Bike intolerance in the workplace!

[Slowpoke]

The unofficial policy at my present workplace seems to be that bikes may not be kept anywhere where people might see them. My boss also wants me to carry my bike within the building, lest it leave unsightly tire marks on the floor. At a previous workplace, I used to keep my bike in my office. One time, however, I forgot my key, so I left my bike propped in the hall while I went down a mere TWO FLOORS to get another. By the time I got downstairs, I was informed that someone upstairs had already called security to get rid of my bike! Sheesh. Any other stories?

[wigger thomas]

They just make fun of me and my bike.

I was in a public housing project yesterday and there was a NO BIKES sign. That really sucks .

[rockhound]

I keep mine right next to my desk, as do the other cyclists. :)

Everybody likes to come in and touch the bike though...

[hairygrump]

I keep mine in my office unless I'd rather lock it--if there's panniers on it, it gets in the way a bit. Pretty much the only thing anybody's ever asked of me is to not ride it down the halls anymore, which is pretty reasonable. Not that I don't still ride in the hall, but still.

Is there really no place for you to lock up outside?

[OTBSkinloss]

I'm more into work intolerance in the bike place.

[Spalls]

My office is pretty cool about it. A couple of us keep them in the dirt lab, another just locks hers out front. No real comments one way or the other.

[rockyrider]

This must be a government or bank office, no other work place would be so pissy about a bicycle.
The unofficial policy at my present workplace seems to be that bikes may not be kept anywhere where people might see them. My boss also wants me to carry my bike within the building, lest it leave unsightly tire marks on the floor. At a previous workplace, I used to keep my bike in my office. One time, however, I forgot my key, so I left my bike propped in the hall while I went down a mere TWO FLOORS to get another. By the time I got downstairs, I was informed that someone upstairs had already called security to get rid of my bike! Sheesh. Any other stories?

[Trailer Rails]

I guess I am pretty lucky that every place I have ever worked was Ok about bringing my bike inside. Most of thoes places were bike shops though.

[Trailer Rails]

Have you ever seen the commercial where the guy has a car cover that looks like an old beat up car?

You need a bike cover that looks like a book case. :D

[rockhound]

The unofficial policy at my present workplace seems to be that bikes may not be kept anywhere where people might see them. My boss also wants me to carry my bike within the building, lest it leave unsightly tire marks on the floor. At a previous workplace, I used to keep my bike in my office. One time, however, I forgot my key, so I left my bike propped in the hall while I went down a mere TWO FLOORS to get another. By the time I got downstairs, I was informed that someone upstairs had already called security to get rid of my bike! Sheesh. Any other stories?

This sounds like the kind of place where I would ride a new bike everyday (new as in drag any bike in that you found in the dumpster or whatever) just so they would have to keep impounding bike after bike.

If not, make your boss take his shoes off in your office.

[Slowpoke]

Is there really no place for you to lock up outside?Yes, there is, but it's easier and more thief-proof to bring it inside. That, plus it doesn't get a day's-worth of filth blowing into it.:)
This must be a government or bank office, no other work place would be so pissy about a bicycle.Actually I work at a TV station, in the CHUM group, no less! For all you non-Canadians, CHUM is a soon-to-change-hands network that prides itself on its stations being very hip, urban and street-level... Heck, you'd think they'd ASK us to prominently display our bikes! I suspect it has more to do with my boss than the network, though.

[rockyrider]

Yes, there is, but it's easier and more thief-proof to bring it inside. That, plus it doesn't get a day's-worth of filth blowing into it.:)
Actually I work at a TV station, in the CHUM group, no less! For all you non-Canadians, CHUM is a soon-to-change-hands network that prides itself on its stations being very hip, urban and street-level... Heck, you'd think they'd ASK us to prominently display our bikes! I suspect it has more to do with my boss than the network, though.Yes, A Channel and Much Music, you'd expect more from a group of stations with a hip, modern 'tude that spawned George Strombolopolis. Sounds like something you should take to the other media. :D :cool:

[RandomV]

I work in a factory that makes bolts for cars & trucks. They tolerate bikes, but just barely. Mostly because of the drunks that they tend to hire who can't get a license to drive any more.

We get one bike rack - a wheel-crusher that isn't even attached to the ground. I lock to a rail around back.

[Softsoap]

Get this - I work for an eco friendly organisation that makes us travel around the UK using public transport (unless justified otherwise!) even in remote, strange or dodgy areas! They have even recently introduced a tax friendly "buy a bike to ride to work" scheme as well.

So why have a very secure basement with brand new cycle racks that they fitted that none of us can have a key to? Apparently it is a security issue to hand out these expensive electronic keys (so basically cost is the concern!)

Therefore, I lock my bike to a handrail in the basement lobby - just outside the door to the secure area! I then remove front wheel as well just in case.

Even wierder is that our MD is a biker - in fact he has been off work for over a month having fractured his collar bone whilst riding!

The funny thing is the cycle racks are too narrow for modern tyres so I cant use them anyway!? I am running Maxxis High Roller semi slicks at 2.3". Obviously manufacturers havent caught up with the times.

