Living Car Free - Forget family members--Do YOU think you're weird?

Being carfree or carlight is definitely not typical behavior. Maybe people who are unconventional in one area of life are off the charts in other areas too.

In other words, maybe we're all as weird as hell?

I've usually been able to think for myself, and that makes me weird in others opinions. But not mine.

I've usually been able to think for myself, and that makes me weird in others opinions. But not mine.

I agree...and I ain't worried about others opinions anyways-but sometimes I argue amongst myself about what they said...

Oh yea.. I got something wrong with me. I mean no one in their right mind hops onto a bike with 12" of snow on the ground at 5°F with a smile on their face.

but sometimes I argue amongst myself about what they said...

shh.. the voices will hear you

I'm certainly not Sam, the Statistically Average Man.

Yeap, I'm weird as hell. Whatever though, I still get laid.

I'm weird. But not because I'm car-light.

I routinely think outside of the box, I also tell people that I like coloring outside the lines of life :D

Aaron :)

It's probably not enough to just SAY that you're weird. We need some actual examples of weirdness.

Being carfree or carlight is definitely not typical behavior. Maybe people who are unconventional in one area of life are off the charts in other areas too.

In other words, maybe we're all as weird as hell?

I feel that we are the ones that keep the world turning - if we were all 'normal' how freaking dull would that be. On a serious note about your query. Perhaps we all have a slight deviant mentality in us - for me, I know I have several areas that I could be considered unconventional in - right now I happen to be the 'dude on a trike with a little dog in a basket resting her head on my head as I ride around with my wife' and I am very happy with that label; until I put another one on. ;P

I feel that we are the ones that keep the world turning - if we were all 'normal' how freaking dull would that be. On a serious note about your query. Perhaps we all have a slight deviant mentality in us - for me, I know I have several areas that I could be considered unconventional in - right now I happen to be the 'dude on a trike with a little dog in a basket resting her head on my head as I ride around with my wife' and I am very happy with that label; until I put another one on. ;P

How cute! Do you have a picture? You seem to fit in the "weird but wonderful" category. :)

How cute! Do you have a picture? You seem to fit in the "weird but wonderful" category. :)

nope, not yet...but I promise that on tomorrow mornings ride I'll have der wifey snap one...and I'll post it here!

Spending enough time on here to know some other posters hobbies, location, bike riding likes, and even other family related info, isn't that weird?

Having a dog on a trike or a bike makes you sound normal around here.

Around here in my city, I am pretty common. I have some friends that are car-free and some that are car-light. Pretty much all my coworkers drive to work. When I take my "dutch style" bike to work I feel I have this enlightenment emotion. It's like I am this advanced human being. I guess it depends on the setting.

I was asking myself questions about my motivations this morning as I cycled 60km in a rain storm with a head wind. But, if doing things that others consider impossible or difficult makes me weird, so be it.

Proof: I walked 90 blocks home instead of getting a ride home yesterday. I had enough money to either get an ice cream or bus fare. Ice cream won.

It's probably not enough to just SAY that you're weird. We need some actual examples of weirdness.

Do various mental illnesses count?

Yup, I'm weird; I frowned for about a minute when I junked the last car, then just jumped back on the bike (drove the car 3x the last 2 months I owned it).

I also don't go to the bar/club, I don't need the latest cell phone, and the only reason I have a full pull on DirecTV is because somebody else is paying for it! I don't have a million-inch flatscreen, either, or a DVD library that you can walk into, like a closet.

Does it count that my memory-foam mattress is on the floor instead of a platform? Or that I use the 'wrestler's roll" to get out of bed?

How cute! Do you have a picture? You seem to fit in the "weird but wonderful" category. :)

heheh...you have to consider that I am the only 'bent triker out here and my wife and I are the only regulars that do errands on our bikes - this is our normal 12 mi. RT to the Post Office and stop at the park.. here's a pic from this morning's ride:

I disagree with all this "weird" talk.

I do thing either because I want to or because I think they need to be done.

Sometimes, when you consider something you are doing "weird", you really mean in other people's eyes this activity would be considered weird. In this case, the only weirdness is being concerned about what others think.

Do various mental illnesses count?

I don't think so. I've found that some mentally ill people are weird--that is, unconventional or eccentric. But most can't be distinguished from other people by their appearance or habits. (I've worked in psych hospitals for more than 30 years and I have an MA in clinical psychology.)

heheh...you have to consider that I am the only 'bent triker out here and my wife and I are the only regulars that do errands on our bikes - this is our normal 12 mi. RT to the Post Office and stop at the park.. here's a pic from this morning's ride:

Adorable picture. Thanks for sharing! That dog sure looks like he can't wait for the ride!

