Amani576

But, on a serious note. See what management says. If anything, you may need to suck it up and use the cage. If anything, maybe use a bike cover or make your own and make it look like a pile of trash so as not to attract suspicion. And maybe if you wait long enough management will forget/change and you can then go back to your previous ways.
-Gene-

squirtdad

OT....but you might want to get your HR department/recruiter to look or post in San Jose area. I know of a number of people wiht PL/SQL and oracle skills who are looking....... a lot of this type work has been offshored.

jeffpoulin

I wonder how they'd feel about a wheelchair. Seriously.

Lawrence, a few more questions:

Is the bike cage private (one bike per cage), or is it a shared cage for all bikes?

Does the building management have security patrolling the building?

If so, can they help keep an eye on your bike?

Can you slip in/out of your office without being noticed by building management?

If yes, what about building a cabinet for your office (you said it's spacious). Park the bike inside the cabinet, so to any building inspector, it's simply a cabinet.

jbman100

My company is actually going to build an outside enclosed space for bike parking. It will be big enough for 12 bikes to be locked up in racks and 20 bikes total. Access will be controlled by a card reader and mag locks. There is already two pan tilt zoom cameras that cover the area and a stationary one will be placed inside.

EKW in DC

Couldn't help but be reminded of the following:

Sir Bedivere: Um, l-look, if we built this large wooden badger-- [twong]
All: Run away! Run away!

akohekohe

Well, I also commute on a Moulton and I also work in a building that doesn't allow bicycles. I got around it by giving the custodial staff a large tip for Christmas but I've given the problem some thought. Moulton does carry what they call a travel envelope, essentially a bag that you can put the separated frame into or you can find a suitable bag yourself. I suggest keeping the bag in the bike cage. Then when you ride in separate the frame and put it in the bag and then carry the bag into the office. I don't see how they can object to the bicycle in a bag and you don't even have to tell them what is in the bag.

lawrencehare

Jeff, I thought the same. I have seen strollers with kids in them, wheelchairs, the trailers and devices UPS and FedEx use, and the facilities staff themselves bang trolleys and carts around. I have seen them jammed in elevator doors to stop anyone else grabbing the thing.

The bike cage is one big cage for everyone - Everyone who uses it is at the mercy of ONE person forgetting to lock up properly.

Everyone has a copy of the same key - another security risk.

Security patrols the parking lot BELOW the public lot where the bike cage is located - this could be changed I would think.

Yes indeed - one can slip in and out. We have video of a guy wandering the offices on the floor above in the early hours a month or so back, breaking into offices and walking off with laptops. Maybe they have figured out how he got in by now - great big metal brackets have appeared on the stairwell doors - but the security here is questionable.

I would not be able to build a cabinet for my office, but a case containing the bike split in two - akihekohe - would certainly work. Pain in the rear - but workable. What Moulton do you ride? I have yet to meet another Moultoneer here in Washington DC, many who comment tell me how cute my folding bike is! Snort!! I have met a handful of folks who recognized the brand, most do not.

woodway

I don't see the big deal. Lock it in the cage. Get some insurance. If it gets stolen, get a new one. Sure its a pain to have your bike stolen, but not the end of the world and not likely to happen all that often, right?

jeffpoulin

Moultons are not the kind of bikes you can just pick up at the local bike shop. They're rare and owners are sentimentally attached to them. Having one stolen would be like having a pet stolen. Sure, you can get another, but it's not the same animal.

Now, if it were a Trek or Specialized, that would be different....

sauerwald

Buy the cheapest van you can find, park it in the garage and use it as a bike locker.

Todzilla

Is there a green initiative in your organization? or an alternative commuting program?

If so, get the policy makers of that program buy in to the idea that the organization should do everything to encourage environmentally sound commuting alternatives to single person carbon based vehicles.

Then, you can let the committees battle it out.

longbeachgary

I didn't read the other responses but does your company have a carpool coordinator? Some companies are required to reduce the number of cars on the road with incentives for employees to carpool, take public transportation and bicycle to work. In CA some employees are given monetary incentives if they do. Contact your coordinator and see what he/she can do.

nwmtnbkr

Buy a Bike Friday Tikit and a bag for it. When you get to your building, fold the Tikit, put it in the bag and just carry the bag into your office. If you get a Tikit, you may find you like it better. If you have a handlebar-mounted bag, you can easily fold it for use as a shopping cart.

whitecat

"Bikes and animals" - that statement IS stupid as it sounds, and whoever wrote that rule must have not been the brightest bulb. So you now have to deal with that. As for me, if I had parking in my office for two years, I would continue to bring it in. It's not their property, and they are not the ones paying for it, so you have a right to have it secured if you can spare the room and if it doesn't get in anyone's way. If they don't like it, they know where they can go and stick it. That's pure bs they are spewing, if you bike is not obstructing anything, there is no reason it should stay outside and get stolen. Yes, I would be pissed in your place, and I would let them know I am pissed - if they keep bs-ing, I would probably say to them to stick it and pack up and move on.

Greyryder

"bikes and animals" Now, I'm reminded of Gleaming the Cube, when Christian Slater's character was told he couldn't bring his skateboard into the house, anymore: "What are you worried about? It's not gonna piss on the carpet!"

First, I'd talk to management, to see if they can actually be reasoned with. If not, I'd get the most secure locks you can for the bike, and hand in the receipts to accounting, for reimbursement. The extra expense is being caused your work, I see no reason they shouldn't pay for it.

mrleft2000

This sounds strikingly similar to the office my company use to be at before we moved. Are you next to the Braddock Place metro stop? Building managed by ING real estate? Parking garage managed by Marc Park?

