IRNI or YHVH, the lion or serpent.
Whatever.

Bike stuff.
http://www.bikecult.com/works/chainwheel.html

It's the federal flag of the Republic of Austria. The civil flag doesn't have the black eagle. Everyone on my mother's side lives in Vienna. It's just a place I love.

slvoid's avatar makes me laugh every time I see it. Reminds me of this goof-ball I used to work with. He never made it in an office environment...

I like the one with the coke bottle glasses, too. :D

I chose an empty space for my avatar to prove that nothing is the only thing that does not exist.

Trevorinsocal - 3 cheers for Magical Trevor! I'm also a big fan of Weebl and Bob and their fantastic website.

My avatar is just a picture of a sprocket, with some chain links wrapped inside - I simply wanted something bike related that was simple and obvious.

Ed

Mine is both what I am and where I commute to each morning. Seven miles each way and I get to dry my sweaty clothes on back issues of Bicycling Magazine. (They gotta be good for something, right?)

PS Thanks Emerson, I just ILLed one of Fforde’s books.

Pretty straightforward here...that is me doing my first triathlon last year.

Cool, let me know how you like it. I notice you're from "Joisey." So am I originally--grew up near Asbury Park. Hope you enjoy the book. :)

<<< race-day gear for my single-speed mountain bike; a 16T White Industries ENO freewheel. Don't you love well-machined bicycle parts that arrive in a jewelry box?

My avatar is a famous mild-mannered reporter from an old, old comic book. When I get home from a ride, I feel--well, SUPER. So this avatar fits me particularly well.

I think my motivation is clear.

I wanted a cartoon style avatar because of the pixel limit. I basically searched for free clip-art that I liked. Stopped looking when I found a free one that appealed to me. I didn't want to think about copyright issues. The avatar itself doesn't say anything about me except for race, gender, and maybe approximate age. Well, maybe I'm a little older than the guy in the avatar.

I'm guessing you're not a male over the age of 40. I do't want to talk about slvoid's avatar. It's good to know I don't have prostate cancer, but that's little consolation. Excuse me while I go think about something else now.

Kinda turns me on. I'm funny that way.

Should be pretty obvious from both my avatar and sig that I'm not into anonymity.

I have avatars turned off for better on-the-sly viewing at work.

Am I missing a lot?

No, not really. They just make it quick and easy to recognize who posted without having to read the name. It doesn't always work, however, because some people have the same avatar.

Also, some avatars are distracting. I'm talking about the ones with animations.

My profile explains the avatar. My favorite thing on BF is analysing people's problems and synthesizing solutions; preferable with at least one humorous alternative.

Texas Born, Texas Bred, when I'am gone, I'll be Texas dead. :D

I don't think my avatar needs an explanation.

Me. Near Pearson's Silo on the Katy Trail. By that time I was almost 900 miles and a bit over 2 weeks into a solo tour of the eastern part of the Lewis and Clark Trail. It was hot, I was homesick, tired of eating out of foil packages and sick of my own company. It was probably the most miserable day of my life. 'sigh' Wish I was back there :o

The star in my avatar is to let everyone know which part of the state I'm from. People still ask, which pretty much negates the thing for some.

Mine is actually something I designed for a client. Right at the last minute, he decided that the flying, red horse was just too obscure a reference to Dallas. I liked the way it came out, but he didn't want it. So, I gave him a different logo and used this one for my avatar.

My avatar is the same across all the forums I participate in. It's actually an icon I stole from a really nice webpage about 6 years ago. It has nothing to do with cycling at all. Neither does my "handle" which is the same across all forums.

Not obscure to someone born in Dallas, though I can understand the clients feeling if trying to appeal to non Dallas natives. I love your avatar.

My avatar is a pic of my 1yr old daughter. Only good thing I've done with my life in 31yrs. Other than marrying her mother, of course. (We troll each others forums.)

I stole mine from some emoticons I found in an email sent to me... At the time I could not create one because the computer I had did not have the programs to make an appropriate file, and the ready made avatars were not to my liking.

Rainbows have varied meanings for me... hope being one of them, personal preferences being another.