doomtroll

my girlfriend cycles

frantik

that's not "dating" :-p

Ekdog

I suppose I'm maladjusted because I'm car-free, even though I'm much more punctual than the people I work with, who all drive cars. Some of them are so "well-adjusted" that they look down their noses at anyone who cycles or uses public transit.

Thanks for setting me straight. Just think, I actually felt good about myself and the fact that I was cutting down on my carbon footprint and not contributing to the slaughter on the highways by not owning a car.

Oh, well, this dude was proud to be maladjusted, so I guess I'll throw in my lot with him:

Commodus

Were you trying to miss the point of my post completely, or did it happen by accident?

Artkansas 

That's what I found in my early 30's in L.A. And dating was the reason that I bought my first car at age 32. Now, in my 50's I find it doesn't matter as much. Women are no longer looking at you as the breadwinner. They have their own career and possibly grandchildren. They find that you bike is a good sign that you are still in shape and not about to fall over dead. You make up for the bike by being able to spend that money you don't spend on a car on them.

bjjoondo 

I always used a "taxi" for dates, it picks you up, then her up and you go to the date, pretty simple. If they were bugged by the idea of a taxi, too bad for them, "see ya"!

davidmikesell

Luckily, my partner cycles. It isn't what made them my partner, but it's part of what keeps them. If that makes sense...

frantik

I suspect having a partner is killing your potential dating opportunities more than being car free

gerv 

Yeah, pretty simple. How did people date before cars? IIRC both my parents and my wife's were carfree when they were dating. (Come to think of it, both my wife and I were carfee too back in the 1970s while we were dating... and IIRC we did use a few taxis and we walked quite a bit.)

frantik

I'm pretty sure the whole concept of a "date" evolved along with cars.

wolfchild

Horses. A man who owned horses had an easier time traveling and getting women in his life then a guy who walked everywhere. A horse was a status symbol, a symbol of wealth and it also made traveling easier and faster...just like cars today.

gerv 

You might have something there. Back in the Late Pleistocene -- when I was hanging out with my future missus -- we didn't actually call it "dating".

gerv 

A great number of people did not have a horse. How did they ever manage to find a mate?

Mobile 155

Terms more than likely. Before cars maybe it was called courting?
But more to the point, "Has living car free killed dating opportunities?" It would depend on how you move around car free and where you are car free and why you are car free and if you are dating looking for a mate or just to be dating. If you are car free because of divorce or because you are out of work or because of a DUI then car free isn't what is killing your dating. I have a friend that works as an actor. He hasn't driven a car in years, still goes to parties, has a horse ranch with two houses and fruit trees on 20 acres. He doesn't have to look for dates no matter where he is staying be it in LA or Phoenix or New York.

In pure numbers if dating is looking for a mate then the car free are at a disadvantage from the number or perspective dates and area covered stand point. I am not dealing with the people that aren't interested in someone if they aren't interested in being car free. They limit their pool of perspective daters themselves.

From a cyclist point of view men out number women 80 percent to 20 percent. Non cyclists out number cyclist about 90 plus percent. So if you are a car free woman your odds of getting a date are much higher and if you are a man they are less. This dosen't mean car free kills dates it only means it could narrow to pool of potential dates. If you equate it to a hunter the one that can cover the largest area or travel to where the most deer are has a better chance of success shooting a deer. It doesn't mean a farmer couldn't shoot one in his corn field if one wondered in there.

If playing the field is the goal then once again it is a numbers game. The clubs are packed with women but they are in short dresses and Loubouton heals and Tommy Girl perfume. How many of them show up to the club on a bike? Most of those people might accept a taxi and in some areas light rail but for most of them a car is an assessory much like a Tag Heuer watch. At least every thing you see in the media points in this direction.

Like I said it mostly depends on what you are looking for and how you define a date.

I guess when it is all said and done, "Has living car free killed dating opportunities?" all comes down to depends on how you define dating and where you live.

SPECELIZEDRIDER

well considering Vegas is like LA on a small scale,the odds are so against you here that it most likely wont happen.

Mobile 155

Well there you have to define dating again.

frantik

Mobile 155, you nailed it

Omiak

I find living car-free has the opposite effect, but I guess it's all relative to your community.

Robert C

It was an interesting discovery for me, when I started reading 18th & 19th century literature, that the impression that people regularly rode horses is generally incorrect. While there are certainly exceptions, people normally did not ride horses for transportation. It was simply too dangerous (having owned horses, I can easily attest to this).

When you read the literature of the period you see that walking and riding in carts was significantly more common. With the general exception of the American Western-Romantic literature (nothing like the modern use of the word "Romance" e.g. "Romance Novels")If a period author did place a rider on a horse, like Dostoevsky did in The Village of Stepanchikovo (there is a possibility that I am thinking of a different story), the author will take pains to explain that the person "learned to ride in the Army."

I am not saying that no one rode horses; however, outside of military activities and certain occupations, such as ranching, it was uncommon. It is definitely not a risk that a caring suitor would have exposed a potential wife to and there is almost (yes, there are oddities; such as Bran Stokers The Man) no period literature mentioning horses being ridden as a normal courting activity.

charbucks

I didn't believe this until I met my ex-boyfriend's sister.

We (the ex and I) wanted to borrow his parents' car to drive out of the city for the weekend. The sister complained that she needed the car to get to a hair appointment on Saturday. The ex pointed out that the hair dresser was on the train line (as was their house), to which the sister replied "do I look like someone who takes public transit?"

We ended up finding a different way out of the city, and she got to avoid the shame of riding the train for 15 minutes.

iheartbacon

That's awesome.

We have a free bus system here but I don't use it. I think I rode once this year. This town is so small I find it more convenient to ride my bike, and I can't figure out how to use the bike rack on the front of the bus. The buses are full all the time so it is a needed service to many. What I used to use all the time was the route to Pullman, the next town over. Unfortunately that route was dropped because of low ridership and budget constraints. Now that marijuana is legalized in Washington maybe they'll restart the route to Pullman. I'm sure ridership will be up significantly.

Jamoni

Quick clue: Adjusting your lifestyle and personality to fit around a woman? Bad idea.
Finding a woman who fits in with your lifestyle and personality? Good idea.
Also, you know what's even sexier than owning a badass car? Being debt free and owning a home outright.

Jared.

The same way losers on bikes do now-a-days.

SPECELIZEDRIDER

absolutely, I hate debt with a passion, so much so that I am willing to ride for many years to avoid it.

cerewa

Does not having a car make it hard to date? Not in my case. I got engaged to a woman who's depended on public transit and bikes all her life and has never had a driver's license.