David Byrne Raises Cycling Rack to an Art Form

David Byrne is an installation artist, author, blogger, recording executive, photographer, film director and PowerPoint enthusiast.

He's even been known to dabble in music.

But in certain New York neighborhoods he may be most visible as a bicycle rider, a lanky figure pedaling around the Lower East Side, or from Bay Ridge out to Coney Island in Brooklyn or up to the Bronx Museum of the Arts.

In recent years his interest in bicycles has expanded from riding them to thinking seriously about the role they play in urban life, as he has started making connections with politicians and international design consultants keen to keep cars from taking over the city.

So when the Department of Transportation asked him to help judge a design competition for the city's new bike racks, he eagerly agreed - so eagerly, in fact, that he sent in his own designs as well.