Twisted message, no? This car-shaped bike rack is in Torino Italy, according to the photographer.

Although biking in the city terrifies me—-I tried it:There was no adrenaline rush. No joy. No pride in “greener” living. Just fear.—-I support urban cycling to the fullest and would happily do it more often if all cars were prohibited from the streets.

But besides the possibility of death, D.C. bikers also face another constant concern:They don’t know where to lock up. A July City Paper article documented the “pervasive” problem: “’Locking a bike up in D.C. is notoriously problematic,’ according to one City Bikes employee quoted in the piece. ‘If someone wants to steal it, they’re going to get ahold of it…There aren’t enough really secure locations. You’ll see a lot of bikes put on railings.'” So it’s nice to see the Golden Triangle Business Improvement District recently posted information about bike rack design competition open to the “entire art community including visual artists, architects, graphic designers, urban designers and bicycling enthusiasts.” Sounds wonderful, minus one little fact…

According to contest rules, the rack design only needs to hold “at least two bicycles.”

Photo by ibcbulk, Flickr Creative Commons