Regarding the bike rack: I had already tried the dodgy ropes and cams set-up. Mrs. Galat declared it unacceptable, and she was right. She cannot lift her bike past about 2 ft off the ground, which does precisely nothing to get them out of the way. The ropes-'n-pulleys looked like an accident waiting to happen (and as you know, if there's a way to maim myself or break things, I tend to find it).
Aside from living with it (which really isn't such a bad alternative), this was the only real way.
My 30 y/o son saw it and remarked that it is a distillation of everything that is right and wrong with his father in one device.