I need to upgrade my locking system, but at the moment here it is:
I'm not sure if it could get more basic. The benefit of the long narrow cable is that it, being about 7 feet long, feeds through both of my pannier bag handles AND my front and rear wheels AND whatever post or pipe I'm locking to. The cost? The cable ties need only a pliers to loosen up. Somehow I've gotten away with this easy to hack assemblage..
I can't say too much about cycling in Hartford, CT, but in my brief stay here (Monday-Tuesday) I located only one bike shop in the center of town and they don't rent bikes. A fellow Connecticut bike blogger indicated there are no bikes for rent in his state. Oh my! This is a sizable disappointment, as I endeavor to cycle in every city I go to. I watched several pedalers moving around during the morning rush hour here. I had hoped to be one of them, even if awkwardly scrying safe pathways through traffic lanes I don't know well.
In short, all I can offer about cycling in Hartford is my modified photo of two neglected bikes chained to a tree in the center of town:
My mindset about temperature is shifting. Now temperatures in the 40s seem like nice weather for a ride, and that being the case this afternoon I took the opportunity to run some errands via bike. My ride to the local big box stores, which are nestled within a quagmire of parking and limited pedestrian space, was uneventful but purposeful: new ink cartridges for the printer and a gift from the bookstore.
Locking up was tricky since neither a bike rack nor any solid anchored beam were available. My two options were a small standpipe tucked close to a wall and a gas meter. I chose the former thinking a gas emergency would lead to my bike being chopped by a fireman's hydraulic cutting tool. You'd think that a bike rack amid so many book purchasers is a no brainer. It was an issue I needed to press inside.
When I entered the bookstore I asked an employee if they could arrange for a bike rack out front.
Me: So, do you think you could get a bike rack out there?
Him: There were demands for a pedestrian ramp at the entrance, but the management company wouldn't even provide that for wheelchairs...
Me: Couldn't you prompt the mall property owner?
Him: I don't think we have any sway overal mall people...
Alas, what was I thinking? Why would an entity renting 40,000 square feet have any sway over mall people? It's more important to sweep a sidewalk without a bike rack impeding the broom pusher, or access for the disabled hindering traffic. And besides that mall, people rely on cars. Nonetheless, perhaps a call to the mall property manager is in order! Surely they will consider an artistic bike rack.
