Conference noted::bicycle

    (1)	We were one of the first tenants of MKO1... the plant mgr.
	wouldn't allow my bike in because it "posed a safety hazard,"
	as in blocking the hallways, I suppose.  He eventually went
	out and bought the MK bike-racks you see today.

    (2)	In Reading DECpark, they have bike-racks with little roofs
	which partially protect against the frequent showers and
	occasional bird droppings.  Security would not allow me to
	bring my bike in because it "posed a safety hazard" - ...and
	now it would be just about impossible, because of the new security
	revolving doors, not big enough for a bike.  There have been
	occasional thefts reported, by the way, at DECpark, outside.

    (4)	In the Turin office, they have large multi-story carparks under
	the offices, but the security folks didn't want me parking the
	bike there.  (Why??)  There's no room in the office, on the 3rd
	floor, but I was allowed to climb the stairs to the 5th-floor
	attic and put my bike there.  Good upper-body training.  No one
	else yet bikes to the Turin office (MATT, you listening?) - Turin 
	is regarded as a biker-masochist's paradise (by me at least).

    (5)	In Charlotte, I've always been able to park my bike indoors.
	We do not have Security officers.  We have most of the time
	had a large storage area in back (because we are in converted
	warehouse space).  When I first put my bike indoors, people
	puzzledly asked why, but accepted my reasons (theft, weather).
	When/if we ever move into "engineering-class" facilities, I
	am curious whether bikes will be outlawed.  BTW, I'm the only
	bike-to-worker in the Charlotte office.  Maybe *I* will be
	outlawed.  :-)

	-john

    	RE: 914.0
    
    	Dick,
    
    	You might take a look at note 322 (and my reply in 322.2). I
    	swear than I'm serious about the fella's reaction to my
    	question.
    
    	Scott

    
    	Oh yes, we DO seem to have gone around this one before.  My
    current understanding is that it is up to the facilities manager
    to make and/or enforce such rules, so we shouldn't expect to see
    much uniformity.  Impediment to exits in the event of fire or other
    emergency is the usual rationale given - oh well.
    
    	R
    

    I don't really know whether security in MRO allows bikes in, although
    I have had no problem bringing my bike into the building & my office.
    I don't know if security even knows I have a bike, since I NEVER
    goto the front door; I get buzzed in the 'employee only' door.
    Do they see my bike with the camera? I don't know. I don't want
    to make an issue of the thing since I've always gotten in! I'm afraid
    that if I pressed someone to make a decision on bike-in-building
    policy, they would say 'NO'. I simply allow them the opportunity
    to ignore it if they so choose.
    
    Mark
    

	There seemed to be plenty of bikes, per capita, in offices,
	in WRL (the Western Research Lab in Palo Alto)... but these
	offices were all graced with high-end VAXstations and bean-bag
	chairs... populated, we presume, by the kind of DEC-ies more
	than one of us would like to be.	-john

    The Turin office has a great place to store bikes -- sorry I wasn't
    able to help you when you visited, John.  Next to the demo room
    (on the way to the coffee machine) there's a storage room where
    Mauro Gorrino used to keep his bike.  I agree that riding within
    the city limits is pretty suicidal, but now that I have my mountain
    bike, I may give it a whirl.  
    
    MATT

    re .2
    
    I work in Reading, and I had an expensive bike pinched from the
    open sheds in the car park. This is just a warning to check your
    insurance, as mine stated that the cycle must be stored in a locked
    shed, not an open one. (The bike was insured as an extra on my house
    contents). The company eventually paid when I filled in a claim
    form -- the hard part was getting them to give me the form!
    
    Richard.

Re: .7

> I work in Reading, and I had an expensive bike pinched from the open
> sheds in the car park. This is just a warning to check your insurance,
> as mine stated that the cycle must be stored in a locked shed, not an
> open one. 

At least you've got sheds!  Here at ZK, we have a silly galvanized stand 
of the type seen in schoolyards, stuck in the car park, far enough from 
the lobby that it can't be seen by the desk attendant.  Or, if I want
minimal protection from vertically falling precipitation, I can ride
another quarter of a mile and then walk back that same distance -- there
are some solidly mounted staples of the type designed for U-locks, 
located under a catwalk between ZK2 and ZK1.  These are even less
visible from inside the buildings. 

My bike cost me $1300 back in 1979.  If I were to remove both wheels and
lock the frame with a good U-lock, the lock's insurance would cover
$1000 of loss from theft.  I could get another very good bike.  But
that's not the point. 

The frame was custom built to the design I drew up while confined to a 
hospital bed after I was myself reassembled after being hit, and I
assembled the whole bike after I left the hospital.  There are both
money and a great deal of emotion tied up in this bike, and it is simply
not acceptable to leave it where it can be vandalized, stolen, or rained
on. 

- Dick

    re. -1
    	You have good cause for concern.  Three bikes were stolen
    from the bike racks here at MKO earlier this summer.  After
    confronting security and NHAS Facility people, they indicated 
    that they would make the old shed out by the heliport into
    a bike shed.  Several weeks later (after the bike thefts
    were forgoten and they were secured with u-locks) they reneged
    on the deal stating that facilities needed the shed to store
    hazardous chemicals in.  I have since given up bringing my
    bike in to work.  Since they opened the Life Center I have
    a place to work out at lunch, which kind of compensates for
    not being able to use my bike.  Hopefully the Life Center will
    grow to encompass this problem.  They are already talking about
    opening the facility to cross country skiing this winter, which
    is a first for MK.
    						Jerry

    I got the same 'fire laws' explanation at Acton/ACO for not allowing
    bikes in the plant. ACO is a small manufacturing site that used to be 
    a shopping center. 
    
    I asked the facilities manager for a bike rack, and one was installed
    in a couple of weeks.  It's under the front awning, and is near
    a secretary's window and the (gasp) smoker's picnic table.  So,
    the bike stays dry and pretty safe.  

    But that poor bike has to inhale all those fumes!
    
    GASP!
    ed