About the OP, I behave very differently than my colleagues that are my age, so I do feel weird. I'm the only one who prefers a bike over a car, and my digs aren't too fancy, as I tend toward used furniture even though I can afford new. I don't eat meat or dairy so that makes me stand out too.

It doesn't matter anyway, I feel less weird being weird than I would if I didn't follow my principles.;)

heheh...you have to consider that I am the only 'bent triker out here and my wife and I are the only regulars that do errands on our bikes - this is our normal 12 mi. RT to the Post Office and stop at the park.. here's a pic from this morning's ride:
Great photo, also great set up.
I see the dog has a harness on, is there anything on the bottom of the harness holding the dog in? I put a thread closed clip on the bottom of my dog's harness and attach it to a clip with a swivel, in the middle of the bottom of his basket.

Am I weird? Difficult for me to judge, since I am looking at me from the inside, and what feels normal to me is, almost by definition, normal for me.

So I asked an old friend and ex-colleague. The word she chose was "unusual". When asked for examples, she pointed out that I was relentlessly argumentative, that (I quote) "there is something almost magnificent about how little you care what other people think of you" and that I seemed almost pathologically candid and unwilling to conform. On the positive side, she did say that she thought my commitment to fairness, and to not merely going with the flow, was admirable.

Oh well. It's true that my friends tend to be very secure in their own opinions and of an analytical turn of mind, and that others have been known to find me challenging, even rude. The latter was rarely my intention, it's just that people seem to object to one pointing out that what they say makes very little sense.

Weird? Maybe.

Weird is not what my wife would call me. Stubborn would be closer. I also don't care one bit what people who have no influence or consequence to my life think. Conform like the rest of the sheep? I think not. I tried to join the army once... they wouldn't have me. I suspect it might have had something to do with non conforming. :)

I routinely think outside of the box, I also tell people that I like coloring outside the lines of life :D

Aaron :)

Coloring within the lines is the first step of authoritarianism. It completely misses the point of coloring a picture.

Of all the artists I've ever asked, not one could color within the lines as a child.

I fall into the I am not weird, I am normal. It is everyone else who is weird category. Actually the first conversation me and my now wife had was "what is weird" as she dances with hula hoops and like to breathe fire.

I fall into the I am not weird, I am normal. It is everyone else who is weird category. Actually the first conversation me and my now wife had was "what is weird" as she dances with hula hoops and like to breathe fire.

:lol: yes... Everyone else is weird.

Can she breathe fire while riding a bike? :)

:lol: yes... Everyone else is weird.

Can she breathe fire while riding a bike? :)

No but that's a GREAT idea. Actually she should learn to ride a unicycle and do it, she has always wanted to be in a circus.

i revel in being different. my purpose is to give everyone something to talk about
at the supper table.

imagine: 'y'all ain't gonna b'lieeeeve what this ***** said/did today on the bus'....

'mom/dad, you're not gonna believe what happened/i saw/heard today'...


i can crank up a bus full of people by saying something like 'i'm tired. i'm gonna
go home, cook up some chili dogs and watch me some teee-veee'.
dude, y'oughta hear 'em screech: i looooooooooooooooove chili dawgs!!!! man,
that's a great idea! yeah, me, too!

then they start comparing what they put on them. i get the drivers in on it, too,
and they make as much (or more) noise as the riders.

if we are coming up on a dairy queen i ask the driver if he/she will pull through
the drive up window and let us order. holler? yup, and the riders get in on it, too.
that bus be rockin'.

i revel in being different. my purpose is to give everyone something to talk about
at the supper table.

imagine: 'y'all ain't gonna b'lieeeeve what this ***** said/did today on the bus'....

'mom/dad, you're not gonna believe what happened/i saw/heard today'...


i can crank up a bus full of people by saying something like 'i'm tired. i'm gonna
go home, cook up some chili dogs and watch me some teee-veee'.
dude, y'oughta hear 'em screech: i looooooooooooooooove chili dawgs!!!! man,
that's a great idea! yeah, me, too!

then they start comparing what they put on them. i get the drivers in on it, too,
and they make as much (or more) noise as the riders.

if we are coming up on a dairy queen i ask the driver if he/she will pull through
the drive up window and let us order. holler? yup, and the riders get in on it, too.
that bus be rockin'.

You have a gift, I now want chilli dogs....

I don't think so. I've found that some mentally ill people are weird--that is, unconventional or eccentric.

Well, I guess my proto-aspergian personality traits might count, and I don't think that's considered a mental disorder.

The fact that I freak my wife out when I talk about hearing random voices that she doesn't understand leads me to believe that may not be normal either.

I ride my bike year round, regardless of how much snow. I think the bike riding thing is due to my addictive personality. That replaced smoking for me pretty much.

