That is how it's supposed to work. Unfortunately that won't make a dent in the grand scheme of things: Cyclists are few and far between.

On an individual basis it may work if you happen to be in a field where you may be much more highly valued than you're paid. You may then find your boss or his boss in the HR department telling them that you'll be happy or they'll be finding new jobs.

It's such a ridiculously cheap thing to argue over. I bet they spend twice the cost of a bike rack every week on your salary. Heck, your desk chair may cost more than a bike rack and the Ford Pinto you'd drive instead will certainly look worse outside the building. I would guess that they're saying no because that's their default answer for everything.

No win situation. Employers do not have to give an inch these days. Only "key employees" might be able to exert leverage on the employer. What is the name of your company? I want to make sure that I never do business with them.

If they gave me a bonus I think I'd just save most and get bike stuff with the rest. Maybe they'd give me more next year since this bonus wasn't enough to get me in a car bonus

Of course I work for a company where I had to bring in my own office chair, keyboard and mouse because I didn't want some torn up, stained, uncomfortable, malfunctioning crap. I offered to pay all costs to put in a bike rack and I got denied

I'm serious, I'd be tempted into building and installing my own rack somewhere on the property.
Put it on the opposite side of the building from where the boss parks.

Some other rack info here.

https://www.portlandonline.com/transp...=58409&c=34813

To the OP - I don't think getting this done has anything to do with the cost of the racks or your company's "attitude" toward cyclists. Your "company" (which is really just a collection of individuals and an owner, either local or remote) probably doesn't even have an attitude/policy toward cyclists if it's never come up.

I *do* think that this has everything to do with "how things get done" at your employer. Every workplace has a way of getting things done. To get this done, you need to figure out how things get accomplished.

There are 4 potential avenues for you:
- Talk to your immediate supervistor, ask him/her, how would this get done here?
- Talk to HR, position this as an employee benefit.
- Talk to whoever manages your facility (which dept/person is responsible for building maintenance/upgrades)
- Go straight to the top (risky, but could work).

Companies make these decisions in lots of different ways (owner decides; "it's policy"; total whim; employee committees; total based on available $). Your task is to figure out how decisions like this get make at your company and then work the system.

Some considerations - has your company been cutting back/laying off people? Cutting budgets? Cutting benefits? If so, someone coming along (even with a well reasoned argument) to spend more money would not be well received. On the other hand, if you're expanding, thriving, throwing off cash and the parking lot is running out of room for cars - you're in better shape.

Good luck.

They do. It's called a paycheck. Since when does any company owe you a ride to work? That's ALWAYS been the employee's responsibility. HTFU.

Wow, those are pretty cool. Gives me an idea for a rack at home.

I talk to people for a living, and I have a hard time believing that you can't work something out. You just need to talk to the right people.

Don't go to HR -- they are the worst. Rule-bound, unbending. Definitely last resort.

Don't use e-mail. Talk. Phone if you have to, better in person.

Never be a jerk. Never. It doesn't work.

Keep a positive attititude. Let me repeat -- keep a positive attitude. -- talk about how much you have enjoyed riding to work -- miles spent on the bike, weight lost, nature scenes enjoyed, etc. Make it a great thing -- make other people jealous. You want to make people want to share in your pleasure and success.

Talk to the right person -- and then when that person responds with interest, and they very likely will, work in the bit about leaving the bike outside. Take it from there.

Don't press the issue -- work the issue. Be nice, be positive, be engaging. You'll get there.

There's also the "it's for medical reasons" route, which someone told me that they took once in a bike-unfriendly building. This guy had started biking to work to lose weight after his doctor told him that he was basically a walking heart-attack waiting to happen. His office building was in Northern VA, right next to a nice trail that went from his home to his office. But the building had no place for parking a bike (granted, there were plenty of parking spaces for cars). He asked to bring his bike inside, but was told that he could not. So, he got a note from his doctor stating that he was to bike to work each day for medical reasons and should be provided with the necessary accommodations to make this happen (which really wasn't a big deal, as he had a large office with plenty of space). Lo and behold, the company immediately gave him permission to bring the bike inside (no one wants and ADA lawsuit brought against them). He told me that within 6 months he lost close to 40 pounds, just from biking to work each day. I imagine that he probably saved his company a ton of money in health care expenses.

Here's the chair the company provided me:


It retails for $849 and over 250 were purchased for the department... now how can I be so selfish and expect the company to also supply me with a bike rack?

This is such an interesting topic that I looked up some info from your area.
These are PDF's ... check the requirements at the bottom of part 2.

https://www.louisvilleky.gov/NR/rdonl...Appendix9A.pdf

https://www.louisvilleky.gov/NR/rdonl...P02March06.pdf

Yeah, I agree. My employer is a supplier to a GM facility and there are several entrances to the plant once one is past the security guard check-point. My particular entrance is at the end of a long(about 200 ft)covered catwalk about 25-30ft wide w/rails. When the weather was warmer I locked my bike to the rails near the door...maybe 25 ft away. When the weather changed I simply found a place inside that was out of the way and started to lock my bike there. Again very close to the door, but off to the side so as not to have the bike be a 'trip-hazzard'. The mistake the OP made was even asking in the first place. Every 'static' job I've had in the last 20 years of cycle commuting I've never 'asked' where I could park my bike inside...I just did it. If there was an issue I was ALWAYS given an INSIDE alternative. Whether it was a janitorial closet or 'low traffic' area.
One employer asked re the bike being wet and I replied I kept a towel at work specifically for the purpose of wiping down my bike in wet weather. That mollified him and I was able to continue to park inside.

