Bring the bike in with you,it's no bigger than a stroller or shopping cart.....and it doesn't scream or run up on the back of other shoppers legs.

If they won't let me,I shop elsewhere.

If I MUST go in,park where you/everybody can see it,try to keep it out of other peoples way,don't lock it to a city sign(some cities frown on that).......take a good look at it,it could be the last time you see it!

I frequently shop in the Hillcrest district of San Diego where there are no laws, merely suggestions. Dogs, cats, rabbits, weasels, birds, you name it, are allowed inside food handling establishments and grocery stores. Aside from the often chaotic conditions on the streets here that result from drivers routinely ignoring traffic control devices, pedestrians jaywalking, and salmoning bike riders who also ignore said traffic control devices, businesses here allow customers to bring their bikes inside. One recent exception is the local Ace Hardware store. They allow entire menageries inside, routinely blocking aisles and tangling hapless customers with retractable leashes, but now have decided to exclude bicycles. Recently a friend who was unaware of the sudden change in policy was barred from bringing his Colnago into the store. He hadn't brought a lock with him and so stowed the bike outside the front door between some planters. Less than a minute later he came out with his purchase to find his bike gone, even though he had loosened the quick releases and disconnected the brakes. Two days later he found it on CraigsList, assembled a posse comitatus, met the seller, and strongarmed the bike back while threatening to call the cops and report the seller for receiving stolen property. He was lucky this time.

It was a joke, but it's also one of my most brilliant stupid ideas, now that I've thought of it.

This. WHen I first started doing this I was surprised at all the places I could bring my bike without anyone saying anything.

If there is no bike rack, a lot of the time I bring the bike with me into the store. If someone challenges me, I simply explain that I will happily lock up, but there is no place to do so. If they insist I cannot have the bicycle in there, I take the bike out. And leave. Interestingly, I've never been told to take the bike out. I've taken it in to grocery stores, electronics stores, pharmacies, and when someone remarks that the bike should stay outside, simply stating that there is no place to lock up usually backs them off.

At the grocery store near my home, they finally did install a bike rack. This as a couple months after a short conversation with the store manager (not a confrontation, just a remark by her about the bike, and a remark by me about lack of a bike rack).

I wonder if this could work at my job

You're kidding...right?

Yep, 5 second solution.

2 seconds to just cut the frame and leave the lock on the wheel.

I like it!

ive had this happen to me more than once at more than one establishment, and i shop there regularly but i come in a car.
the one time i come in with a bike on a quick break at work or something they give me a problem, so i propose to them where should i lock it, and they give me an attitude and they say "outside!"

so i left both stores visibly aggrivated and never went back to either one, i think im gonna start calling this place ***hole island

my passive-aggressive line: "i'm sorry. i saw there's a parking lot with several dozen/hundred places for parking a car, but i was unable to find a single place for parking a bike. if you can show me where the bike-parking is, i'd be happy to use it."

if they give me the "not my problem" routine, then i just note their name and let them know that i'll be advising their supervisor that they're chasing away would-be customers on bikes... have a nice day

Good etiquette :
Hanging a sign on your bike that reads
Bad etiquette:
Hanging a sign on your bike that reads:

Best etiquette :
Hanging a sign on your bike that reads

I approve

Whoever did that should get a raise.

acidfast, while espousing one's culture is awesome, none of your posts I have come across fails to mention or reference the fact you live in Europe. kinda gets old.

My understanding is he is a bitter expat yank. He reminds me of a friends sister who has lived in Europe for years and one year happened to be visiting just in time for my superbowl party. She spent 3.5 hours talking about American's love of violence, sexism, consumerism (my favorite was her ranting and raving for an hour after a Mach 3 razor commercial came on about how only Americans would need so many blades to shave). It's like "WE GET IT, you live in Europe, you are so enlightened. Now STFU and get out of my house."

If a wheelchair cant get by, you're being a jerk. That's pretty much it.

Sorry, I'll tone it down for you guys.

Sorry, I'll tone it down.

But, I have to ask, why do you think that I come across as bitter? One could argue that I feel like I wasted time and should've moved earlier. But, I can't think of anything that makes sense otherwise. I have absolutely nothing to be bitter about. When one has varied life experiences they tend to remember the best parts of each segment, I have good memories of both places. However, I really struggle to think of any cycling-based component that I enjoyed in the states and I even worked at a bike shop when I was younger. Like your sister, I also don't understand why people need >1 blade to shave, especially those that are wasteful and don't get recycled, but I digress.

I just noted this in your sig "19.02.2013". Sigh..acidfast is beyond rescue.

Some good stereotypes can be found here (I usually find the ones making fun of Europe to be of much better quality):

https://www.google.de/search?q=the+m...w=1221&bih=679

Good advice.

People that have a hard time laughing at themselves have absolutely NO sense of humor Either that ... or they're Canadian!

i do love the armpit hair, overstyled, crooked narrow yellow teeth, and horrible looking British actor stereotypes because they're quite true

canadians are a unique breed

I have in-laws that were born in Poland, Germany, Italy, a few that are French Canadian and a couple that are just idiots! Not to mention the wife is from Colombia. I'm not sure what 'Canadian' means any more!

Probably why the country is so pacifist - any war would be the equivalent of squabbling with relatives - except for the US of course. And we already beat THEM