Sturgis, South Dakota, USA

Defining Main Street: The Pizza Shop. Even without a full-scale restaurant, most Main Streets will proudly proffer a pizza shop. This one must max out its potential during the Sturgis Bike Rally. But, do you think the breakfast buffet is all-you-can-eat pizza? [2019]

Trieste, Italy

Some education will soon be going on here. There's a tot that is learning to ride a bike. See the training wheels? In Europe, it's a skill that lasts a lifetime. In the United States, it's a skill that is given up after a driver's license is issued and a car purchased. [2008]

Muzaffarnagar, India

Muzaffarnagar is a name that does not settle well onto Anglophone ears, nor easily lodge in the Anglophone mind. Yet, it is one of the most important interstitial cities of the Gangetic Plain. It is located about half way between New Delhi and the famed and fabled city of Dehradun in the Himalayan foothills. On the way north is the pilgrimage city of Haridwar. [2011]

Norfolk, Virginia, USA

Tonight will be a busy one for Santa. He must take flight at jet speed to make his way around the entire world. That means he will be leaving his ersatz reindeer (see the antlers and red nose?) behind in favor of the real Rudolph and his team. [2020]

Sturgis, South Dakota, USA

If you live in Pennsylvania, Sturgis means pretzels. If you live in the Dakotas, Sturgis means bike rally. In fact, when most people think of Sturgis in late summer, they picture scenes like this. But, all year, the town authorities do their best to keep the rally juices flowing. With local pride on the hillside, the brand is affirmed. [2019]

Quenemo, Kansas, USA

Some people still go to the post office to collect their mail. Others get it delivered to their homes, a service that was at one time available only in cities. As you travel, observe the variation in post office architecture. There is perhaps no other category of public building that exhibits such diversity: from small and shabby to large and showy. [2021]

Jeffersonville, Indiana, USA

If steam could power trains, it could power boats as well. It could turn the paddlewheels and keep the Ohio River humming with activity, particularly as it flowed by Louisville and its cross-river neighbor, Jeffersonville. "Jeff" for short, at least recently. In the past, we used to call it "J-ville." [2022]

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Covid Behaviors: Wait outside. This scene was repeated on city streets everywhere. Cramped restaurant space was used to order take-away sustenance, but people waited for their order outside, where they shared sidewalk space with cycles and routine pedestrian flows. [2021]

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Do you recognize these as green coconuts? Inside each husk is a brown nut lined with coconut meat and filled with coconut water. The latter requires no processing other than a puncture which reaches to the inner cavity. Coconut water, consumed right out of the husk, is a popular street beverage throughout Southeast Asia. [2016]

Quebec City, Quebec, Canada

How many uses can you think of for a lamp post? (1) Providing illumination, obviously. (2) Holding up pole banners. (3) Anchoring bike racks. But, certainly, the list does not stop there. How might you apply these concepts to a lamp post? Aesthetic enrichment, audio entertainment, advice dispensation, attention catching, aides memories. [2018]

Portsmouth, England, UK

Does America have the will to learn from the rest of the world? Every restaurant and coffee shop needs a few tables outside. If the sidewalks are not wide enough, take a few feet from the motorways! In fact, take another foot so there is space for bike racks. But, you know Americans: They are hot-house tomatoes. [2011]

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Starbucks is headquartered in Seattle. Using the distance decay model, predict the first foreign country into which Starbucks expanded. Using the same model, predict the city. Today, Starbucks does business in 83 countries. Strike that: 82 countries. Thanks, Starbucks, for pulling out of Russia! [2010]

Sturgis, South Dakota, USA

February is all about the number two, and 2/22 is a palindrome too! What do we put in bottles? Libations for bikers who pass through Sturgis for the annual bike rally. By the way, does what we said earlier this month about a flat roof seems to apply here? Be sure to see tomorrow's post. [2019]

Celebration, Florida, USA

February is all about the number two, and 2/22 is a palindrome too! It may be time to celebrate our street signs and let them help sell the places where we live. How would you evaluate the design? the color? the font? the emblem? the cartouche? How would you evaluate the street names themselves? Be sure to see tomorrow's post. [2017]

Burlingame, Kansas, USA

February is all about the number two, and 2/22 is a palindrome too! No one should have to tolerate a flat roof. Do something with it! Let it help you sell motorcycles and contribute to your branding efforts. Be sure to see tomorrow's post. [2021]

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Forwards = Backwards: A palindrome reads the same forwards and backwards. That goes for numbers as well as words. Look at today's date. It's a six-digit palindrome: 12-22-21. It's not the first palindrome this month, not even the first six-digit palindrome. Remember: 12-11-21, 12-9-21, 12-8-21, 12-7-21, 12-6-21, 12-5-21, 12-4-21, 12-3-21, 12-2-21, 12-1-21? [2021]

Hinton, West Virginia, USA

November expires today. The plates on this pickup expired June 30, 1949. Welcome to a time warp, where you can plop down in The Market and become part of a national historic landmark. That's because, decades ago, Hinton's entire downtown was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. [2021]

Quebec City, Quebec, Canada

Odds and Evens, Ones and Twos, Singles and Doubles, Which one be You? Here is one man looking for one ride. It's what we call a one-to-one relationship. The setting: Upper Town in Quebec City. [2018]

Boulder City, Nevada, USA

If school hasn't begun yet, it begins today: the day after Labor Day, the first day of fall. When these men were young scholars, almost half the U.S. population rode bikes to school. Today, it's less than 10%. Shame on US. Let's hope federal infrastructure funds are used to make it safe and convenient for all students within a mile of school to walk or cycle. [2019]

Changhua, Taiwan

One of the most impressive gates in Taiwan leads on to the Great Buddha statue and temple, which occupy Mount Baghua, the highest point in Changhua. The entire site is a 20th century creation that appeals to tourists but, more importantly, provides a point of pride for the Taiwanese themselves. [2012]