Actually, the red neon Pegasus was a land mark that flew over Dallas's skyline for years, courtesy of Magnolia Oil. I still recall returning to Dallas in the back seat of mom and dad's car and seeing that huge red horse and knowing I was home. Looking for Pegasus was just part of a road trip. Seeing it, or crossing the Red River ( the bounday between Texas and Oklahoma) was just a symbolic home coming to me as a native Texan. Perhaps your home town or state has something unique that as soon as you see it says home to you.

That is so true. When I was a kid, we had a Chevy Impala and never wore seatbelts. So, on long drives, after the sun went down, my big sister would lie down across the back seat. That's when I would retire to the back window.
I watched the stars and streetlights go by and then would doze in and out hoping that we would drive all night. I could barely hear the murder mysteries on the radio, (of course there was only one speaker and it was at the front of the car). I especially liked it when it was raining.
And just like you, when I looked up and saw the red horse, I knew we were home. Actually, I knew I could nap for another thirty minutes before we got home. ;)

I think mine is pretty clear.

Thanks!
Now if I can find my original image....

It's a US thing...

As a kid growing up, "purple nurples" was a common form of harassment...it's where a bully or older sibling grabs your nipple between their fingers and twists really hard....the purple part is because it usually ends up in bruised nipples :(

...well I was bored looking around at online bike shops, and lo and behold...I saw a purple nurple....BOOM AVATAR! :p

Hey, I've had a winged buffalo as my avatar in the past. That was a reference to the love of buffalo wings I have.

I've also had other odd avatars before. Someday I will find one truly fitting....but I haven't found anything odd enough. I might make a picture of myself wielding a front wheel and a fork like a gladiator into an avatar...but I need to get my camera fixed before doing that.

Because I like opera. It doesn't have anything to do with biking, though.

Koffee

I got on this thread only because I saw Koffee's name at the end of it, and was surprised to find she has a new avatar since the last time I was on. I will confess to having a harmless crush on Koffee. I had thought it might be based on the previous avatar, but I find the new one has not caused any diminution in my obsession. I have no avatar, partly because I'm not particularly interested in one, partly because I don't know how to upload one, partly because--like Adrian Monk--I would have a devil of a time selecting one. I've been away from this forum--and off my bicycle--for 3 weeks, because I've been on the Grand Jury all through the month of March. Now THERE'S an education. I'll miss it when it's over, but will be VERY glad to get back on the bike.

<---- According to the web, that's a picture of a baby mongoose. Well, I am a mongoose. :) Nicknamed that about five years ago, and it sure stuck.

Thank you both. Now I understand.

Your avatar always "bothered" me because I knew it was something bike related, but had never figured out what exactly. The "purple nurples" thing didn't help me much. First, that nipple looks like a black one to me! :eek: I always thought I was color blind. And also there is no such word "nurple" in Webster's dictionary.

Purple nurples... Kids are cruel everywhere. Ouch!

You can do what I did. I searched Google Images for my nickname and waited for the results. Luckily, the first image that showed up was perfect for an avatar: a dog -- I love dogs!--, a famous and loved one, riding a bike and wearing my country's national colors.

Give it a try!

Looked thru the standard avatars. Liked this one.
Goes with my main lj name. (My lj cycling journal has the same name as here.)

um...yeah, tried my nickname - "high risk" and "highrisk" which returned, in no particular order,

politicians
body guard courses
health and safety notices
rubber gloves
bad movies
straight jackets

so I don't think I'll use that idea

Hey, it's got 2 wheels, brakes, handlebar, multiple gears, goes really fast, and gets over 38mpg! :D

By "nickname" I meant the user name, the forum member name. So, you should have searched for markhr. I did that and found a nice blue bike with funny cranks in roadbikereview.com. Is it yours? Anyway, because of your particular member name, I don't think this method of finding a useful avatar will be of help in your case.

By the way, are you known by your relatives and friends as "high risk"? :)

me with a winter beard, 6 months old and totally unruly. :crash: every man should try that once.
the sick face i'm making goes nicely with how ridiculous i looked with that thing. :cry:
but damn, did that keep me warm in the new england winter! :D

most of the time i look nothing like that photo!

With a chainwheel like this...you have to make it your avatar.

Actually, there is plenty of research on using avatars in online communities being conducted in different scholarly circles. There's meaning there...

luckily no - just to a select few ski instructors who usually end up following along to pick up the yard sale - lol :o .

Wow, nice beard! I tried growing one when I was six months old, but it just wouldn't fill in. I WAS very unruly, though.:)

Mine's just a favorite cartoon character - nothing really to do with biking. Except that, like cycling, it makes me feel like a kid again.

Mine is a good shot of the beast I took down on my last hunting trip.
I now have it stuffed and sitting in my foyer along side my other magnificent specimens.

Just kidding. Bet I made a few feathers ruffle with that one. Actually I have great respect for all living things.

Truthfully it is an indication of my desire to give my best to the sport of cycling, as do the creatures of nature give their full concentration on the task at hand. ( As in pursuit of game ). It is not how I view myself but how I wish to be. Sleek and robust, just looking at it you know there lies the shear intensity of the power behind the condition.

Picture of my, with a little MSPaint edit. Its just a "Shirt Tales"-esque reference to what some people think is always on my mind.

mine is a crop of a frame grab from the animated short "Ah Pook is Here" , by Phillip Hunt. The words are from a short story/spoken word bit by William S Burroughs, who I sort of idolize (though to a lesser degree now than at times past)

If you want to watch the video, it's here: http://zed.cbc.ca/go?c=contentPage&CONTENT_ID=18034

Since I'm mending a fracture from a crash, seems appropriate.

Slvoid's avatar reminds me of the character Doctor Nikolas Van Helsing played by Jack Elam in Cannonball Run II.

Junk or Junky?"
 

[QUOTE=ahpook]mine is a crop of a frame grab from the animated short "Ah Pook is Here" , by Phillip Hunt. The words are from a short story/spoken word bit by William S Burroughs, who I sort of idolize (though to a lesser degree now than at times past)

coincidence, but I'm reading Burroughs' "Junky" right now. It's pretty interesting. Do you thinhk it is his best work even though it was his first? What is that bay you wrote about?

That explains the helmet hair:-) My avatar was designed by my wife, who is a professional artist and teacher of Art.

Well you done real good with that one! She's a cutie:)

She did an outstanding job on your avatar.

I think his best work is the Western Lands trilogy: Cities of the Red Night, The Western Lands, and The Place of Dead Roads. The earlier stuff like Junky and Exterminator is all kind of a lead-up to Naked Lunch, which is wonderful. Post N.L. are a few interesting but not particularly readable cut-up experiments (Nova Express, Ticket that Exploded).

'bay'? do you mean my Location tag 'the souf bay'? its just the South (San Francisco) Bay Area, spoken with a lisp :)

this was a nasty gash in my forhead I received during my first year of commuting by bike. a cager threw a bottle at me... that bastard. I am sure I will get over it in a few more years....

I chose mine because I have the well deserved reputation of saying "Dude". A lot. And I'm not even from CA. And also, I "try" to stay in Zen mode during my commutes...