lack of Bike Racks (for parking/locking to)
 

Just need to vent.:mad:

I'm amazed that in a city of 1 million people where I live that there is no where to lock your bike up when you go anywhere. I went to 2 shopping malls and nary a place in site. Same downtown. If you want to lock your bike you have to lock it to a tree, street sign, park bench etc. Doesn't do much good to promote conservation when there's a good chance your ride will be gone when you get back. :(

Last year when I was living in Missouri I ran into the same situation a lot. I didn't have a car at the time, so I biked everywhere, but even at work (at a mall-attached store) there were no bike racks.
Well, there were bike racks halfway across the mall...still, one of the restaurants got pissed at me for locking up to their decorative metal fence outside.
Not exactly bike friendly.

One of the nice things about California is that they are much more bike friendly. Not every place has bike racks, but most places do. That and I haven't had to use my air horn in months. Air horn usage was an everyday thing in the midwest. As well as cursing, screaming, one-fingered gestures...

I've gotten quite a few Lances in CA, but after I grunged up a bit even those stopped. Californians want nothing to do with poor, grungy, and practical. I had a dude ask me if I wanted to buy some random stuffed bears because he needed money for food so I gave him a bag of pretzels from my lunch. He gave me one of the dirtiest looks I've ever gotten.

I tried to give a panhandler a bunch of apples while fueling up in Needles (middle of the desert). His response occasionally haunts me still

The first part is what bothers me... wtf does that even mean?

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Bike racks in the greater Orlando area have been pretty good where I go... Even McDonald's has it's own rack :)

I tend to go frequently by bike to the big, new Canadian Tire store to buy my car junk. They didn't have a bike rack at first, so I left a letter for the manager telling him how much money I spent there in a typical year. They added a rack not long after. Maybe connected, maybe not. I can't say because I didn't get a letter back.