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. 

Touristy bike rack in New York City, NY

Sometimes, you find bike rack in the "must-see" categories of that Lonely Planet guide you're toting in your backpack - and here, one N.Zigler certainly found it, albeit behind Lady Liberty.

Looks like your standard gray steel bike rack, set up to keep the hoi polloi corralled neatly and not so much in huddled masses who are yearning to breathe free... (Yes, that was terrible, but you're still reading, no?)

But I find the juxtaposition quite lovely: blue skies, the green woman hoisting her flame up above and the bike rack (and trash can - keep America clean, people) below. Greatness above, the prosaic below. Then again, given the tilt of this blog, maybe it's the other way around.


Next up: D.Sams hits up another one of NYC's tourist spots with a stop at the United Nations HQ, and gets himself in the photo smoking a...let's just say he's smoking, shall we?

Anyway, while that giant ball in the center is kind of cool, check out that electric blue bike rack! While it appears to be of the same standard model of vertical steel bars, it's got the best Smurf-worthy paint job I've ever seen. Is it color-coordinated with the wall behind the hedge? Is it the U.N. approved color? Did someone go crazy with the Cheez Whiz? Don't know if we'll ever understand, but D, thanks for bringing it to us.

This gives me an idea - time for a guide book? Best bike rack spots to visit? Would Zagat pay me for that? Probably not. TWO bicycles out of four - one for each hot spot hit.

Artsy and branded bike rack in Rio

To continue with the Brazil bike rack blitz this month, today's veritable feast for the eyes comes from S.Finke (also, a feast for the eyes....rawrrr or some other animal sound inserted here) from her recent jaunt to the party capital of the world. We've got a variety of beautiful pictures capturing both the late-night Rio de Janeiro scene AND bike rack, in tasteful sepia tones. Me likey.

And, we also have a shot of Mr. D.Teater here, doing his best Japanese girl impersonation, complete with peace fingers and head tilt, in front of what looks to be GIANT bike rack. That's not a visual trick, friends, that is just some very, very, very tall bike rack. What a beast it would be to move that. The bike rack, I mean, not Duncan. 

Next up: getting architectural and all fancy in front of what looks to be some government buildings - or at least an old and fancy palace of some sort. To fit the fancy nature, looks like Rio sprung for some custom white bike rack, complete with their own branding and pretty blue logo to match the blue domes. 

Here's what looks to be a variation on the theme - squared off edges instead of roundness; a little less rusted (I mean, hard to keep perfectly clean in all that humidity, no?) and gridded off lines. How exotic.

Pretty fabulous, I must say. Just missing a carnival girl in a thong and a headdress! THREE bicycles out of four.

Bike rack splendor in Brasilia

Waving flag of Brazil...puffy white clouds drifting by in a stunning blue sky...and custom-made Brazilian barricade in the foreground.

Can't get better than that! Spotted by The Giff on a recent jaunt through South America, this bike rack specimen shows off a version not seen before - bike rack icons!

I'm not really sure whether or not the icon is a specific graphic for Brasilia (capital of Brazil, for all of you who didn't play Where in the World is Carmen San Diego for hours at a time when some other stupid kid was bogarting the Oregon Trail disk); but it is a play on the circle-in-diamond motif on the national flag. Well, uh, played. (I can do better than that. Come back later.)

For hidden messages in steel barricade...(maybe I'm reading too much into it) - FOUR bicycles out of four.