'Bike Rack Dibs' Is Simply Going Overboard

By Chuck Sudo in News on Feb 16, 2015 6:30PM

Update: The true sign you made a joke that worked is when someone takes it seriously. Still, this could be entirely plausible.

The whole concept behind dibs is asinine (and here's a reminder the current dibs threat level, now and always, is green).

But it takes a certain dickishness to do this.



Photo credit: Chicago Dubs/Tumblr

Claiming dibs on a bike rack is a new low, but it isn't new. Here is another case of "bike dibs" from last year.



Photo via Chicago Dibs/Tumblr

We can understand why a motorist who spent an hour digging out a parking spot would want to save their sweat equity. But a bike rack? One could sweep the area around a bike rack clean in a fraction of the time. And both the street and a bike rack—located on a sidewalk—are part of the public way.

What kind of "dibs justice" would be meted if a cyclist locked his or her bicycle on a rack spot someone cleared? Entomb the bike in ice until April? Let out the air in the tires? Take the saddle from the bike and use it to claim another bike dibs?

Bicyclists already have enough to deal with from motorists on the city streets who feel they shouldn't have to cede a few feet for pedal powered modes of transportation. Don't start arguing with each other over petty bullshit like digging out a bike rack.