I'll be turning up in ATL in just about 2 weeks (not sure on the date), and I might have to leave my bike out side, my girls a travel jurnalist and i will be unofficially tagging along she works for a luxury magazine so me dragging a bike through the lobby of the ritz might not go down well.
I want to bring my nice bike but i don't think i can cope with leaving it out side, its the first frame i ever built and couldn't bare to lose it, so do I bring the beater/ winter/ polo bike (binachi pista) and lock it up over night Krypto nyfagitaboutit chain, and on guard mini-d, or is there some kind of secure storage downtown? Is this all a bit daft, will the pista be gone by morning?
and any one got a loner for my girl (don't know if she even wants one, as it is a business trip for her) shes 5'10ish with shorter legs, and longer body, she rides a single speed round home (london), and can ride fixed with a brake.
Sorry if this is in the wrong place... move it about if thats your thing
can't lock everything
anything locked w/ a good lock (u-lock or thick chain) should be fine, but chances are, any parts not locked up will go missing (seat)....if you're staying at a place like the ritz, then I would challenge them to find a indoor place for your bike....parking garage?
.
never seen or heard about a stolen seat in atlanta
paranoia
i'm from steal every thing thats not locked down london, and i run Stolen Bike London so i have a un/healthy level of bike paranoia.
AWARD
PH, I'm awarding you the delta bravo award for 2008 early
I'll defend myself by saying why don't you ask twotone why he has his seat locked up, I believe the panda has his seat locked too.......so kiss my a$$ for always trying to belittle my comments
Put it in perspective Doger.
I'm +1'ing Paul. Two Tone and Panda probably both had Brooks.
So if you have a Brooks, protect your butt banana with your life.
If you have a some 20 dollar WTB with torn stitches... yeah, it's probably safe.
problem is
i cant make a fuss, because im not actually sopost to be there, they are giving my girl the room for free because she is going to write about it, they might not like me tagging along.
Her editor would not be happy if he got word of it.
Wax and ball bearing
Wax and ball bearing everything and lock up wheels and frame. You shouldn't have a problem on that block of Peachtree St.
this bike is not a pipe bomb
should i whip up some stickers to that effect?
I wouldn't recomment it
Don't joke about it. Unlike London, Atlanta has had lots of problems with terrorrism, like that attack on the... that thing... the building on the corner, you know the one... and that other thing that blew up... shit, someone help me here. Do you guys remember that last terrorist attack in Atl? You know, the big one?
Abortion Clinic, Gay Nightclub, and Atlanta Olympics bombings
It has been awhile...
http://www.emergency.com/atlnabmb.htm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4441239.stm
http://www.emergency.com/atlnabm2.htm
And the dude didn't have
And the dude didn't have caramel skin... so it really has been a while.
That's different
that is not terrorism, that's... ummm... the stuff the klan does.... it's aaaaahhhhh... what's the name of that thing again...?
Exactly.
Exactly.
UN's "academic consensus definition"
Terrorism is an anxiety-inspiring method of repeated violent action, employed by (semi-) clandestine individual, group or state actors, for idiosyncratic, criminal or political reasons, whereby — in contrast to assassination — the direct targets of violence are not the main targets. The immediate human victims of violence are generally chosen randomly (targets of opportunity) or selectively (representative or symbolic targets) from a target population, and serve as message generators. Threat- and violence-based communication processes between terrorist (organization), (imperiled) victims, and main targets are used to manipulate the main target (audience(s)), turning it into a target of terror, a target of demands, or a target of attention, depending on whether intimidation, coercion, or propaganda is primarily sought (Schmid, 1988).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Definition_of_terrorism#United_Nations
Now, what were you saying?
Tornadoes don't happen here too much, but sometimes....
Having said all that, I don't think Atlanta is high on the international terrorist list of targets--but I would't joke with the APD about it.
London is much better target.
What I am saying...
While the abortion clinic, Olympic Park, night club bombings were terrorism (I recognize that fact)... because Mr. Rudolph was an American and was not from a country with 'stan' at the end, nor did he have taste for long flowing galabeias... to most of middle America, he was no 'tear-ist' (just some dude who blew up some abortion clinics and 'fag bars').
