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!

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.

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.

Advance kids, movin' bike rack - New York, NY

Once upon a time, I had pretty good arms. This is back when I had to move my own bike rack. Like, a lot of bike rack.

Here's a few photos of advance kids pretending to ignore the ignoble reality ahead of them: it's very much "So, been a long day, a long rally, in the middle of a gymnasium and now, the truth sets in. We gotta move bike rack. In our suits. Dog tired. Sigh."

Look at all this disorganized bike rack! And, uh, have you seen so many advance people just standing around? (Don't answer that.)

I've been hanging on to these photos for some time now, and this post, actually. For two reasons: one, this picture above really captures what I feel when I find bike rack in a strange place - both something I can find tiring just to look at (memories of the moving heavy bike rack always surfaces) and yet makes me feel nostalgic for a time gone by. This photo was taken at the end of a long, long day, and an even longer primary election season. The event was the second to last, and already we knew it was the end. Moving bike rack for what feels like a lost cause is hard to stomach.

Second, I find myself at a bit of a crossroads, as far as what I want to do with myself, which is where I found myself in the time period of these photos. Which is, again, why this blog exists - my feelings about bike rack go beyond the use and the ubiquity. Who knew.

Touchy-feely bike rack. Hell, I don't know. TWO bicycles out of four?

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Rockefeller Center Christmas tree bike rack extravaganza

Merry Christmas (Eve) to everyone reading this blog (all five of you...thanks Mom) - and now, for a special edition post.

Yes, N. Lynch came through for me and got some ridiculously awesome shots of the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree - which is the gold standard in holiday festivities and imagery - and even more importantly - HOLIDAY BIKE RACK!

It's a Christmas miracle!

Only something as important as the largest Christmas tree known to man would require a double-barricade of custom bike rack, AND the standard steel version covered in logo'd fabric. Amazing.

Look. I know some of you are going to be all "but the stuff around the tree is fencing, not real bike rack. But it fits the qualifications, no? Let's take a look:

1. It could rack a bike if you stick the tire through the bars
2. It's moveable (it even has those kick-plates that some bike rack have)
3. It's barricading something.

Yup. Works for me!

I also love that it's painted in green and gold. How festive.

Merry Christmas everyone, and if you're lucky, I might manage to find some New Year's Eve themed rack. Will it be passed out on the street 10 minutes to the ball dropping, wearing a little tuxedo hat and sporting a noisemaker? Let's hope so.

And now, for the rating: twinkly lights, color-matched to the holiday with matching covered steel bike rack, the double barricade, and the fact that I'm feeling generous after a breakfast burrito brought to me by my sister: FOUR bicycles out of four. Top that, Santa.