Taking your bike in a shop due to cr*p cycle parking.

[Blue Hills]

Oh yes. It would be perfect if it were within view of anything remotely sensible like the entrance to the shop, the trolley bay or the car park. Instead it is a sort of indent in the rear corner of the building next to a main road and an electricity substation. I will grant you that I've never had a problem there, and quite often there is a bike or two parked there, but I'm ... wary. I usually lock my bike to something at the front of the shop which is highly visible from the other few shops there and the car-park.

lucky you knitty - my local lidl has a single stand, nowt to do with Lidl, just on the street - rare that I don't find someone else there and have to be careful not to lock their bike.

 

[slowmotion]

Most of the corner shops round here don't mind a bike being stashed by the fridge cabinet for a few seconds. The big Tesco used to let me park it behind the security guy's station but that changed. The Sainsbury's Local is very bike friendly. I just put it around the back of the bank machine . Surprisingly, the cosmetics demonstrators at Boots let me park my bike behind one of their counters. It wasn't because of my dashing good looks and I'm not a bulk buyer of lippy either.

 

[KnittyNorah]

Your opportunity to start a U3A Cycling Group (if there isn't one already)

There is one already but I might think about starting one for people who only want to/are able to ride much shorter distances and more slowly, and/or are a bit wary about going on actual roads for more than a very short distance. I know a huge heap of local - and further afield - routes and they will be very inclusive as I no longer drive, so those who don't drive will be more than welcome too.

 

[HLaB]

I've took my better bike pre covid into the larger minimarket type convenience stores and have never been challenged it might help that I carry rather than wheel the bike around.

 

[steveindenmark]

I am a Brompton owner and find it ridiculous that some Brompton owners think that when they buy a Brompton. They also buy the rights to take it into any building in the world. They get so indignant about it, they come across as entitled pratts. When you suggest they put it in a dimpa bag and put it in the trolley the indignation goes to a higher scale as the Brompton is not designed for that. My view is that it is their shop, their rules. I am an invited guest. I have never been refused entry. I do not use cycle parking. That would be like putting your bike in a shop window. Shops do not have to provide cycle parking. But I can always find a quiet place to wire it up. If you cant then you are not trying. With regards to mobility scooter. By law, they cannot be refused, but bikes can. The security are doing their job. The fact that some people dont like it because they are not getting their way, says more about them than the security. If you dont like it, dont whinge. Just shop somewhere else. The shop will not mind. In fact they will probably appreciate it. One guy with a bike will not put them out of business.

 

[Blue Hills]

I am a Brompton owner and find it ridiculous that some Brompton owners think that when they buy a Brompton. They also buy the rights to take it into any building in the world. They get so indignant about it, they come across as entitled pratts. When you suggest they put it in a dimpa bag and put it in the trolley the indignation goes to a higher scale as the Brompton is not designed for that. My view is that it is their shop, their rules. I am an invited guest. I have never been refused entry. I do not use cycle parking. That would be like putting your bike in a shop window. Shops do not have to provide cycle parking. But I can always find a quiet place to wire it up. If you cant then you are not trying. With regards to mobility scooter. By law, they cannot be refused, but bikes can. The security are doing their job. The fact that some people dont like it because they are not getting their way, says more about them than the security. If you dont like it, dont whinge. Just shop somewhere else. The shop will not mind. In fact they will probably appreciate it. One guy with a bike will not put them out of business.

bit strong steve.
I stress that I avoid putting my brommie in the shopping trolley - hygiene issues - there is usually a space underneath where you can put it,

 

[Ming the Merciless]

bit strong steve.
I stress that I avoid putting my brommie in the shopping trolley - hygiene issues - there is usually a space underneath where you can put it,

To be fair many parents put their kids in shopping trolleys which is a bigger hygiene issue

 

[ColinJ]

Is the Lidl handy space you mention a proper place with Sheffield racks and provided by Lidl?
I only know one Lidl that provides its own bike racks

Todmorden's original Lidl store had a bike-sized gap between the trolley bay and the wall of the building. I used to squeeze my bike in there and lock it to the bay's metalwork.

A much bigger store was then built. While it was under construction I looked at the plans in the planning application. There was supposed to be a bike stand. They didn't bother including one! I wrote a letter to the council pointing out that Lidl had breached the planning terms...