While I will not say the 'R' word (because saying it sometimes causes people to believe they are being accused of it)... but I will imply that it still runs as a common vein in this so called "War on Terror".
Phew!
I am glad that I was wrong about the Klan because they do not use "an anxiety-inspiring method of repeated violent action, employed by (semi-) clandestine individual, group or state actors, for idiosyncratic, criminal or political reasons, whereby — in contrast to assassination — the direct targets of violence are not the main targets."
Downtown hotels = valet parking
I've parked in the garages of the Hiatt and the Marriott for whole weekends with no problem from staff or patrons and even valet parked at the Westin with no issue. Most of these places have a free luggage check in the motor lobby where they will take your bike and the staff is generally happy to help get your ride situated. Smile, be polite and watch the southern hospitality roll in. As for riding from place to place and locking up, a u-lock and periodic checks on your ride should be all you need.
+1. You will be in the cat
+1. You will be in the catbird seat for seeing Atlanta by bike. Have a great time.
I have rolled plenty of bikes into hotel rooms. If it's clean they don't care. And if it's not clean that's what the shower is for.
Bike theft here in Atlanta
Bike theft here in Atlanta is mostly the cause of the owner not being diligent in locking up their bike. You hear stories of bikes being ridden away when the owner popped into a store for "just a minute or two", or stories of dudes leaving their Madones unlocked on second story balconies and being surprised when they end up missing.
Parts theft is rare, but not unheard of. It's mostly the result of a bike being locked in the exact same place every night or being left locked in the same place for an extended period of time (ie. hipsters and such with a parts sweet tooth assume the bike is abandoned, so they steal your friggin' brake pads)
I've had no problems bike
I've had no problems bike parking at downtown hotels (only attempted at 2 different hotels, though). I just told them I couldn't find their bike rack, so where could I lock up? The valet or coat check or somebody squirrels it away somewhere, and brings it back upon request.
As for theft: in general your bike is safe if it's locked. as mentioned above, bike-part theft is not (yet) a big problem in atlanta.
Pay To Park (A Bike)?
This might be off the original point but... last Tuesday night I biked to hear jazz at Churchill Grounds. (Sublime straight-ahead stuff... ya'll check it out...) Upon getting to the district (Churchill Grounds is immediately contiguous to The Fox), I tried to park my bike at the parking garage across the street, the one that's associated with either The Georgian Terrace or the Hotel Indigo (or both). I have done so before in that garage w/no hassle (and no charge). This time, some business-like hotel security type came by while I was locking up. (On the point above, I always use two locks to be extra safe.) He asked where I was going. I told him. He walked over to the (hapless) parking attendant and gave her some not-within-earshot instructions. The (hapless but not altogether unpleasant) attendant then came over to me with a parking ticket in hand. (!) Perhaps I'm in the wrong here for wanting something for nothing. But they (Lanier Parking? Not sure...) actually wanted to charge me for locking my bike up in the garage. As I was leaving (to opt for other and less-costly arrangements) I was not in a huff, by any means. But the attendant must have been somewhat amused by the (momentarily) incredulous look on my face. (I was like... blink, blink... "wha?")
Here's my question. Was this "charge-'em-just-the-same" approach a) normal, or b) anomalous? Was I being a) naive, or b) was/is it in my rights to expect to park my bike up for free? (At the end of the day, there really is no such thing as a free lunch, after all...) I really haven't thought about this incident until reading this post. Curious what everyone thinks. MP
Private property...
Private property... so I think you were a bit naive to expect something for free.
That being said, full price? Come on. You can fit ten bikes in the spot one car takes up. IMO, a picture of Abe Lincoln should have been all that changed hands... then you have a safe bike being watched by an attendant... and the attendant has five dollars in his pocket.
In the deck at my office I have worked out an agreement with the deck management (it is run by Central, separate from building management, Ultima)... they now let me park my bike in the garage free of charge (and I don't have to leave it locked up to the lamp post out front). All it took was a quick conversation with the owner of the building (before trying to lock up).
