The Stray Bikes of UNCW

The best time to visit UNCW is Sunday morning when it’s practically a ghost town. The students are in slumberland, most employees are off, and the buildings are mute. It’s peaceful to wander around campus thinking what a buzz of activity it usually is.

The bicycles always get me, though. They’re parked at nearly every building, at odd angles, sometimes in a heap of metal, but most dutifully locked to a bike rack. Some are late models and look like they cost thousands of dollars, while others appear old, rusted and abandoned. Where are the owners, I wonder? Did they forget where they parked, like some octegenarian Alzheimer’s patient? Or do they say: “I know. I’ll leave my bike by Trask Coliseum and pick it up at the next basketball game.” Maybe this is some sort of share-a-ride program, and EVERYONE has keys to all the locks.

Anyway, this photo essay is courtesy of a curious wanderer.