I usually take an inflatable sex doll on tour. It's lightweight, takes up very little room, and makes cold and lonely nights in the tent after a hard day's ride so much more enjoyable.

How could one do the Lewis and Clark Trail without The Corps of Discovery?

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r181/cyccommute/TheCorpsontheColumbia3.jpg

On the Columbia River in Rainier, OR.

Lewis, Clark and York made the trip downstream with me on the Missouri in 2003.

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r181/cyccommute/Myboys8.jpg


Wow! looks like you need a pannier bag just for that crew. :)

And the one on the left looks like a vampire. :)

I carry a little pink bunny. It kind of reminds me of the energizer bunny, so I just keep going and going and going...

I carry Little MachakII ... see first photo.


When I set off for Australia, I acquired Little MachakI. When I got to Australia, a friend told me the story of Matthew Flinders and his cat Trim.

http://www.sl.nsw.gov.au/flinders/biographies/trim1.html
"Trim was Matthew Flinders' much-loved cat. He was born at sea on HMS Reliance in 1797 during a voyage to Capetown to obtain livestock for the new settlement of Sydney. Trim was adopted by Flinders and sailed with him on his early surveying voyages, and also on his return voyage to England in 1800. He circumnavigated Australia in HMS Investigator and survived the shipwreck of the Porpoise on Wreck Reef in 1803. He was with Flinders on the Cumberland when the French detained it at Mauritius. Here he shared his master's captivity until, as Flinders believed, he was stolen and eaten by hungry slaves."



As it happened, Little MachakI looked just like Trim! Little MachakI travelled with me for the entire three months in Australia, and right at the end of the trip, in Sydney, I found a memorial to Trim which is mentioned in the article below, along with Matthew Flinder's tribute to Trim, which says:

TO THE MEMORY OF TRIM
The best and most illustrous of his race
The most affectionate of friends,
faithful of servants,
and best of creatures
He made the tour of the globe, and a voyage to Australia,
which he circumnavigated, and was ever the
delight and pleasure of his fellow voyagers
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trim_(cat)

A couple days later I packed everything up for my trip back to Canada .........


......... but when I arrived in Canada .... Little MachakI was nowhere to be found. He was either lost in the airplane and may still be circumnavigating the globe ... or he stayed in Australia where he belonged.



The next three photos are of Little MachakI and the memorial in Sydney.

A few more mascots from various riders can be found here: http://www.bicycletouring101.com/Mascots.htm

Not for biking, but I carry "Satrat" when I Geocache. He's a rubber squeakie rat.

I used to carry a Beanie Baby Bison named Roam. He lived on the dashboard of my car. I went around a corner too fast one day and he flew away!

I also lost Pinkie, a rubber triceratops, the same way!

FlowerBlosson, having Manikin Pis as a mascot is great! I would mount a working model backwards, for those unwanted drafters.

Wow! looks like you need a pannier bag just for that crew. :)

They ride outside in the wind and weather just like any good explorer does!;)

FlowerBlosson, having Manikin Pis as a mascot is great! I would mount a working model backwards, for those unwanted drafters.

Eeeuuuw. :)

I wish they'd make one of Sherman...so I can go to Atlanta:eek: :D

Careful, that's still a touchy issue down here.

I live right in the middle of the Battle of Atlanta sites. If you ever follow the Atlanta Campaign or March to the Sea routes, I'll block off some time to join you!

i carried a sage branch and a feather....

I have a Justin Timberlake doll Hog tied with Electrical tape and a little piece of his mouth. Then I made a nuce with pink and white rope. It is tied to a zipper on my rear pannier bag. It's been on there for ohh 4 years now and it's a riot. You can kinda see it in this picture....

I haven't picked one up yet, but was planning on getting a rubber chicken to take along with me on the world tour, but after seeing the link that cyccommute put up, I like the looks of Mark Twain.

I haven't picked one up yet, but was planning on getting a rubber chicken to take along with me on the world tour, but after seeing the link that cyccommute put up, I like the looks of Mark Twain.

Do the Mississippi River Trail (http://www.mississippirivertrail.org/) ;)

coconut in IA, I like the way you tour...cooler of beer and a hatedred of pop-culture. :D

The Miss. trail would be so fun...one day Mr. Twain and I will do it together. :D

Thanks hehehe, but the beauty of that picture is this... That cooler is actually Dry storage/Stereo. If you look closely you will see speakers on the side of it. Inside I have a 90 watt amp that is hooked up to a sealed battery. On top is a Solar panel that trickle charges the batteries. The booze though is in the front bag usually has a 6 pack of beer or a bottle of vodka to mix with some Gatorade or power aid.... Nothing like hydrating and getting a tad saucy.

I haven't picked one up yet, but was planning on getting a rubber chicken to take along with me on the world tour, but after seeing the link that cyccommute put up, I like the looks of Mark Twain.
i carry one of mike-www.miketheheadlesschicken.org/story.html

I live by the sea, and when I'm away, I always have a shell somewhere in my stuff. Usually a small Scotch Bonnet.

Did a weekend ride/ fund raiser. Took my daughter's stuffed dog "Bear" in my son's soft sided tool bag on the rear rack.

Little Lobster, far from home. (http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/page/pic/?o=lt&pic_id=118022&v=6m&size=large)

When cycling through Bar Harbor Maine a couple of years ago I picked up a little lobster that has three magnets built into it. 1,500ish miles later it's still holding onto the top tube of my touring bikes. This year it's going to Alaska to ride along on the Thorn. Last year it was hanging onto my Bike Friday on our tour of Switzerland.

My good friend Judy Colwell tours no where without her pal Rufus the bear. Judy's Rufus Page (http://www.stanford.edu/~jcolwell/Rufus/Rufus.html)

I thought I'd dig up this old thread to show off my touring buddy.
Anybody got any new ones out there?

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j169/chewingum89/Greenbrier%20Trail/IMG_3538.jpg