Same.

I have no feelings one way or the other. I have one on my left bicep. Probably the only one I will ever have. It's called "Oroborous" and is something that just resonated to me. Took me 10 years to pull the trigger and get the tat.

Was in the Navy and Chief Cameron, one of the toughest old salts I have met, didn't have any tats, and when I asked him why, he looked at me and laughed pointing to some shipmates and said, "Look at these guys." He dared to be different. I caught the message and refused the branding. He was smart, too.

To each their own. I was brought up as a pastor's kid, so they were explicity forbidden, and I never thought I get one. Except I did. Twice. The first, I felt I "earned" it, after my first marathon. The second was to commemorate the passing of a friend.

Nice one!
I have a few non cycling related tattoos and been thinking of getting a cycling related one as well, once I am able to convince the wife that cycling is here to stay

"Call me Ishmael. Some years ago - never mind how long precisely - having little or no money in my purse, and nothing of particular interest on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world. .... If they but knew it, almost all men in their degree, at some time or other, cherish very nearly the same feelings toward the ocean with me.". Herman Melville

Having been a shipboard Navy man, my Soul is forever tatooed, but not my skin.
(USS Fiske DD842, USS Providence CLG6, USS San Diego AFS6, USS Hull DD945)

I was 60 when I got mine. Always wanted one or two but never saw anything that I thought would look good on me. So I "designed" my own. One on the right leg and one on the back of the left leg.

No tats for me. Never wanted one.

Rick / OCRR

Yes, for some I know who have a tattoo there is a special meaning for them such as this. I get it.

That would do it for me.

I've also toyed with the idea of getting one to cover up some scar tissue ... but again ... can't think of anything I'd like enough to be permanent.

That bindlestick is a nice touch!

Talking about the difference in generations, some of the younger people I talk to are very selective and apprehensive about choosing a tattoo. Some are afraid of making an immature choice. One college girl told me "A tattoo is permanent and should reflect something of permanent value to me. Right now that would probably be the golden arches, I'll wait."

Marc

Would that include the one up the back of my neck where they fused C1 & C2 after I broke my neck thanks to crashing my bike and sending me headfirst into the pavement?

Surely you jest ... that is a GREAT story. For me it would be my "wasn't looking what I was going, tripped over the cat, fell and cut up the back of my neck on the shoe I left on the floor" tattoo.

On July 24, 2013, I was out on a group ride on a 2-lane State road with friends. I was signaling a right hand turn with my right hand and (I think) I must have hit a bump in the road. My left hand jammed my front brake lever and I went over the top and hit head first into the pavement. I was a mess. I put some teeth through my lip, chipped said teeth, slashed my nose and basically trashed C1. Two 5 hour operations and 8 days in hospital later I had C1 & C2 fused. Cosmetic surgery to straighten my nose, sutures to close up my lip and an Assos jersey cut off my body to get me into a back brace for transport. It was not good. Got home on August 1st. By mid-November I was back on the rail/trail. Been good ever since.

After this thread I may get my first tattoo. I'm thinking of a chain mark on my right inner shin.

No tats needed to remind me of my splintered C2. Nature reminds me every morning, before my usual breakfast of coffee and ibuprofen.

You know, I felt the same way. For years. Then a design I would want occurred to me, so I got it. At 44. Still glad I got it. When a bike tattoo occurs to me, I'll probably get another. But it has to be something really really good.

Yikes. I could use a little cosmetic surgery on the schnoz myself, but I'd rather not earn it that way! Glad that all came out OK ... it could have been much, much worse.

Now I'm intrigued ... show us if you dare!

I've always thought that when I get a knee replaced, getting nearer to that age all the time, then I'll have a Campy logo tattooed on my kneecap. Will look great matching the logo on my delta brakes.

I tell my kids not to get tats. Its a fad that goes in cycles. Tell my daughter (17) that when you are 30 walking down the beach in a bikini with no ink, you will be the hottest thing around compared to your friends with these huge faded out grey blobs of mess spread out over their skin. Getting a tat is easy. Getting clear skin is not.
I have never met anyone with tats who did not have remorse over getting one or more of them. Learn from other peoples failures.

[QUOTE=canklecat;19730112.....No tats needed to remind me of my splintered C2. Nature reminds me every morning, before my usual breakfast of coffee and ibuprofen.[/QUOTE]

Ya know a nice meth or opoid addiction goes a long way to solving those pain issues......

BTW, My Grandfather on mothers side was a sea captain and mariner his entire life. Can't recall him having one single tattoo. He ran tugs up and down the Hudson River, and would get ferried out to container ships sitting a few miles off of NYC and bring them in to port. When he was older he became captain of one of the Circle Line boats in NY that ferried people around and was also a sight seeing tour. He even let me have the controls when I was about 15 and said I was very bad at running large ships.!!!!! He was honest, if not a bastard. I think I still have all of the 2 dozen licenses he had for operating various sized ships. From tugs with barges up to the huge container ships from China to the double wall oil tankers from the middle east.

Not a single tattoo.

Your post reminded me of this gem.

https://vimeo.com/69310297

Got you beat there.... In October 1994 I was driving home at about 11pm from a late night office meeting. We were under huge pressure to get some software out (probably pays many of you). On a 25mph road while making a wide bend that goes uphill steeply, a car came the other way doing about 60mph (according to vehicle tests on the road) launched off the crest and landed directly into the grill of my little Buick Skyhawk.

Results were complete face degloving (complete removal leaving bare skull), broken ribs, broken feet, broken femur. Seat belt was a life saver.

End result was 7 hours of surgery to re-attach my face and gums, then 4 follow up surgeries to put my nose back in the right place, fix the crack in my skull from my right eye socket down to my upper teeth, and some more dental work. Never lost a single tooth! Although I did have the classic Frankenstein scars, and needed 8 more visits to cosmetic surgeon to re-cut and/or burn the scars to make them go away. Today, the scars are just a very thin hair line, or a slight indentation (from laser burning) in skin. All in all, most people don't see anything. Has been over 20 years. But I did lose permanent feeling to the right half of my lower lip all the way down the chin. I just tell the wife to kiss harder. LOL!!! And most of my my foot at the surface, but it pains me inside.

I've often wondered if those contemplating tats give any thought to how they will in their later years, particularly women. Real estate shifts over time. 😕😀