A 100 person place of employment is pretty big...I'd scope out the most unobtrusive place in the area and simply begin to park my bike there w/o even mentioning it. Everyone will assume permission has been granted and probably not even question it being there.

Sometimes, in trying to 'do things in the socially acceptable manner' one ends up screwing oneself. It's better to be assertive bordering on insubordination when trying to find suitable indoor storage for one's bike in the workplace. When one calls attention to the situation it gives management or security an opportunity to say 'No'. Which they will do in most cases simply because they can. That's been MY experience, anyway.

It's called a livable wage. They demand you to come into work in a car; they should pay you for such. Or let you arrive in the manner you choose.. The company does not owe you a car.. I mostly agree. Federal minimum wages are supposed to gauge our needs for modest living.. You should take a gander at workers in the maquiladoras in Tijuana, Mexico .. They have your exact same attitude.. No need for parking lots there. But, even there they help arrange company buses to get workers to work, since they don't pay a livable wage.

I never asked if I could bring my bike inside at work either. I just brought it in on my first week working there, walked into my department, moved the copy machine about 2 feet down the wall & stuck my bike in the corner. No one ever said anything to me & I put it there everyday.
Sometimes not asking permission makes people not even realize it's an issue. Bring up something like "where should I put my bike?" to the wrong person & it's likely they will say "nowhere, it's gotta stay outside"...if for no other reason but to push their weight around. people can be like that sometimes.

I say just find a low-key spot & put your bike there & see what happens...it's worth a shot. If they ask you to move it, ask for a detailed explanation why. It's likely they won't have one, especially if the spot you choose for your bike is out of the way.

My last employer was like yours OP. I lived in the fatest state in the country and my employer supported that. Nobody rode a bike to work and there was 900 people in my building. What I had to do was appeal to their business sense. I showed them how installing a $1500 bike rack could actually save them money.

My idea was that by just having me ride to work, I could potentially save them enough money to pay for the rack in one year by reducing the average health care expenses and sick days that a typical employee incurred. If more people followed suit, it could actually save them money. This was highly received and the rack was installed the very next week.

My immediate boss commutes with me 3 times a week.

Our immediate superior is a hard core cycle tourist.

2 of the guys on the other side of the building are roadies and sometimes they ride to work.

I had to rub it in

Good luck with your employer.

Not worth arguing with the management. It sounds like you have found a solution that works for you. Just continue to ride your bike, do what you have to do to keep it secure. Then one day when you move to a new employer, in your exit interview, you can say "I'm leaving because the new company offers better benefits, higher pay, and they have a bike rack"

One of our local high schools has a welding teacher that will have students build you a decent bike rack for the cost of the materials (square steel tubing, welding rods, marine-quality paint or powder-coating, etc.). Some of the welds might not be that pretty, but the racks are always square and level, and if anything, over-built. The 4-6 bike units usually come in under $200, if you pick it up and install it yourself.

You can definitely find cheaper ones online, but your company can also get some publicity supporting local school projects in the process. It makes some of the fuddy-duddys that sign the checks for such things feel better about paying for a bike rack sometimes.

Lots of other options available to you, though. One place here in town, simply sank rather thick and threaded galvanized steel u-bolts directly into the sidewalk next to one side of a building (filled gaps around the threaded u-bolt rods with epoxy). For a while, there was just one lone u-bolt, but eventually people put in 5-6 others along that same wall. The bikes leaned against the wall, and you lock your bike to the u-bolts. That is SUPER cheap, and it works.

As others have said, you could always get a job in a city or state (California comes to mind) that requires companies with more than a dozen or so employees to have a bike rack to keep their business license. Good luck!

Then find a better job. If you're not qualified, get qualified (education, etc.)

I guess my employer just let me know they are supporting cycle commuting... they just said that I don't have a parking spot anymore! Paid parking will not be included in the new lease agreement. It's not a big deal to me, other than they are slowly taking away every single "perk" an employee could have. Oh well, now on the days when I drove my car to work, because I needed it for business reasons (drive to a meeting, haul a computer, etc.), I'll just ride my bike. And when it's time to go to the meeting, I'll just ask them to rent me a car (or, I'll be more than willing to take the bus... it should only take 45-50 minutes each way... but only a ten minute drive.)

It won't be long until they tell me I can't bring my bicycle into the office.

Losing perks is better than getting laid off. Times are tough; you gotta realize that management is doing what they can to ensure companies survive the downturn. That said, a more liberal bicycle policy doesn't cost much. Virtually all buildings have a storage room or unused office that can be used for bike storage. Scout the building; there's gotta be some unused space available.

That would be one way. I propose a modified version:

1. Keep riding bike
2. Buy suburban or old van - cheapest, oldest, crappiest available.
3. Park car in company-sponsored parking space
4. Remove engine and hood.
5. Plant flowers in area vacated by engine block.
6. Weld enormous loop of ship-anchor chain to chassis.
7. Ride bike to work each day, u-lock bike to anchor chain.

If they insist you use a parking space, do so.

Yeah, it's been suggested on other threads that people buy old broken vans for a hundred bucks and have them towed to a parking spot at work, then lock their bike in the van, using it as a bike locker.

I might try to add that suggestion to our bike master plan.

You mostly agree! This is unbelievable. Employers aren't there to provide you with things like transporation. The role of businesses is to produce goods and services for the public to buy. They operate in a competitive environment which includes attracting and retaining employees. They pay, and provide benefits, to employees based on what the marketplace dictates. If they pay higher than market rates, they will not be profitable and competitive.