In the post-apocalyptic dunescape of the off-season Playa, Black Rock Community Transit tallied 2,000 bicycles abandoned by the Burner class of 2014. Way to leave no trace, Burners!
A bit of quick math leads to the following conclusion: Some 2,000 attendees were so turnt up that they transcended their bikes. Here’s the Facebook post:
The numbers are officially in... After the 2014 Burning Man clean up was completed, we collected ~2,000 abandoned bikes on playa. Approximately 200 of those were Huffy Cranbrooks, which we can turn into Yellow Bikes next year. That means we were left to clean up ~1,800 bikes. Please share this photo & spread the word that abandoned bikes are MOOP! And if you want to donate your Huffy Cranbrook to the community fleet, consider dropping it off at our camp, instead of leaving it in deep playa.
"MOOP," a Burning Man acronym for "matter out of place," is a term not to be taken lightly. But ever-resourceful Facebook commenters are already suggesting a number of solutions, from a registration process for bikes in future years, to distributing bikes to communities with pressing transportation needs, to constructing an installation for Burning Man 2015. For the latter proposal, many burner artists have already volunteered their services.
People of the playa: next year, please pack in, pack out.
Previously: 'My Vacation Is Your Worst Nightmare': Burning Man 2014 Photos And Videos
Dragons, Mushrooms, Zebras, Oh My: The Art Cars Of Burning Man 2014 [Video]