Drink all day, play all night...it's BR in Miami, bitch!

I spent maybe five minutes making up ridiculous lyrics to go with this photo. I failed. Have you looked at the lyrics for "I'm in Miami"? They are ridiculous enough.

Hey! You looking kind of cute in that steel tubing bikini, giiiiiiiirl
Hey! This is what I wanna do, take off that steel tubing bikini, giiiiiiirl

Yup, not good.

Now I have LMFAO stuck in my head for the rest of the day. And maybe you will too.

Thank you to D. Sams for remembering me whenever he travels to exotic locales, and reminding me that Miami is way, way, way warmer than San Francisco right now. Damn, it is COLD out here.* Hence, two posts in a row (technically three!) of warm locations in the dead o' winter.


TWO bicycles out of four, because, you know, Miami is awesome (four bicycles) and the rest of Florida seems kind of meh (deduct two).





*Yes, I am whining about it being cold in California. I get that it's snowing all over the rest of the country but dammit, I don't live in the rest of the country for a reason! 

Hawaiian addendum

A little post script - neglected to include a photo from O. McMillian on yesterday's post in Honolulu. Towering stacks of bike rack, gleaming in the sun. Yay! Thanks sir.

Bike rack in paradise

First of all - my apologies to my dedicated readers (all seven of you...whom I love very, very much) - I know I've been slacking off the last couple of months, but I'm back and ready to write about that ol' steel tubing I love so much. I have so much to catch up on - so much bike rack, so little time! Who knew when I started this blog that we'd hit so many different countries and cities? I mean, I will do a comprehensive bike rack stats post in the next week, but I know we've posted photos from six continents already. (Oh, Antartica - I can only dream.) 

So to counter the dreary days of December, I'm going to start with a little tropical punch. Bike rack...in Hawaii! 

To the left, we have a stack of bike rack hanging out at in Honolulu, ready to be deployed. Note, this may be the first (and last) time I've ever seen something that is used as barricade being barricaded off by something else. Was the caution tape and cones necessary, guys? 

Next up: bike rack in the true barricade style, replete with STOP sign. Kind of redundant, if you ask me.

This tropical specimen is courtesy of one J. Dach, whom is always on the lookout for the rare spotting of a wheeled, double-sided rack such as this one. Also, note the colorful taping of the back piece. What's up with that? Does it help it blend in more? Or was it just in a festive luau mood? I like to think it's sporting the bike rack equivalent of a lei.

And now, bike rack actually being deployed. Here's another case of redundant bike rack - if the thick tropical hedges (read: there are some serious bugs in there) weren't enough to counter anyone jumping into the path, hey, maybe some bike rack will.

To finish off our tour of Hawaiian bike rack, check out the bike rack that's getting set up at Kaneohe Bay on Oahu. Military men + bike rack = true tropical heat. Just saying. 

And to answer your question, yes, I felt kind of weird and pervy for taking these photos, but the soldiers in the photos were all about me taking pictures of them. So that was also weird, but hey! All in the name of bike rack.

We end with a tribute to what I think is one of the more, uh, interesting squadron logos on a helicopter ever: "Easy Riders." 

Yes, that is a Hawaiian warrior about to pierce the hell out of a shark. Don't mess with him. Or his bike rack. And that easily gets FOUR bicycles out of four. Naturally. 

Sassy bike rack from (Little) Italy

K.Defilippi has sent some super sassy bike rack photos from her vacay in New York - pretty amazing, I must say. Makes me want a latte, some pasta and some fine leather goods. Little Italy has got some awesome bike rack.

Set on a busy street in New York (Broome, to be exact), blocking off pedestrians too busy to watch the traffic whilst eating some gelato.

The paint job on these babies is pretty impressive - I have yet to see any bike rack in the American flag motif - one day. One. Day.

I love that this photo includes the whole street and the stalwart of New York photos - the yellow cabs in the background. Just bringing it all together here.

And to really top off the entire thing, Karen includes a photo of her showing her Italian pride - ladies and gents, that's as good as it gets right there.

Not to be outdone, D.Ceasar has also submitted some bike rack from Italy - from L'Aquila. Of course, D, next time I expect a sassy pose out of you, too. 

For bike rack both from and about Italy - and making me hungry for some pizza - FOUR bicycles out of four. (Horrible accent here) Thats-a-spicy-meatball!

