# What was I seeing here (bicycle chained to "No Parking" sign)? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 16, 2013, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-i-seeing-here-bicycle-chained-to-no-parking-sign/674035 "2013-11-16T02:48:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2013, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-i-seeing-here-bicycle-chained-to-no-parking-sign/674035/1 "2013-11-16T02:48:36Z")
This morning, after I dropped my daughter off at school, the traffic was heavy enough to demand that I try to get home on right turns only. This placed me on a fairly high-use street that I don’t drive on that often (by “high-use” I mean that it had traffic signals instead of just stop signs). When I got to the street I love on, and prepared to turn northward, I looked over to the left, and saw what looked like it might be an artistic statement. Or possibly, it was something else. It was a bicycle, chained to a “No Parking” sign. It appeared to be completely white. White frame, white handlebars, white tires, white seat, white kickstand (I wasn’t close enough to see if the bicycle chain was white). I couldn’t tell if someone had left it there because they hoped to come back for it later, or to serve as some type of a statement. I decided that when I picked my daughter up after school, I was going to see if it was still there, and, if so, to get a closer look. When we reached that corner this afternoon, it was still there, so I parked the car at the liquor store across the street, and we went over to take a gander. As I approached it, it became clear that there was no bicycle chain. And not pedal crank. And no tires on the wheels. Other than that, everything was present and spray painted white. The chain securing it to the signpost was not painted; it just looked like it was made of stainless steel. Tied to the handlebar was a dirty, off-white bandana. At just about the same time, my daughter and I began to wonder if this might be some sort of gang sign. She even suggested that its presence might be some type of signal that a drug dealer was hanging out his shingle. The more I think about it, the less I am inclined to suppose that it’s some sort of guerrilla art. So, does anybody have any ideas? Any LEOs recognize this as gang behavior? FTR, the “gang” hypothesis would be consistent with the character of the neighborhood. ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2013, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-i-seeing-here-bicycle-chained-to-no-parking-sign/674035/2 "2013-11-16T02:52:55Z")
[Ghost bicycle](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_bike). > [@](#): > > A ghost bike or ghostcycle is a bicycle set up as a roadside memorial in a place where a cyclist has been killed or severely injured (usually by a motor vehicle). ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2013, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-i-seeing-here-bicycle-chained-to-no-parking-sign/674035/3 "2013-11-16T02:59:27Z")
Ah. Thanks much. ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2013, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-was-i-seeing-here-bicycle-chained-to-no-parking-sign/674035/4 "2013-11-16T05:31:57Z")
Don’t give up on the gang behavior theory. I vote Mystic Zombie Triad.