Another reason to avoid group rides!

 

I am new to biking but was told by a long time biker friend that you are supposed to back the bike in with rear tire touching the curb. Not supposed to pull in "along" the curb. He implied that if you do not park properly you can get a ticket.


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If the handicap spot is used, I park on the sidewalk...

 

I got parked in once last year. Bikes on both sides way to close to tip the bike up straight. This is where all that bicycle riding I do comes in handy. I was able to walk the bike out at an angle, kind of dragging the stand just off the ground. Heck of a leg and upper body workout on an Ultra. Not reccomended.

 

Last year I was in a big group ride, same deal, a meal served at the end of the ride. At least 250 bikes.

When we got to the VFW club to eat, we were all taking our turn parking by backing up to the curb at an angle.

I'm riding two up with the wife. So I swing left, stop, and then start backing up towards the curb making sure to leave enough space between me and the guy that just parked to my right.

As I'm backing up, the guy behind me starts to pull in between me and the curb. The road angled down a little towards the curb and it was all I could do to get the bike stopped before I backed into him.

Don't know what this guy was thinking, I said where the F*ck do you think you're going? Guy apologized and started to back up and almost backed into the next guy in line behind that was waiting to park.

Some riders are scary.

 

I call it a lack of respect and common sense in the gene pool.
I think the worst is going to a ride. Theres tons of bikers there and most everyone jam packs in one small area. Tons of potential dents and scratches. Go figure.

 

I usually stay with my bike till everyone is parked on both sides of me. I went to a club meeting in a public restaurant the other day and thought that one of my brothers bike was parked in this slot. I shared the spot with him. After seeing where we were in the restaurant I decided to move the bike to another spot where I could keep a better eye on it. I walked out and seen a couple fixing to get on that bike and realized that I had shared a spot with someone that wasn't a club member. I apologized and explained my mistake. They were courteous about it. The point I was trying to long winded make was that I don't share parking spots with people I don't know as a rule and I don't want you sharing mine if we don't know each other.

 

We've probably all had it happen. Maybe in your case, the guy didn't realize how much more room a touring bike needs. It's like when I pull into a parking space in my Dodge Ram, and another truck pulls into the space opposite me across the "aisle". With two long vehicles butt-to-butt, it makes backing out of the parking space a real chore.

 

I have a little different outlook on this..... I think the OP is at fault for the damage to his bike here...it was his "action" that caused the damage to his own bike.... the guy that parked the Sporty caused no damage and was only guilty of being stupid, and as Ron White has told us, "you can't fix stupid".... I guess if it were me, before I would have lifted my two wheel Winnebago of the side stand, I would have either been sure that I could have without hitting the Sporty, or found the Sporty's owner and got him to move it... presenting you with an opportunity to "educate" him in the error of his ways... we were all "new" bikers once...

 

I was thinking the same thing..
This doesn't negate the error on the other riders part.