A community for those who enjoy bicycling for any reason— utility, recreation, sport, or whatever!
Post your questions, experiences, knowledge, pictures, news, links, and (civil) rants.
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What's maddening is that the area surrounding this new store is among the best for dedicated bike paths in the city.
You'd be surprised how often this kind of thing can be rectified by a friendly conversation with the store manager. Not always, but often enough to make the effort.
Yes, I've convinced one store that didn't have bike racks to get them installed. They did very quickly (within 1-2 months tops). In a plaza that moved their bike racks from a good spot to "around the corner", had it placed back in the good spot after I complained.
The majority, however, do nothing. My success rate is maybe 1 in 100 😟
For such a large corporation, the placement of this bike rack is intentional, as there are hundreds of meters of wide open space along the rest of the outer perimeter wall that would have been better for those racks (or the dumpster!).
The location near me has their's conveniently placed and I believe a couple of the employees use it as well... I agree that much of this is still in the hands of the local management.
I know that this is the cycling community, but... Why would someone choose to bike to Costco unless they are an employee? Are there people who do not purchase a carload of goods when they go? Cyclists are nowhere near Costco's target demographic, so this really doesn't seem surprising.
Why would someone choose to bike to Costco
Are there people who do not purchase a carload of goods when they go?
For starters, Costco has a pharmacy, optical and hearing aid departments, as well as a bakery, among other services. None of these require a large SUV or even a small car for.
Second, you don't have to buy a carload of stuff from costo, and even a basic cargo bike or bike trailer or panniers can get you a ton of products. Most shoppers won't be filling more than one cart.
The point is, they have a bike rack, which currently serves no purpose the way it's been installed. This low effort doesn't benefit them or their non-car customers.
Fwiw 😉:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2BPPhnsaP8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTThQoOKJAs
I have friends who costco is their nearest grocery store. they live just outside of walking range. For them it makes sense to bike there and grab just one thing.
They could use trikes with baskets big enough to carry lots of groceries.
You'll be so surprised when you learn about cargo bikes.
Honestly, if you just need to pick up prescriptions or OTC stuff. Condoms at Costco are cheap, and some of my medicines are like...$47 at Costco or $130+ at CVS. The whole medicine section is great.
My two bike bags can also fit 40L each IIRC. Lots of room for groceries, though I tend to pick up at closer places and save Costco for when I really whittle down my freezer, fridge and bathroom supplies.
Don't worry about people with mobility issues...
Just think about having to park your bicycle by a dumpster!
What a stinking place for a bike rack! I'm with you btw, these commenters clearly haven't used cargo racks and such effectively.
Hell, when I was in college I didn't even have a place for cargo and just had a nice big backpack and dangerously placed bags on my handlebars. When you can't afford a car, places like Costco very much fit your demographic!
I used to just wheel my bike inside and if any asshat gave me an issue, I told them I would gladly take it outside if they could tell me the difference between my bike and a shopping cart in some tangible way where walking beside my bike caused some unique issue or harm in any way. Several tried to say something, but the act of giving in to the need to resist anything different when given the delusion of managing grandeur is a self filtering mechanism for stupidity. No one ever had an intelligent response of substance and caved to my argument.
I've absolutely brought my bike into stores when they don't have bike racks, and would if the bike racks were hidden behind a goddamn dumpster!
I only had an issue once at a grocery store, and had to lock my bike up where they told me to... directly on the narrow sidewalk beside the cart location. It was highly inconvenient and a hazard to pedestrians, so I feel bad every time I shop at this one place.
But if I have the option to shop at a place that has sensible bike racks, then I just pick there to shop.
It is also one of the worst designed racks out there, the only worse ones are those low to the ground wheel holder things which you should obviously never use
Tbf, how you planning to bike home with 300lbs of random Kirkland Signature products? Costco isn't bike friendly as it is lol.
@ArcaneSlime @Showroom7561 Costco is often the cheapest pharmacy in the area. I have biked to my local Costco several times for lightweight pickups, including prescriptions.
Fortunately, it is not the only business there, and there actually are usable bike racks.
That's fair, it does have a damn good pharmacy.
How much of a call is there for a bike rack when you're hauling out 30lb plastic tub of pickles?
I've hauled over 120lbs of groceries from our local Walmart. And that's with a regular bike + bike trailer and panniers. If I had an e-cargo bike, a Costco haul with 10L of ketchup and a bag of 50 sandwich buns would be child's play! LOL