The fact that I'm trying to prove I'm weird seems pretty weird :)

for me, I know I have several areas that I could be considered unconventional in - right now I happen to be the 'dude on a trike with a little dog in a basket resting her head on my head as I ride around with my wife' and I am very happy with that label; until I put another one on. ;P

That's not weird, that's just cute. Weird is the guy I saw a few years ago in Albany, OR riding his bike on the bridge heading into downtown. He had a basket on the handlebars, and an opossum in the basket. The 'possum wasn't restrained that I could see. He was just hanging on enjoying the ride.

No but that's a GREAT idea. Actually she should learn to ride a unicycle and do it, she has always wanted to be in a circus.


Could you post pictures? I'd love to see it. I'm sure others would also enjoy them. :)

heheh...you have to consider that I am the only 'bent triker out here and my wife and I are the only regulars that do errands on our bikes - this is our normal 12 mi. RT to the Post Office and stop at the park.. here's a pic from this morning's ride:


Great photo, also great set up.
I see the dog has a harness on, is there anything on the bottom of the harness holding the dog in? I put a thread closed clip on the bottom of my dog's harness and attach it to a clip with a swivel, in the middle of the bottom of his basket.

I think Bailey may have found a new riding partner, are you two close enough to do this?

Great photo, also great set up.
I see the dog has a harness on, is there anything on the bottom of the harness holding the dog in? I put a thread closed clip on the bottom of my dog's harness and attach it to a clip with a swivel, in the middle of the bottom of his basket.

Yes, she's on a safety line. You cannot really see the secured line that runs across the width of the crate and is secured to the crate through a top hole on each side; I made the tie line out of an old leash that has a swivel clip that attaches to her harness. You can see a bit of it in this shot:

246024

Yes, she's on a safety line. You cannot really see the secured line that runs across the width of the crate and is secured to the crate through a top hole on each side; I made the tie line out of an old leash that has a swivel clip that attaches to her harness. You can see a bit of it in this shot:

246024

Nice, now I get it.

I think Bailey may have found a new riding partner, are you two close enough to do this?

No problem. All pick has to do is ride from California to Rhode Island. :)

Am I weird? Difficult for me to judge, since I am looking at me from the inside, and what feels normal to me is, almost by definition, normal for me.

So I asked an old friend and ex-colleague. The word she chose was "unusual". When asked for examples, she pointed out that I was relentlessly argumentative, that (I quote) "there is something almost magnificent about how little you care what other people think of you" and that I seemed almost pathologically candid and unwilling to conform. On the positive side, she did say that she thought my commitment to fairness, and to not merely going with the flow, was admirable.

Oh well. It's true that my friends tend to be very secure in their own opinions and of an analytical turn of mind, and that others have been known to find me challenging, even rude. The latter was rarely my intention, it's just that people seem to object to one pointing out that what they say makes very little sense.

Weird? Maybe.

Would "prickly" be a good word to describe you?

Personally, I never dispute with anybody who doesn't know what they're talking about--unless they very obviously think they do know.

The fact that I'm trying to prove I'm weird seems pretty weird :)

We Americans are very competetive people. Also we're individualistic--which is simiilar to weird.

Not "weird" more likely cautious plus more self sufficient. Let me explain and elaborate more. "Cautious" in the sense more aware of your own personal finances and what it could/could not absorb. "Self Suffcient" as in wanting to be able to get around without depending on fuel prices or availability and/or other's whims. Bicycling sure beats walking too.

Nope, not weird; stubborn - eccentric - abnormally focused, all of those I take gladly, but competent in the inexplicable is the accusation I most enjoy.

HELL NO! Just ask me.

Could you post pictures? I'd love to see it. I'm sure others would also enjoy them. :)

Its not on a unicycle yet but here is the fire breathing. http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/551878_10150692655162991_638192990_9150276_946129932_n.jpg

Would "prickly" be a good word to describe you?

Er, not most of the time. Uncompromising would be closer, I think.


Personally, I never dispute with anybody who doesn't know what they're talking about--unless they very obviously think they do know.

LOL. Very close to my own position. It's more difficult to just let it go in a work situation, though. Stupidity there has consequences for others, and I preferred not to collude in it, even by omission.

Oh yea.. I got something wrong with me. I mean no one in their right mind hops onto a bike with 12" of snow on the ground at 5°F with a smile on their face.

:thumb: just a foot of snow

:thumb: just a foot of snow

I think that's the most we've ever gotten overnight since I've started riding in the winter.. getting off my un-plowed road was interesting.

No problem. All pick has to do is ride from California to Rhode Island. :)

Oh, well I'm about in the middle or you 2, let me know if you want to meet here!

I think that's the most we've ever gotten overnight since I've started riding in the winter.. getting off my un-plowed road was interesting.

Yeah, once in a while I have to get off and push or even carry my bike a little way--especially if there's a little uphill grade. But the main roads will be plowed pretty quickly. Usually if I see cars getting through I know I can make it too.