Well, I haven't yet had an official message from the council that the missing bike parking at the new Lidl in Todmorden has been dealt with, but I discovered yesterday that it finally HAS been, 6 months after my complaint!

View attachment 462534
Good:

• The stands are simple but effective.
• Room for 11 bikes, which is more bikes than I have ever seen at one time at Lidl in Todmorden. (12 if someone uses the far side of stand #6, but that would risk their bike being damaged by a careless driver parking where the black car is.)

Not so good:

• The stands ideally should have been put where that campervan is about to park. The bikes would then be visible from within the store. I tried checking and could only see my bike from the far side of the store, by the entrance. Everywhere else, it was hidden by the black car. Bike thieves would be less likely to be spotted in the current location than in full view from the store, and where much of the 'footfall' is. (Admittedly, there is a car parking area round to the left of the building as I was facing it. I suppose we should grateful that the bike stands have not been tucked away round there, completely out of sight!)
• They are uncovered. I'm not too fussed about that because I avoid cycling to the shops in the rain, but it would have been nice if they had spent a little more and covered them.

Anyway, at least the stands are there now.

[Whispers ... Most of the time, I am able to lock my bike to a hoop protecting a lamppost next to the trolley park opposite the store entrance. That is nearer the entrance and more public (and therefore more secure) than the new stands so I will carry on using it unless one of the other locals has beaten me to it. ]

 

[fossyant]

I sadly am a tenacious sod and and if you can go round in a bl**dy great mobility scooter or a triple buggy then I can push a bike round! I have a bike stand so no problem.

Our Aldi actually has bike parking by the front door. That said, I've never seen any mobility scooters in the store as getting to the store is a bit tricky, as it's down a steep hill and the access route isn't flat.

 

[fossyant]

To be fair many parents put their kids in shopping trolleys which is a bigger hygiene issue

Or the old people who pick up every item of fruit and veg, man handle it, then put it back ! Grrrr

 

[yello]

Never had that extreme of security, but, in France and Italy, have several times been asked by checkout staff to see inside my backpack

It was common enough practice a few years back at one supermarket (in my part of France) and used to annoy the heck out of my wife, but now you come to mention it, these days it does seem more relaxed and I don't recall it happening for a good while.

I remember back in the wake of the 2015 Paris bombs etc, shop security was hot on searching bags etc. One particular hardware store was zealous about it and always insisted on searching my 'man purse' thingy. It's understood within the context though I did ponder whether it might be possible to make a bomb from things on the shelves of a hardware store!

 

[Dogtrousers]

The only shop that has objected to me taking my Brompton inside was Evans Cycles.
They didn't actually refuse me entry but said rather bitterly "we've provided bike racks outside, why can't you use them?".
I didn't respond, I just carried on looking for an inner tube or whatever thingy it was I was after.

I think their main motivation was that it was hammering down with rain, and by taking the bike inside I had increased the amount of drippage onto their floor.

 

[Blue Hills]

To be fair many parents put their kids in shopping trolleys which is a bigger hygiene issue

true - with their shoes that have walked through god knows what.
But I don't think I should do the same.
Don't intend to be lead astray by families.

 

[Blue Hills]

The only shop that has objected to me taking my Brompton inside was Evans Cycles.
They didn't actually refuse me entry but said rather bitterly "we've provided bike racks outside, why can't you use them?".
I didn't respond, I just carried on looking for an inner tube or whatever thingy it was I was after.

I think their main motivation was that it was hammering down with rain, and by taking the bike inside I had increased the amount of drippage onto their floor.

I would walk straight out of any bikeshop that wouldn't let me go in with a bike. Have resisted calls from Evans in the past to put my bike in one of their wheelbenders just inside the front door.
I don't really go in Evans these days anyway - no need of.
Decathlons let you walk around with a bike.

 

[vickster]

If I'm shopping, I always have a pannier/bag, if I have a bag, I have a D or Bordo lock, never been especially concerned about locking up outside any supermarket around here (and there are LOTS of supermarkets, I reckon at least 10 within a mile or so).
I choose other shopping/stopping locations based on the availability of Sheffield stands, a sturdy railing or the correct sized signpost for the lock I happen to have...
I have been known to take bike into a corner shop if dropping off a parcel say but now there are more drop off lockers around, less of an issue