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July 17, 2006
Delray Beach Shell Station
Shell Station at 1960 West Atlantic Avenue, Delray Beach:
Attendant: "You can't bring that bike in here!"
There's a comment I'm all to ready for. After all, convenience gas stations have tons of pedestrian traffic, in and out, and my bike could have caused an accident for someone who might not see it in front of them. It might even mark up the floors of the shop. Never mind baby strollers, wheelchairs.
Me: "But you don't have anywhere to lock it up in front."
I'm not kidding about this. This place has eight convenient pumps with three grades, plus diesel; not leaving a lot of room for other encumbrances, like a bike lockup rack. Gasoline convenient stations have become highly specialized, for one single kind of consumer. All the convenience you can muster in one place…if you're buying gasoline.
But there are a lot of people who aren't in cars lounging around outside the gas station. Rough-looking sorts. And it isn't my bike.
"Listen, I just want to tell you that you have to leave it outside."
Listen to nonsense? This man has evidently no concept of the value of things, or more probably is thinking in terms of himself, what he might have to clean up off the floor—or what might happen. Or perhaps I'm just being too impatient, expecting an outcome where nothing is certain.
The female cashier is trying to say something…but I'm not really listening to her.
"If you don't want to cater to bicyclists, I'll go somewhere else!"
Walgreen's, at least, builds stores with bike racks. I shouldn't be surprised at a Shell station without one. I don't like Shell. Shell gasoline is shit. My truck always has problems when I use Shell fuel. Buying something to eat would be the only reason I'd be in here, and…well…
As I'm leaving, I hear the man saying something about the fact that people leave their $30,000 cars running outside. I wouldn't leave a car running outside, but that's irrelevant. Theft of a car is considered a felony. Theft of a bike isn't. Opportunity will easily ignore a running car, complete with GPS navigation, Lojak, and other secure devices, in favor of an unlocked bicycle…a quick $25 to $50 on the street…impossible to trace or recover. Who does this idiot think he is, comparing my bike to a $30,000 car?
I do believe the young lady in front of the register was telling me that I could leave my bike at the front of the store. Maybe I should not have been so hasty in my retribution. Ah well, the damage was done.
Cross one Shell station off of my list of friendly stores.
Posted by Bastique at July 17, 2006 7:35 AM