bwilli88 

Carrying two suit cases, riding with 20 or so pieces of sugar cane 6 to 8 feet long, riding holding hands, smoking a cigarette while drinking a beer, 4 people on one single bike, pulling a cart full of coconuts...

OLB

Cute dog Pastor Bob. Do you ever have issues with him/her jumping out?

easyupbug 

I actually saw someone else riding in the drops!

KonAaron Snake 

I've walked/run the dog while holding his leash while riding. It takes a smart dog and caution, but it's actually sort of fun for them.

tg16

St. Tammany Trace in Mandeville, LA:

A woman on a bike riding with ear buds and her phone in one hand having a conversation and in the other hand a cigarette she was smoking.

A homeless man on an old beat up bike pulled up next to me and we rode through the downhill tunnel on the Trace. As we came out the other side, he reached out and handed me a wine bottle in a brown paper bag to offer me a drink. The tunnel goes under the road. For that moment, our differences faded away and we both became kids again. I'll never forget that moment and can see it in its entirety as we were both laughing like kids as we went downhill and through it.

Baton Rouge on Florida Blvd.
A man who has an old beater and attached to it is a pole that is a few feet up in the air like the crows nest on a ship. At the top of the pole is a flat piece of wood with a rug or something. A little dog rides there.

New Orleans, LA French Quarter:
I'm still in therapy trying to forget some of the things I've seen there being done by people on bicycles.

momo608

An audible signal while passing seems to be so weird that people rarely do it on the trails I ride. I go riding with my wobbly 6 year old girl and would sure appreciate if this courtesy was used. Actually it's in the bike trail rules here. I just about always give a smile or a hello unless I passed these riders already. I hear in Europe they think you're some kind of doofus if you smile at strangers. I must be a doofus because I have to make an effort to not smile when I make eye contact with strangers.

pastorbobnlnh 

No. She stays put, even when spotting other dogs, which she normally wants to go visit. As I think you can tell by the expression on her face, she enjoys the ride!

Velocivixen

I'm not coordinated enough on a bike to do much more than ride. Of course I'm not going anywhere in a hurry, so I stop, put both feet down, then eating or drink.

tarwheel 

The weirdest thing I have seen is a very old man, perhaps homeless, riding around with an apparently plastic palm tree in the front basket on his bike. I've seen him several times riding around town, always with the palm tree. Some other weird things I have seen other cyclists do while riding include:

- Walking their dog on leash (numerous times)
- Carrying their dog (or cat) in a basket, child carrier or trailer
- Texting or talking on their cell phone
- Smoking
- Taking photos or videos
- Doing exercises like pumping up and down on the handlebar
- Carrying apparently their entire earthly belongings in bags, baskets, racks, etc.

noglider 

Is that weird? I do that, and it doesn't seem weird to me.

noglider 

I understand that's very common in Asia.

noglider 

It depends on how bike dense the place is, I think. I pass literally hundreds of bike commuters on my daily route. When population is dense, it's not a matter of trust and fear, it's just impractical to say hi to hundreds of people. And it's because of that it would be weird if pedestrians did it everywhere.

noglider 

That may be offputting to see, but it might be a blast to be that couple. You just gave me a well-needed nudge to get our tandem going. We still haven't taken it on a real ride yet.

ThermionicScott 

It feels weird to me, because I often want to be more sociable than just barking "on your left!" but I also worry about coming off as condescending, casually chatting while passing someone who may be working a lot harder than me.


Oh, forgot to mention earlier that I go on at least a few rides each year where I pack and light a pipe while riding. These are obviously not "serious" rides.

snow_echo_NY

i see a ton of weird things as well, mostly on the manhattan bridge and sometimes in brooklyn but it's unusual...

the cell phone texting, the cell phone talking. the normal ones at least have a blue tooth in their ear and are talking while they cycle with both eyes and the road and hands on the bicycle. i get sketched out when i see people bend their heads to hold the smart phone to their ear. i've seen at least one person drop it while cycling. probably not a good idea on the bridge over east river.

carrying the most bizarre things - platform in front or in back for a dog to lie down.

bare shirted older guy with dreads (i'm told this is Hal of bicycle habitat)

carrying plants, yoga mats, tennis raquets, fishing poles - but bizarre in the way they carry them or mount them. i suppose this is more interesting to see how people choose to carry them than unusual.


there are tons more weird things i see but i can't really remember them all...

noglider 

I'm learning about how many things that many of you think is weird, I find them normal. I started eating while cycling in my teens, I think. It's pretty darned necessary when you do long tours. A handlebar bag makes it convenient and safe.

