We love taking our bike everywhere we can, but it's actually quite rare that we find a bike rack that has open space (or one at all). It can be a little frustrating, but it's easy enough to find something else to chain your bike to... that is, unless a vigilante fills your lock with super glue!
A man in NYC has taken his beef to the streets (literally) and is fed up with bikes being chained to anything and everything around his city. He has no problem with bicycling as a form of transportation, but wishes there were more racks to go around or that people would use the racks when available.
To get "revenge" for bikers cluttering up his streets, he's been going around filling bike locks with super glue! Our first reaction is extreme anger, but then we thought about cars and how there's never enough parking for them either and you can't just go around parking on sidewalks or front yards just because there's no room in the street.
Obviously his actions are a little coo coo for cocoa puffs, but does the lack of storage facilities for bikes justify chaining them directly in front of where we're visiting instead of walking a few extra blocks? Sound off in the comments below!
(Via: Mother Nature Network. Image: Flickr member Herkie licensed for use by Creative Commons)
100 DIY Ideas for the 3-Day Weekend
Danielle's Charming, Classic Walk-Up
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
White Enamel Flatwa...
How To Cook Fluffy, Tasty Quinoa
Perfect Summer Cocktail Recipe: Honey Bourbon Lemonade
He literally took his beef to the streets?
http://tailsmagazines.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/xing_cow.jpg
I think that guy is probably an immature prankster, not someone actually trying to make a statement. If he serious, he should take his beef out on city planners who don't create spaces for bikes to legally park, not the people trying to do some good by riding them.
Similar problem here if you ride a scooter (which I do). If you take up a parking space, you're likely to get your bike knocked over. If you park by a bike rack, bikers get pissed. If you park on the sidewalk, pedestrians get ticked. I understand all of that, but where exactly are we supposed to park?
Sorry, lorigami, but I think the only people you'll never annoy are other scooter riders.
I can't think of anyone I know who doesn't grimace in exasperation when a high-pitched, whiny scooter blows by. I understand that they're greener, so theoretically I should love scooter riders, but...I just find them so twee.
Also, my neighborhood suffers from a serious hipster infestation, and I've never seen a single scooter pilot with a helmet on (much less pants, but that's another discussion). It's like they think scooters are a physics-free zone.
I sympathize with super glue man (woman?), but then again, I'm in a cantankerous mood right now.
Well that's just being a dirtbag.
No. I feel like being able to lock up your bike directly in front of your destination is half the point in using a bike [vs car]. You may as well walk to your destination of you're going to spend an extra 20min trying to find an empty rack.
Doesn't messing up the bike locks mean the bikes will be stuck in "inappropriate" parking places for much longer? Doesn't that kind of defeat the purpose? That would be like having the city put a boot on a car parked in front of your driveway.
If, as others have questioned, it is only non-bike rack chained bikes hes attacking, i think that is getting a point across and not just a random prank. If so, good for him. Its a very good point that when I can't find a parking spot, I keep driving til I do, I don't just jut my car on the sidewalk and call it a day (though some jerks do!) I hate to say it and its certainly not even close to all of them, but I have noticed the more people start to ride bikes at their form of transportation the more I've enountered bad bike drivers. People riding full speed to work down the sidewalk and potentially hurting a lot of people, people zipping in and out of traffic almost causing accidents and people parking their bikes anywhere they please. So if this guy is more than just a prankster, I say good on him.
A bike rack is the car-equivalent to a parking space. If one is non-existent within reasonable walking distance, one has two main choices: do not patronize your destination or find alternate ways of securing your vehicle. Bikes have more flexibility than cars for alternate parking locations. Bikers (I am one): be respectful of the environment and foot traffic when you choose an alternate parking place. Drivers (I am also one): with rare exception, we are stuck with parking in clearly defined parking spaces. Live with it or find alternate modes of transportation that offer you more flexibility.
... and isn't super-gluing locks vandalism or destruction of property? Can we say illegal? Does he reimburse the lock owners for the cost of a new lock?