Edit - But because the deck occupies the same plot as the building (it is subterranean), the deck falls under the city's ordinance that states for every 25 cars spots, you have to provision something like 5 bike spots (to a certain limit).
I know someone here has a link to the ordinance.
i wouldnt
i wouldnt pay to leave my bike in a garage, if im just going to the bar or the shops ill lock it up on the street for free. and i have head of lots of bikes going missing from "secure" car parks.
in denver you can rent a plastic and metal box down town for your bike, but looks like all you can lock it with is a pad lock. wouldn't consider it normally but under the circumstances wouldn't mind hiring one for the week that ill be in ATL if simalar is around.
You are a better man than I...
I would probably have let the parking attendant have it. Were you locking to a rack, sign post, what? Seems that if you weren't impeding cars parking, handicap ramps, etc., there should be no reason for anyone to tell you that you couldn't lock up there without proper signage posted telling you so.
I harken back to ckdake's rant about his Atlantic Station experience - totally ridiculous for parking attendants/security guards to tell you where to park your bike - public or private, so long as you aren't causing any problems (broadly defined). Chances are the owner of said parking deck has some sort of connection with the business which you were patroning. it sure would be a shame for him/her to lose your business. Maybe mention that to the person whose meager wages are connected to the success of that business.
...
i use zipcar if i ever need to drive anywhere, and a lot of those cars are kept in garages/lots where you have to pay to park. i have never ever been given a hard time for locking my bike up while i had the car out.
Everyone, everywhere is different.
Seems like it often depends on who's working on a particular day or who notices you first. I just started subbing at a new school a few weeks ago. Today was my second time riding in. The first time, nobody said a word about bring my ride inside with me and keeping it in the classroom. Today, because somebody else noticed, I caught a whole bunch of flack. I think the problem is that a lot of places don't have specific policies so authority figures make them up on the spot. In my case, many schools have bike racks but few of them are secured in place in any meaningful way. And none of them provide protection from the elements. I'm considering just bringing a cover with me. Anyway, most schools require students to lock up outside, which makes sense to me because there's potential for a bunch of neighborhood kids to ride to school and fill up a rack. But I don't think there's a specific policy for teachers riding to school. People simply expect adults to drive to work. Couple that with the general tendency for faculty, staff and students to treat subs like second class citizens and... well, I digress. My point is that a lot of times I think people getting flack for using bikes for transportation where ambiguous or non-existent rules and policies have left room for individuals to make a grab for a little extra authority.
Yeah dude, grow up!
Riding your bike to work? What are you, 12?
Yes.
The more I ride, the longer it will take before I look like a grown-up. It's kind of amazing when I meet non-cyclists that are my age but look so much older than I do. Pedaling keeps you young, for real.
Hear hear
I tell people that, unlike them, I get to play in the rain.
You look the age you act :)
Pedaling keeps you young, for real.
I tell people on the elevator (when I am going up to my office with my bike): where else do you get to act like a kid twice a day?
David, I agree about seeing people the same age as yourself and they act/move like old people. I am planning on biking to my funeral.
BTW: I think I saw you riding on Columbia/Commerce, going under the railroad bridge at E. College.
"(when I am going up to my
"(when I am going up to my office with my bike)" When I get a full time teaching job I am going to make sure I can get from outside to my classroom without being hassled by old-acting people who don't get it.
+1 for biking to my funeral. Pedicab hearse!
And you likely did see me this morning. I headed north through that intersection at about 7:25am. I've seen your bike go by on College on the back of a car a couple times.
Update
The bike rack they want me to use is not secured to anything at all. It's got three bikes in it and I can pick the whole thing up with one hand. Why are there so many unsecured bike racks out there anyway? Is there a whole different school of thought (perhaps one exclusive to non-cyclists...) that considers bike racks to be parking neatness facilities rather than parking security facilities?
unsecure
i wouldn't worry locking to a unsecured bike rack, my school of thought that gets me by is that thiefs are lazy: they're not going to come by with a full size, flat bed pick up truck with 3 of their bros, lift up the bike rack with all the bikes hanging on onto the flat bed, drive off to a secret bike theft ring where blow torches are ready to disassemble the bike rack and your u-lock at the same time. this can lead me to rant about what is a "secure" bike rack. give me a break.
