So I can't commute to work anymore....
 

I'm an engineering intern and I recently started to commute to work. I've fallen in love with it. Everyday when I get in to work, I store my bike in the coat room (since no one wears coats in July) and I clean up and start work. However, today my supervisor told me that a factory worker complained to management that I was putting my bike in the coat room. The factory worker complained because he thought that I was breaking the rules by putting my bike in the unused coat room and that I was doing something that he couldn't get away with. There is a bike rack outside, but in my time here, I have never seen a bike parked there, and I've talked to people who have been working for the company for over a decade and they said that they have never seen a bike there. So why not leave the bike outside? Well the thing is, I built this bike last summer and I've grown very attached to it. If something happened to it, it would just be very sad for me (and also my wallet).

The thing that really confuses me is why the factory worker complained. He has nothing to gain! It just disturbs me that someone would go out of their way and spend their time and energy to take things away from others. Am I technically not allowed to store a bike in the coat room? Yes. Am I technically in the wrong? Yes. But the fact that no one commutes to my work by bike (except for me) and the fact that I was not harming anything really upsets me. The most wrong anyone did in this situation was cause trouble for others when they themselves had nothing to gain. Anyways that's my rant. Hope you all have better luck than I do. Ride On.

Get a lock, lock it up and ride...

Like I said, I'm concerned about something happening to my bike outside. I know I'm being paranoid, but it's my bike and I believe I should be able to store it in the coat room if it's not affecting anyone (which it isn't)

So get a folding bike and store it under your desk. Good, let it out over here where we can feel your pain. I've never heard anything like this. We allow bikes in our work office but then again bikes are common in this area.

Have you actually spoken to the factory worker about this? Maybe management is making things up in order to keep your bike out? I'm just saying to look at it from a different angle. The again rules are rules.

With any hope they can make an exception for your case. Keep us posted.

So your an engineering intern and a factory worker complained? It may just be a case of someone feeling like it's unfair and has to do with privelage, maybe the worker was assigned closet cleaning duty, maybe someone jumped his case a year ago for storing something in there. If you really want to know, ask politely. If you're really worried about this bike, get a cheap used one and ride it, or get a couple of locks and lock it up, or ask to store it in your work space, or ask if there is anywhere in the factory where it could be stored..... floor managers and workers often know where the knooks and crannies are.

I'm sorry you'll be walking to work or taking public transportation (since a place not safe for a locked bike during daylight hours probably isn't safe for a locked car either).

Well, as I see it you have a few options.

-You could pick up a 'beater' on craigslist.
-You could buy some anti-theft skewers, a chain, u-lock, whatever you need to feel comfortable leaving your bike outside.
-You could buy a folding bike.
-You could give up bike commuting.

If it was me, I would either pick up a beater bike, or just deal with locking the bike outside. With good locks, the risk of theft is probably minimal. I lock my bike outside everyday.

If you can't put in the coat room, can you take it to your desk/cubicle? I'm the only person in my office that does that, but nobody's complained yet.

You freely admit to technically being in the wrong- then get bent out of shape when someone calls you on it? Sheez...

Seriously, making use of an otherwise unused space to provide you secure, indoor parking makes sense to a bunch of people here. But the solution will be either invest in another bike (as you are concerned about your precious) or just live with locking up yours to that rack.

Kinda overselling this, aren't you? Ease up on the hyperbole a little.
You can still commute to work. No one is stopping you. They have only just spotted you on their radar, that's all, and are now tossing out roadblocks.

GO talk to somebody, it might do some good. Use your gut instinct as to whom. You never know if you don't try.
Pursue whatever avenues you have with it, short of coming off as an obnoxious, spoiled intern. Use good judgement and do the right thing. As a prerequisite, read something by Lou Holtz.

But if none of this helps, suck it up and keep the bike outside. Get or make a cover of some sort, if you think that is needed. Do what it takes to achieve your purpose and don't whine about it.

Life is a ***** sometimes... and people sometimes suck.
Consider this training for the real world of work to come.

Above all else, smile and never let 'em know they've gotten to you. Take that to the bank.

I understand its bothering you, but it's really no concern of yours "why" this employee ratted you out. Have you asked your supervisor if there's another space indoors where you can store your bike? Let him or her know you're concerned about theft from the outside bike rack, and, if no indoors alternative exists, ask if there are any security cameras aimed at the rack (not that it'll necessarily do a great deal of practical good to catch a thief on tape).

If yours isn't a high-crime area, I do think you're being paranoid about locking the bicycle outdoors.

So you like your bike too much to use it for its intended purpose? Ok, it is now no longer a piece of sporting equipment; it is an artifact. Shine it up and put it in a glass case. Then go get a bicycle that you *don't* like as much and ride it to work and lock it to the rack.

KeS

Here's an idea. Two locks - one heavy duty one in your office. One lightish one for your bike. Ride to work with the light one, lock it up, go in your office and get the good one and lock it up. Two locks = peace of mind.

