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.