Apology and a token Pollard to you

I know. I'm woefully behind on my posts. It's been a busy few months, but I promise, I have some great ones in the hopper - including more bike rack from:

• around the Capitol
• Lollapalooza
• Denver
• Italy
• Vegas

....and some awesome themes including:

• bike rack in the middle of nowhere
• baseball themed
• more holidays
• parking lot specials

To tide everyone over in the meantime, please enjoy an Alcatraz addendum, in the form of my dear, dear S.Pollard. 

More London bike rack and an accidental Love Actually recap

Ahhh, London. I've never been personally, but I hear it's pretty awesome. It DID look cool pretty awesome in Love Actually. (And guys, I know you love this movie. It always get cited by dudes as "I don't watch chick flicks, but man! Hugh Grant was great in that!" Anyway. I digress.) I mean, they have bike rack directly in front of the Prime Minister's residence at 10 Downing Street. (Remember that scene where Hugh Grant just got elected PM and walks into his residence for the first time and gets inside the hall and sighs like he's thinking "Good lord..." - I've done it again. Sorry.)

According to P. Padilla, the journalists just lock their camera tripods to the bike rack, so that they can take off and have a cuppa tea or whatever it is they do, and also have prime PM-watching space. So smart, those Brits. I love that the journalists clearly came equipped with some ghetto bike chain.

As for the bike rack - kind of an interesting flat  base design going on here, too, that's different from most other bike rack I've seen before, but I appreciate that there is a bit of a handle-like design on the top to facilitate it's movement around.

Next up - some pretty spectacular bike rack found in the hall of Christ Church in Oxford (not to be confused with the bunch of other Christ Churches in England...and there are quite a few). Sigh of relief for you, dear reader - I'm not going to talk about Love Actually! Because duh, Christ Church wasn't in that movie, but it WAS in the Harry Potter movies as the site of the great hall. Thanks to B. Shannon (or Shenanigans) for submitting this - not only is this in a great spot, but looks like standard bike rack is also available across the pond for all your barricading needs.

For making me turn on the Pointer Sister's song that ol' Mickey Blue Eyes is dancing around to, and remind me that the last Harry Potter movie is coming out this month (!!! Let's hope it's not the emo-fest the last one was), THREE bicycles out of four.

U2, "the Claw" and bike rack in Denver, Colorado

S.Moss and T.Mounsey went to investigate the set-build for U2's 360 concert tour in Denver last month. Here are some insane stats courtesy of Sarah and The Denver Post (and, uh, Wikipedia):

- "The Claw" set: 360 degrees around (get it? 360? In the round??? They're so clever.) 

- Takes 47 semi trucks to transport - with THREE sets leapfrogging the continent (see picture to right...that's a whole lotta carbon offsets, U2)

- Currently world record holder of the largest concert stage set-up

- Is the largest grossing concert ever at $558 million (worldwide)

Anyway. Where is the bike rack, you ask? Turns out, during the load-in, U2 showed up and did their own little ropeline...with bike rack, naturally. Duh. 

(Note - the bike rack is a little hard to see, but it's being mobbed by the legions of crazy people, I mean fans, to the top left of the photo.)

And, check out that little mini-motorcade! Big Black Suburbans and all. How the hell do you get to be advance for rock stars? I want in! 

More bike rack is protecting the giant trailers presumably being used for the band/roadies/groupies etc. Damn.  I bet those double-wides are super sweet. 

So, here's a photo of the sets - was all the hoopla worth it? Probably, as long as U2 didn't sing "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of." Ugh. That song makes me cringe, every time. 

For a set that makes J.J. Abram's "Cloverfield" monster look tame...wait, I'm judging bike rack, aren't I? I am. So where does that leave me...ah, yes. On one hand, I kind of want the fans to club Bono and The Edge over the head for Spiderman: The Musical; then again it wouldn't be the barricade of choice for rock stars and politicans alike. I guess I'll split the difference: TWO bicycles out of four. 

Bourbon Street Bike Rack

S.Pollard makes his BRATW debut with a solid entry from New Orleans - and from the famed Bourbon Street in the French Quarter, no less. My imagination tells me he got a shot of this fairly standard bike rack after a night of debauchery; but the lighting and shadows on the ground indicate this is more post-Cafe du Monde than post-Hand Grenade-filled night.

Well, I'm sure he let the good times roll here anyway. Check out that street sign - if that's not an indication of the kind of fun you'll have in this town, I don't know what is.

For making me hungry for a beignet and a fried shrimp po' boy (the only way to go) - TWO bicycles out of four.