Also, get like 40 coats and make the coat room obnoxiously full.

skeletons in the closet... there must be some history long before you started for the employee to make a fuss. whatever the story, bottom line is you have those options left.
being an engineer, i'm surprised that you aren't trying to figure out a better way to solve this little puzzle.

you want to bike to work.
you want to ride your nice bike.
you can park your bike outside on a bike rack that is otherwise unused by all staff.
you can't park it inside a communal coat room.

options?
is there a utility room in the factory?
is there a locked compound area?
can you park it in your office/desk if you asked your boss?
would the bike lock be secure enough?
are there other bike commuters at the company that may share your same concerns, and have stopped commuting because of the same problems?
is there a bike alternative such as a folding bike?
could a dual lock (or even more) provide a reasonable level of security?
can you enlist support from an Environmental officer with your company that could give you some added clout to your cause for better bike security?
can you buy the rat who finked a beer and get the low down?
is being too happy when you bike in make everyone else too envious?

I'm not the biggest fan of the facility that the university at which I work provides for me to lock my bike, but I use it because even though I have several places on the floor where I work that I could store the bike, it would upset some people. Even though several thousand people walk past my bike every day, I've never had an issue, even when leaving my lights and bags on the bike.

When my bike was new I didn't want to let it out of my sight. If I was riding a $4000 wunderbike, I wouldn't want it out of my sight, so I understand your desire for some sense of security, but company policy is company policy. Either follow that policy or find another company. Alternatively, a beater bike, a Craigslist special, can be found for $200, even around here. I wouldn't ride a bike to work, or in a major city for that matter, that would cause me significant hardship if I lost.

The worst situations arise from simple misunderstandings and grow because of poor communication. Maybe the fellow who reported you had been written up for something last week, maybe he is the shop safety officer, maybe he had a bug up his butt, but whatever the reason, he is right according to the company policy and you are wrong. If called to the carpet, explain why you were using the room to store your bike and talk about the potential inadequacies of the existing bike facility. Maybe some good can come of the situation, but it's more important to have the job (unless you have a trust fund you're not telling us about) than it is to fight this battle.

Get yourself a cheap bicycle raincover from Performance, Nashbar, Bikepartsusa, etc. and a good u-lock that can be left attached to the bike rack. Then ride as you normally do. Make sure you've always got room for the bike cover and raingear in your panniers. Assuming you use panniers. If not invest in a set. And coat them w/Thompson's Watersealer...a triple coating w/a brush. Pay special attention to the seams. And still wrap clothing in plastic shopping or kitchen trash bags.

In a similar circumstance I appealed to the shift supervisor who said it could be stored inside as long as it wasn't a 'trip hazzard'. It was kept in the 'work station' breakroom. No one complained. Good luck.

Blue collar guys can be resentful of white collar guys for no good reason. Heck, politics seeps into every facet of the work enviornment. Factory workers have dreams like anyone else that are often thwarted by any number of circumtances. When they see someone doing something out of the box it threatens the 'status quo' in their minds and makes them feel insecure and diminished. The dude's jealous...jealous of your youth, jealous of your education, jealous of the freedom your bicycle represents. He's being a PITA for no other reason than but that he can. He's sad and pathetic.

Cover and lock your bike to the rack and go about the business of completing a successful internship. Let him have this battle. He lost the war years ago.

More importantly, have you taken him out behind the shop with 18 inches of chain and a padlock to explain to him that he's annoying the wrong person?

Yes you can.

Speaking as a "factory worker", generally we care less about what office does and we care less for engineers, I am going to bet it was someone in the office that said something.

The company invested in a bike rack. Use it. Buy a nice heavy chain(like one of the Kryptonite New York chains) and leave it locked to the rack. Lock your bike up outside and be happy your company has provided a rack for your use. Plenty of bike commuters aren't that lucky.

For what it's worth all that's really happened is an issue has been brought forward.

Nobody wears coats in July but what happens in October when people start wearing coats and want to store them in the coat room? You end up in exactly the same position you are now but with minimal options to appeal it as a temporary measure.

There's no way of knowing why the person who complained did it. Perhaps he asked to store a bike there and was told he couldn't and then saw you were ignoring the rules he was bound by.

The trouble with that argument is that sooner or later all the rules go out of the window. Should you be allowed to bring your partner into work for a quick bit of rumpy pumpy in the coat room in your lunch break? It's not going to affect anyone else so why not? What about using it for some bike mechanics, maybe leaving a bunch of your tools in there overnight? It might seem heavy-handed to deny use of a facility that isn't being used but a situation where one individual can figure "nobody else is using it so I'll lay claim to it" rapidly turns to chaos.


As to how to solve it, you've had a few good suggestions and they basically boil down to finding somewhere else to store your bike, finding another bike, finding another job, or finding another way to get to your current job. You get to pick which one you'll explore first.

He's an Intern. He'll be out by August.

+1.
You sure are easily defeated.
If you really do want to commute by bike then a couple of good options have been mentioned by SouthFLpix:
I use both options... right now my folder is parked next to me under my desk.

You CAN commute to work, but you choose not to. If you could afford to build an expensive custom bike, you can afford to buy a $250 bike off of Craigslist. If you knew how to build yourself an expensive custom bike, you know how to make the $250 bike perfectly serviceable for commuting. Ride the $250 bike to work, enjoy the custom bike on the weekends and get over it.

Don in Austin

This is the dumbest thread on the forums. While you're at it, buy a Porsche 911 and only drive it 3 weekends out of the year on perfect sunny Saturdays.


Get a lock for your prized bicycle, get a beater bike on CL for 75 bucks, or drive your car.