Talking Head Designs Bike Rack

"They were simple shapes to define different neighborhoods around the city: a dollar sign for Wall Street; an electric guitar for Williamsburg, Brooklyn; a car - "The Jersey" - for the area near the Lincoln Tunnel. "I said, ‘Well, this disqualifies me as a judge,' " he recalled, "but I just doodled them out and sent them in." He figured maybe they'd be used to decorate the contest Web site, nycityracks.wordpress.com.

Instead, much as when George W. Bush asked Dick Cheney to find him a vice president, Mr. Byrne ended up landing the job for which he was leading the search team. Well, almost: the competition for new standard racks is still on, but on Friday nine racks made from his own whimsical designs were installed around the city. 'They immediately responded, saying, 'If you can get these made, we'll put them through,'' he recalled. 'I was kind of shocked.'"