[robcycle]

On the floor where I work in a hospital, the attitude is cool toward bikes. Most people on the floor are twenty-somethings that live less than two miles from work in a hip, residential section of the city. Several of us ride to work, and most of the rest see the wisdom in not paying for gas or parking, especially when 1. it takes longer to drive, park, and walk. 2. you have to pay $3/day to park (or $65/month if you want to park in a deck). 3. by the time you walk up the rediculous hill to work, you're sweaty anyway. So yeah, most of the people on the floor are cool with riding bikes to work. My Nurse Manager even said we could lock our bikes up in the locker room. Unfortunately, one morning I ran into the head of plant operations. He told me that I had better not let epidemioloy see me in the hospital with "that bicycle". Later that day I ran into him and his head flunky. He gave me the same line, and his Bman asked me how clean my bicycle was. My response was that it was about as clean as the bottom of his shoes. They agreed, and we haven't brought it up since. I don't park inside anymore, but my co-workers do. I lock up outside under an awning, and its all cool. :cool:

-Rob.

[davkatreb]

Bman asked me how clean my bicycle was. My response was that it was about as clean as the bottom of his shoes.
Well f*cking DUH!!! Please tell me the dude was joking. I mean, nobody could be that stupid, right?

[nogearshere]

bike intolerance or bike ignorance? i mean a bicycle is something kids play with and people with suspended licenses HAVE to use.

'automobile as a synonym for transportation...' there is an article called "Car-Head" in MOMENTUM (http://www.momentumplanet.ca) issue #28...online HERE Page 26/27 (http://www.momentumplanet.ca/files/momentum28.pdf) in PDF or pages 24/25 in print.

[robcycle]

Well f*cking DUH!!! Please tell me the dude was joking. I mean, nobody could be that stupid, right?

Nope. I'm pretty sure he was just riffin' off of what his boss had said and not giving it much thought. Oh well, I'll ride around him at the stoplight.
:rolleyes:

-Rob.

[Tman]

My new job comes complete with an upstairs bathroom (converted old house) and a boss that encourages me to use it as a locker room............of course bike parts ship out of the lower level but the main focus is the mortgage business.

Contrast to the last bike shop I worked at where the boss thought of commuting as getting in the way of work and never liked our bikes in the back room.......he even built the shop with a shower but it became storeage....................wtf?

[Hand/of/Midas]

my work is cool enough that a shower is in progress for bike comuters. and they even let me keep all 7 of my bikes there for extended times. oh yea, its a bike shop.

[bafc23]

When I first moved to LA, I'd ride from the loft I was crashing at in downtown to work in Hollywood. At first everyone thought I was a bike courier. Nope, just the new freelance producer, but thanks for the incognito disguise label (no one really bugs you about budgets if they think you're a package mule). Then they'd say funny things like 'how cute, you brought your bike in your car to ride over from the parking lot" (which was 1 block away from the office). errr, no I don't have a car, I ride in every day. "But don't you live downtown?" and then they'd either decide I was lying or crazy or both. Whatever, at least they let me roll the damn thing inside and park it by my desk. Now, I'm the boss of my own company and I ride in as often as I can. We offer incentives to our employee's if they ride to work and encourage some of our clients to join us on rides. At the moment, we're trying to figure out how we can stage office goldsprints and connect a generator to the rollers so that we can create our own power source for the esspresso machine and the fax.

[dave66]

First off I should say Ottawa is a very bike friendly city -parking, bike lanes, well maintained paths, but the office complex i am in is among the most backward i have ever seen.
I have not felt the need to bring my bike to my desk for quite some time [do people get to take their cars to their desk?] so it isn't even that. 3 buildings - bike rack at building 1, single shower for 3 7 storey towers in the building farthest away [also 2 car parking garages between the racks and the shower]. Little difficult, but ok.
No place to store cycling clothes - 4 lockers total which you are not allowed to use for the day.
but the kicker was the day they game my bike a parking ticket for locking it to a post close to the showers!
but when i step back, if those are my biggest grievances, life is good.

[tryandgetme]

I guess it's pretty volentary paying that parking ticket eh? what with no manditory registration system for bikes...

[dave66]

lets just say that parking ticket was filed where it belongs....

[davkatreb]

[do people get to take their cars to their desk?]
Don't know about over there in Canuckistan, but here in The Land of the Free, it's a hell of a lot easier to cut a lock and just walk off with a bike than it is to steal a car.

[LeeMcGough]

yup, stealing a bike is pretty easy. that's why i lock my bike to my desk at work. i used to just lean it against my desk, until i came out of the washroom one day and was buzzed by a coworker doing a catwalk on my 24" bmx. i didn't care that he was riding it per se, but i walk the bike through the plant so no one can say,"' you can't bring that in here" citing safety concerns.

[tryandgetme]

I saw a cordless angle grinder at princess auto the other day for pretty cheap, and I thought "crap, now I can cut through a u-lock in a few seconds".

[davkatreb]

I saw a cordless angle grinder at princess auto the other day for pretty cheap, and I thought "crap, now I can cut through a u-lock in a few seconds".
Egg-zactly!

[dave66]

Over the years of bike commuting in ottawa [20 and counting] i have managed to downgrade my commuters to the less than 200 bucks variety. keep 'em dirty but functioning, and they are pretty safe. while it is nice to have a beautiful rig to ride to and from work, i find this far more practical.
Keep the hock shop value less than that of a hit and you should be ok.
I can barely find a place where it is acceptable to hang up my stinky gear, let alone park my rig inside.

[rockhound]

Egg-zactly!

I thought it was Ed Zachary, as in Ed Zachary disease...

[pinerider]

I park my bike in my boss's office, when he does show up it's usually a "what the hell is this doing in my office?" so I move it until he leaves.
He's supposed to be here once a week, shows up about every 6 weeks or so. There are other places to put it, but his office is close to my desk and out of the way.

At our big hq building, we have new outside bike storage lockers for about 8 bikes, even though only one person uses them.

[justageek]

Hey BAFC- can i get a job?!?!?!?! Lemme know!
-Matt