Colorful and crazy Egyptian bike rack

Wild and crazy bike rack as featured in Cairo, Egypt - I'm guessing this was pre-revolution, as things look pretty peaceful in the background. We have J.Infazon to thank for the colorful candy-striped variety as shown here.

The signage on the bike rack indicates that it belongs to the Giza traffic authority - and who knew they'd have such a flair for color? I'm starting to think that the only people who like their bike rack in steel gray tones are Americans; there are much more colorful versions to be found internationally (such as here, here and here, for starters). Its been awhile since we've seen panache on this blog.

And not just one color scheme - I mean, green and white. Okay. But orange and turquoise? Who do those Egyptians think they are, the Miami Dolphins?

For the juxtaposition of the bike rack to the Cairo cityscape complete with palm trees swaying in the background - THREE bicycles out of four. What bike wouldn't want to be racked to these lovelies. Only pyramids or a damn mummy in the background could top this.

Bike rack in the ruins of the Sutro Baths

Truthfully, I had never really heard of the Sutro Baths before E. LoVecchio and S. Finke sent me this photo, even though I lived in San Francisco for a few years and had wandered the Pacific Ocean side several times. Turns out it was once described as the world's largest indoor swimming pool, with amazing views of the sea, seven different pools with fresh and salt water...and random things like a concert hall and ice skating rink. (So says Wikipedia.) 

Opened right at the turn of the century, and closed sometime in the 1960s. Then, while being demolished, it caught fire and the whole thing burned down except for a few tunnels and cement walls, and only the ruins remain near the Cliff House. Sort of weird to think there are these "ancient ruins" of sorts in a place as modern as San Fran, but there they are if you are to visit!

Sam, no stranger to seeing things that locals might normally ignore, didn't waste a chance to visit these unusual grounds...and found some bike rack blocking the path down. Well, at least she found some of my favorite barricade as a consolation prize. (Apparently, when the waves are huge, they've been known to wash visitors to the Sutro Baths away and drown them. So, bike rack: good.) 

And, as a bonus - Sam strikes up her best Top Model pose to really capture the flavor of forbidden grounds, separated only by flimsy bike rack. Nice work, guys. The overblown backlight, the haze of bike rack - it's a pretty awesome photo. 

For the fact that one bike rack photo wasn't enough, and that I imagine Eric yelling "work it, work the bike rack, more attitude, bitch" (in a faux crazy photog way, not in a derogatory way, okay?) - THREE bicycles out of four. Next time, Sam, take off the sunglasses. I wanna see you smile with your eyes, the way Tyra would want it. 

Buckingham Palace bike rack. Can't get more regal than this!

With all the news of a certain someones getting married recently (they have their own website? I guess that's normal for most married couples, I guess, but how long in advance do you think did they have to register that domain name?), this particular bike rack post from my favorite enabler, B.Shannon (or "Shenanigans" as I like to call him) is quite timely.

But really, I think bike rack is newsworthy in its own right! I don't need no stinkin' wedding to find this photo fascinating.

Shenanigans has managed to find barricade that you might not want to chain your bike to - it looks about as old and crumbly as the original London Bridge - rusted, with some weird triangular base design holding it up. I'll say this, ol' chap - I wouldn't want to have to move that around, it looks far more unwieldy than the usual unwieldy bike rack I feature on this blog.

THREE bicycles out of four - it'd have gotten the full rating but I am American and I have to give some sort of knee-jerk slap in the face to our British counterparts. So take that, Buckingham Palace!

Super tiny bike rack in El Paso, Texas

B.Becnel has some, ahem, spicy bike rack in this edition of BRATW - no, ladies and gents, this is NOT a photo of Paul Bunyon-esque fellow next to normal bike rack, but rather something else. Something to truly behold and treasure - a brand new species not seen before on this blog.


Miniature. Bike. Rack.

Awesome.

I know there's a stereotype of girls always thinking the tiny things out there are just so adorable (babies, kittens, little bottles of condiments that accompany your burgers in hotel room service, the wee bottles of shampoo that come with your hotel room, the miniature mints on your hotel pillow - good lord, I spend a lot of time in hotels), but come ON. Tiny bike rack! Who wouldn't think this was so cute!

Mr. Becnel found this in El Paso, Texas. I am a bit stymied to think what the hell it could be barricading or used for. Tiny crowds? Tiny horses? PONIES?!?!?!?! (Squee! Clearly, I've channeled my ten-year-old self today.) The possibilities are endless.

