3 Stooges 2 wheels and 1 Tree

So I ran across a clever bike rack design at bicycle design called the bike tree. It's essentially a pillar with a flared bottom or ramp so you can drive your trusty two wheeled steed 'up' the trunk where it appears to grab the front wheel and roll it up the trunk to it's resting place underneath a canopy. I think it's a brilliant idea to store your mount out of the easy reach of lecherous hands that harbor ill will towards it or lust after it, and for those that crave every inch of concrete for things other than bike racks. Done and done. Although when I saw it for the first time I immediately thought of how much fun the Three Stooges would have with it. I'm an unabashed Three Stooges fan. I used to watch them on the weekends when I was kid and spent countless hours every New Years Eve in front of the TV while one of the local TV stations ran their annual Three Stooges marathon. I would laugh until my sides hurt watching Moe Larry and Curly turn the most benign situation into a cavalcade of slaps eye pokes and hitting each other in the head with hammers or dropping tools on each others feet. I envisioned the boys being dumbfounded by it and Moe getting caught on a bicycle as it's rolled up the trunk and dangling by his shirt collar while Larry and Curly rush around trying to release him. Eventually one of them would stumble across the solution to return Moe and bicycle to ol' terra firma at a high rate of speed resulting in lots of eye poking, bonking each other in the hand and 'nyuk nyuk nyuk.' Ah I miss the Stooges thanks be to the marvelous interwebs for housing them in all their glory.

Speaking of riding the 2 wheeled monster the Marvelous Fiancee and I recently visited some wonderful friends in the Windy City. It was our first foray into Chitown and we had a wonderful time dancing socializing and picnicking with some wonderful people, all while exploring all the city had to offer. One of the highlights was "The Bean" a piece of urban art that is basically a highly reflective silverish giant bean dropped in the middle of a downtown park. We took full advantage of the opportunities to play tricks with the camera and get some cool shots of ourselves and that skyline complete with the building used in the Adventures of Babysitting. The city also boasted a robust bicycle friendly community complete with extensive bike paths and signage through the meat of the city, bike racks everywhere including a huge one outside of Wrigley Field that was loaded to the gills. Everywhere we went we saw people riding road bikes hybrids mountain bikes bmx cruisers etc. Here in our little corner of the world we have a solid bicycle friendly community comparable for the size of our city. While it's pretty solid it has some room to grow for sure, but Chicago ya done good I say.