Texting is kind of dumb but not as dumb as texting while driving. To me, there is a big difference. On a bike, you're not endangering any more at least not many people. Mostly you are endangering yourself. On a bike path, the worst likely thing that would happen is falling without hitting anyone. It would hurt, but it wouldn't kill.

Smoking? Yeah, that's weird, but it's rather common here. Some ride to deliver stuff, and they don't care about their health or the benefits of cycling. It's just a job. In the long run, cycling with smoking would, I'm sure, prove to be better than a life of smoking without cycling.

Walking the dog, sure. You need to be alert and adept, but why not? It's good for everyone. Hmm, come to think of that, I think I'll try that with my granddog (my daughter's dog). The dog (named Cairo) and I are home alone today, so it's the perfect day to try it.

I have a pair of headphones that connects around the back of my head. I can hook it onto both ears or either ear. I usually use one ear so I can hear traffic and people. I generally don't set it loud, and I think it's safer to hear spoken word than music when traffic is heavy.

That's the saddest thing of all. I'd want to see bad bike commuters mixed with good commuters than see no commuters. I'm lucky to live here. It was one of the reasons we chose this place.

noglider 

My take on that is that I'm saying, hey, you're one of us vigorous cyclists. You're taking a rest now, and I trust you know I'm passing not because I'm showing off but because you're not going your hardest now. One of these days, you'll pass me for the same reason.

That is admittedly pollyana-ish of me, but it is my view. I enjoy seeing it that way. Maybe someone will think I'm putting him down by showing off, but if he does, that's his problem, not mine. He's really putting himself down that way.

@snow_echo_NY, I think that bare-chested-with-dreads look is great. I could never pull it off. If I could, maybe I would.

daf1009

With reference to my "walking the dog"...this seems to be something you guys do or think about doing...

If you do it...consider the distance you would cycle, along with the speed you ride. The people that I have seen are doing their normal speed...sometimes faster than the dog should be going! Also...consider the weather...even walking your dog a good distance in the Georgia temperature/humidity can be a bad idea...

KonAaron Snake 

We should ride together Tom...I think that would be a blast. Carol seemed to enjoy the triple.

noglider 

You're so right. I will see if we can schedule a weekend in Philly. We have other friends to visit, so we could take a half-day or full-day right with y'all and visit others the rest of the weekend. I'll get back to you. And maybe you can advise me in getting it working.

lostarchitect 

There is a guy who rides around my neighborhood in Brooklyn who has modified a large basket on the front of his bike with wire mesh. He's created kind of a "shield" of mesh on the front of the bike that wraps around to the sides and is so tall it seems like it should block his vision. From this mesh he has hung dozens of bootleg CD's, which he sells from the bike. It's a funny thing to see.

However, I discovered his secret a while back. I was sitting outside smoking my pipe when he pulled up, and he asked me if I wanted a "sample". I realized he thought I was smoking pot--the DVD thing is just a cover! He's actually a pot dealer. Pretty funny. I suppose it's actually a good throwoff for the cops--pretend to be guilty of a minor crime while actually doing something more serious.

OldsCOOL

It's weird to the full-kitted, CF riding, Tour wannabes and those of the 41.

noglider 

Fine. Let them think its weird.

superstring

There used to be this guy I'd see riding around town. He had really high bars on his bike and he'd be reading a book!

ncrnelson

A few years ago at about 10am I saw a guy riding a bike through a Petco parking lot lean to the side and vomit all while carrying on his merry way. A class act if I ever saw one.