For finding bike rack that would make ME look statuesque (all five feet of me), TWO bicycles out of four, one bicycle for each foot of height. An additional bicycle for the excellent addition of matching cap and plaid shirt. Well played, sir.

Alcatraz bike rack: you're on notice

(Note: the original blog post up and DISAPPEARED recently. I don't know what happened but it's as if it never existed. WTF, blogspot? Tumblr is making a run for my business...anyway. And apparently, unlike other people's posts, this one isn't coming back, so I've recreated it as best I could.)

S.Finke sent over some bike rack photos from a trip to San Francisco and Alcatraz recently. She's correcting in asking why anyone would "want to put more bars on Alcatraz" but since it's there, why in the world would they treat it so carelessly??

San Francisco! For shame. That's twice now that tipped-over bike rack has been found within your boundaries.

Anyway, there are some other lovely, non-tipped-over bike rack photos in this bunch. Thank god. 

See? Look here. Bike rack that is upright. Just ignore it's sad cousin to the left and in the background.  (The dude taking photos is clearly also ignoring it. Jerk.) 

Sam also took some lovely, artsy photos in what I'm calling Lover's Lane and Al Capone's cell block, in sepia tone, with some of the landmarks of The Rock. OK, so maybe it's not actually the real jail cell, but close enough. 

To top it off, she found Alcatraz banners specifically made to cover the bike rack. (OK, maybe not exactly to cover them, but whatever, let it go.) Bike rack, gettin' poetic and wordy and stuff. 

More artsty bike rack in a location best remembered for an awesome Nic Cage and Sean Connery movie? FOUR bicycles out of four, but a serious deduction (minus TWO) for the fallen bike rack. For shame, Alcatraz. FOR SHAME. 

An advance dream: pre-made bike rack covers

Sent over from S.Moss - pre-made bike rack covers, thanks to Electrum Productions and one J.Scott. Long gone are the days of trying to drape random fabrics and safety-pin them to bike rack: nope, they come fit and measured in a lovely blue banjo for all your barricading needs. I'm jealous. If only all my clothing fit as well.

For one-upping my tailor, THREE bicycles out of four.

Unseasonably frozen bike rack in NYC and New Hampshire

It's warming up here in California, and thoughts of cool, frosty ice cream treats haunt me all day. Seeing as I need to fit into a bridesmaid dress in the near, near future (and I doubt Spanx will save me this time), I'm stuck to licking ice cubes and thinking about chocolate malted crunch cones (Thrifty lovers, you know what I mean); I'm doing a post on frosty cold...bike rack. Brrrr.

Dave E. tells me he "risked frostbike" (ha ha. OK, he really said frostbite but did I not warn you about the bad puns??) to take these photos by taking his gloves off in New York City, on Lexington Ave. between 94th and 95th. And, he got the added bonus of NYC Metro in the background. Brava! The snow on the top of the rack looks like shaved ice!

Although, not to call you out here, Dave, but there isn't really much snow on the ground, it looks sunny and that car looks fairly snow-free in the background. But props for you for geting a bus with Oprah on it. That's got to be worth something.

And, now for a photo taken by yours truly with the assist of Kathryn E., who not only lent me her camera but pointed it out during a sketchy shuttle right into downtown Portsmouth, New Hampshire. We stopped our driver in the middle of the street, and in the middle of a "slurry," I ran out and scared the beejeezus out of an oncoming car. Sorry, folks, but the paparazzi have come to your sleepy hamlet, in the name of bike rack.

Not the clearest photo, but look at the big flakes of snow! Clearly snowing, and damn cold, too.

For taking my mind off the cappuccino crunch in the freezer - TWO bicycles out of four. Mint chip, it ain't.

Covered and costumed bike rack in Ohio and D.C.

While I do enjoy bike rack in all it's bare glory, sometimes a little covering up is in order. Today's bike rack features a little peep show - bike rack in disguise! 

The specimen to the left is from Miss Prentice, sending us a shot from what I believe is the Cleveland Indians's stadium, Progressive Field. Progressive indeed - check out the wheels on the left of the bike rack, enhancing it's portability (and avoiding the "how do you carry covered bike rack" question entirely). 

Proving Ohio is not the only advanced state here is bike rack from the Capitol Lounge in D.C., brought to you by C.Welker. This, friends, is some stylish bike rack - not only is it powdercoated white underneath, but is dressed up in logo-ed, custom-fitting covers suitable for bad weather and warm nights. 

Dressed up bike rack with a little something extra? Yes please! THREE bicycles out of four.