I just always lock up my front wheel to my frame and include some kind of "post" with it and i'm still standing
also, expecting to bring your bike inside the school is a bit unreasonable if you ask me, think of the kids
"think of the kids"
The Humanity of it All! ;-p
If there is room to safely park his bike, I see no problem with David bringing his bike inside. I do it everyday, and have had many conversations with people about biking and commuting. I think it would make David a positive role model (at least as far as bike commuting goes).
More than the fact that
More than the fact that there's plenty of room to store a bike in a classroom, the thing that really steams me is that most people who initiate altercations with me about bringing my bike inside are somehow under the impression that my bicycle has a bigger impact on the cleanliness of the school than the thousands of teenage shoes that trample through those halls every day. I get asked things like, "Do you bring that thing into your own home?" I'll bet anything my tires are cleaner than the average kids sneaks.
sometimes i cut through an
sometimes i cut through an adjacent building which saves me an extra flight of stairs in my building.
One time recently, a guy started yelling at me from down the hall because I had my bike. He was immediately confrontational, and lots of yelling.
him: "You have to leave immediately."
me: "No problem, I'll go out that door right there"
him: "no! you have to go out the door you came in."
That's when I decided to have fun with him :-)
me: "oh, is it against the rules?"
him: "yes, it's against the rules."
me: "Georgia Tech rules? or specific to this building only? Can you show me where these rules are written?"
him: "it doesn't matter what the rules are!! you can't bring a bike in."
me: "Maybe fire codes?"
him: "Yes, you can't do it because of fire codes!"
me: "Actually, fire codes require that hallways and exits be kept clear. So you can't lock a bike in the hallway, but don't worry, I'll keep it in my lab in compliance with fire codes."
him: "It doesn't matter what the fire codes are!! you can't bring a bike in here...."
him: "you're not even carrying it ... might get the floor dirty"
me: "My tires are light blue. Can you show me any light blue scuffs anywhere on the floor?"
him: "it doesn't matter, you can't do that..."
After a while, I think even he recognized how ridiculous he was being. He was fighting a smile and laughter - yet he still refused to back down.
But I've never seen him since then :-)
think of the kids
running off with you bike. teens are idiots, i was one once.
Glad to hear a vote for
Glad to hear a vote for non-paranoia. But I think I'm more worried about bored, unsupervised kids than I am about bike thieves. Some kids, when left unsupervised will tamper with anything that's not bolted down whether it's theirs or not. Maybe nobody will roll up with a flat bed. But I could see a bored kid flipping the thing over, crushing/bending that substitute's ride because he actually expected students to follow directions. Probably more paranoia, but I've learned not to underestimate the destructive capabilities of an unsupervised kid.
You are right
You might argue that since drivers are allowed to lock their vehicles to prevent theft or tampering you would like the same courtesy by parking inside. See if the custodian can show you to a quiet, unused closet. Then you could settle the argument with, "But, xxx says there's plenty of available space..."
The four of us who ride in my office (yeah!) are fortunate to have a walk-in closet large enough for storage and use as a changing room. The building management doesn't like us on the passenger elevators, though, so we ride the freight lift to our floor. Great arrangement. I would not feel comfortable parking my bike on the street downtown.
GP.
Georgia Pacific has a great set up. We lock up at a bike rack inside the loading dock garage area (that has a security guard checking badges!) and walk right into an elevator to our lobby. No theft worries or hassles whatsoever.
downtown
i park my bike downtown every time i ride, at least once a week, no problems, crowds are good
"You might argue that since drivers are allowed to lock their vehicles to prevent theft or tampering you would like the same courtesy by parking inside." -->no sense to me, cars park outside
But D's. not happy about
But D's. not happy about parking outside, so give him a hall pass.
I don't need you to answer in public...
but are you picking this fight because you really think that kids would fuck with your bike (if the rack was bolted down they could still bend your rims, by the way);
or are you picking it because there is no rational reason why you should not be able to bring it inside?
I agree that people should act reasonably, but they don't always do so, particularly not in secondary education settings. Not sure about that one there being the good fight.
Worth a thinking through, perhaps.