In case your lunar calendar is off, Halloween is only days away. Whatever your plans, don't leave your bike home all day, alone and naked. Give it a costume, and invite it along.
We've got a few great tips on how to dress up your bike with stuff you've probably got lying around. In a single afternoon you can get into the macabre spirit and get your recycling out of the way. That's a special day.
Wheel Discs: You'll need two large squares of cardboard, scissors, zip ties and paint.
Trace the interior diameter of your wheel onto two sheets of cardboard and cut them out. Carve out openings around the hub and make 6 to 8 pairs of holes, about 2" from the perimeter. Decorate with paint, markers, stickers or whatever you prefer. Once ready, remove the front wheel and attach with zip ties. Pro tip: Install all zip ties loosely before tightening uniformly.
Main Triangle Mask: You'll need a piece of cardboard, scissors, zip ties and paint.
Lay your bike over the cardboard and trace the interior dimensions of your main triangle. Use those borders to create whatever image you want. For quick and easy, just cut out the whole triangle and paint on your image. For extra candy, cut out your design. When ready, use zip ties or string to affix the piece to your frame, just as you did with the wheel covers.
Paper Ghosts: You'll need string, a hollow weight, scissors and paper towels.
If you skipped school the week of Halloween every year 1st - 5th grade, read on: Start with a washer, nut, or any small weight with a hole, and tie it to a length of line. Thread the line through a balled up paper towel so it hangs around the weight. Cover with another sheet, twist the head and tie.
If you can handle the fright factor, draw on some eyes and a mouth. Dangle from your seat, bars, or top tube and watch them haunt in the breeze. Pro Tip: It is highly reccommened you make an oooooooh sound while you ride.
Haunted Streamers: You'll need scissors, a spent inner tube and zip ties or rubber bands.
With a few minutes of shredding you can have home made streamers. We used an old bicycle innertube for a more gothic look, but plastic shopping bags of various colors work just as well. Shred the tube into thin strips and tie one end. If you can, insert the knot behind your bar ends, if you can't, just use a rubber band or tape to temporarily hang them from your bars.
And So On: There are of course endless possibilities with simple stuff laying around the house. If you have access to any 9 year olds, contract them for help. Their energy and creativity are boundless, and they'll often work for Snickers Minis. If not, splatter blood on everything and you'll likely be fine. Edit: Fake blood, splatter fake blood.