The only part of the story I don't get is the "public" part of the garage. If I recall correctly, pretty much all garages in that area are underground, gated and required monthly card holders. I'm not sure how often you used your garage and if you might not have taken notice, but my building had a garage door that would lower when it got dark. Are you really worried about theft by passing vagrants or your fellow coworkers/building tenants?

genec

Do they offer the same compensation for motorists parking in the same garage... I doubt it. Therefore getting such an agreement for a bike will be near impossible.

exile

Work within the system for now, but try to get your point across to the powers that be. Maybe a better lock or different types of locks would work better if you have to park it in the cage. Take off all accessories and maybe a wheel if you can (and/or seat) and bring it inside when you have to work. It would probably be a pain to reattach but hopefully wouldn't take more than a few minutes at most. Also maybe tip building security to do extra trips around that area.

gerv 

Very impressive! That guy is on his way home with his groceries before I get my bike locked up at the rack.

lawrencehare

Well folks, thanks, good stuff. So now I have a plan - below...

mrleft2000, it is an unusual setup. There are FIVE garage entryways anf FOUR distinct parking garages. The one that goes down to the bottom two main office parking floors is guarded, patrolled and costs $130 (I think, something like that) a month, you need an RFID tag to get in and out. I pay this monthly for the car.

Then, our office building is on a single city block but consists of TWO mirrored building divided in the middle. The ground floor consists of stores and small shops. The middle back of the building has a drive that goes into a small parking lot which is actually under the front of the building, the ground sloping down from front to rear the back of the building is actually one floor below the front. This parking lot serves Trader Joe, which is a grocery store at the back and I guess the other stores. This parking is also guarded and one pays, or gets a ticket validated, for an hour or two free parking.

Then, on EACH side at the half way mark, entered from the side, is a small public garage for two hour free parking, again for the stores. It competes with the Trader Joes' lot. The whole setup is quite odd! Facing the rear of the building, looking along the driveway into the Trader Joes' lot, the LEFT public lot, which is a story above you, has the bike cage in it, in a corner, dark and lonely. These two small lots are unguarded, not patrolled and entry and exit is simply drive in and out.

The main office garage has a bar that goes up when it recognizes the RFID tag, it goes down when the car has passed. There is a small booth with a guard in it and you can also pay to park here. The guy in the booth will occasionally wander around looking at cars, smoking a cigarette and generally looking forlorn - but it does keep the place occupied. The place is clean and well lit. One can walk into the garage at any time and squeeze around the bar, there is no door. There is another entry to the office garage on the other side of the building, this is unguarded and just has the bar device and an RFID reader.

I have read the rules and two are of interest:

1) No animals, bicycle or vehicles allowed in the building
2) The management reserves the right to create exceptions to any rule

So I want an exception (already requested) based on the fact that the bike cage has no bike rack that I can use as my wheel are 21" and there is no fixed object I can lock the bike to. And the bike represents a significant investment and I feel that the bike cage is insecure and the lock would be easily broken. I have noted that were the rack to be updated so I could use it, and if the lights are improved and some form of surveillance provided I would feel more comfortable.

My plan is to energetically pursue a solution which will allow me to keep the bike in the office. If that fails I will purchase a bike cover, which I have seen for around $20, and use the Sheldon Brown lock strategy. I am sure that the building management will tell me that the cage is a Use At You Own Risk and that the building management Accepts No Liability - same as for the patrolled and guarded parking. I will check insurance.

And hope...

Cheers - and thanks,

Lawrence

Folding-Bikes

We are talking about a MOULTON, once of the most iconic bikes, with the an amazing ride quality, you cant compare it to a Tikit.

Best of luck Lawrence!

tulip

Lawrence, I know that building quite well. There are at least two environmentally-inclined businesses that operate in that building. It would seem that there would be other bike commuters who work at these companies. I used to work for one of them (before they moved to that building) and there were at least three regular bike commuters and several intermittent ones. It's important for these companies to have green commuting available because much of their business these days focuses on green projects.

You should contact the other employees of your company and the other companies in the building and find out how many bike commuters there are, and how many would commute by bike if better bike parking facilities were provided. And talk to the brass of the environmental companies--they want to be seen as being environmentally-friendly! Alexandria is all goo-goo over being bike-friendly, so you could also go to the city and see what kind of carrots or sticks they have for businesses operating there. Enough pressure from building tenants and the city might make the building management see the light. And everyone would benefit because I bet there would be others who would commute by bike. --you're three blocks from the Mt. Vernon Trail, one of the most-used MUPs in the area (that has many well-used MUPs) and is used very heavily by bike commuters.

Strength in numbers, man. Let us know how it turns out.

no1mad 

Idea if all things fail and you don't get your way about parking in your office- several posters have mentioned a security camera, whether it be real or fake. Why not a webcam with a direct feed to your office?

AndrewP

Put your Moulton in a sack when you get to work, and dont open it to show anyone what is inside unless they have a search warrant signed and sealed by a judge. You are carrying a bag of personal belongings into the building, ask to see a copy of their regulations forbidding personal belongings into the building.

CliftonGK1

The major problem with that: The guy's office is located between two government facilities (Welfare and Parole office) and you're suggesting he cause a security hassle over inspection of an oversized, bulky duffel bag.

That's a security beatdown waiting to happen.