Saturday, October 15, 2005

Cycle parking @ E&Y London

I had a couple days work with E&Y last week, and I cycled there as usual. The first day, I locked up on the street, no problem (it was pissing down with rain that day, incidentally, but my new jacket kept me warm and dry!).

The second day, I was a bit early, so I decided to see what would happen if asked where the cycle parking was. Their new UK HQ is this fabulous Thames-facing construction, part of the brand new MoreLondon complex, right next door to City Hall. So I figured the must have some facilities.

I left my bike just outside the main entrance so I could find out more, and I was stopped immediately by a friendly security guy, who directed me around the corner to Loading Bay D.

Once inside, finding E&Y's bit was pretty straightforward. And I was pleasantly surprised! There were probably 200 bikes there already (ar 9.00), and only room for another 50 or so. The racks were a bit bizarre, these upright contraptions requing me to lift my bike upright and slot the back wheel into a groove... The, it was hard to see how I could lock all the bits, but none else had, so I made do with locking the back wheel. Even for somebody moderately fit, a heavy, largish bike is pretty awkward!

There were also about 60 small lockers there. No Idea how they're allocated or managed.

All in all, pretty impressive! Clearly not for guests, though... I had no end of trouble without proper ID or a keycard! I'll lock up on the street next time.

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