Bike Racks: Community Food Co-op (N. Forest St. store)

The last post I wrote about bike parking at grocery stores had almost as many recommendations for improvements as it had points of praise. Happily not every store in town puts bike parking in second place. The Community Food Co-op store on N. Forest St. apparently ranks bikes as equal to cars, which makes me happy to shop there.
They don't just have a couple racks, like many stores. They have multiple locations for racks. There's the Hanging Racks Shelter in the Parking Lot:

Hang Your Bike. Or lean it. Your choice.

Then there's the Big Purple Rack on the Sidewalk:

Arty!

And there's also the Place Where The Good Racks Sometimes Are:

Mentioned Previously

I'll review them after the break.

The Hanging Racks in the Shelter are intriguing. I tried to use one once, but my bike is built for comfort, not for speed; and I'm built for endurance, not for power. The combination of my bike's weight, how high I needed to lift the bike, and my level of upper-body strength meant that I was defeated in my efforts. But the racks do see good use, so obviously the challenge is well met by many.

The shelter is big, roomy, and sturdy. It's located in the main parking lot, which does mean navigating through the cars in order to get to it. 

I think there are twenty individual rack/cable pairs mounted on the beams. The racks are these:

Mini Mum for bikes, www.rutlandindustries.com

They're mounted at staggered heights so adjacent handlebars don't infringe on their neighbors.

Up, Down. Up, Down.

Fortunately for those of us who can't lift our bikes, the cables are long enough to work as attachment points for locks even when a bike is on the ground. The left-most bike in the top photo is doing just that. However, there's really only room for a couple bikes to use them as such -- one (maybe two) on each end. As the top photo shows, some folks instead lock to the shelter's posts.
The rack will work for most bikes, but not for all people. It's roomy and it looks great, though. I like the concept even if I can't manage to use it.

Mostly I park at the Big Purple Rack on the Sidewalk. The Co-op also has several of these locally-built, one-of-a-kind racks at their Cordata store, but I'll talk about those in another post.
It's made out of old bike parts by folks at The Hub. And it's Arty!

Knitting Attack

It has even been cozied a little bit.

It seems to have been built to accommodate 8-10 bikes. I like the design, and it works for me. The only thing I have to complain about is how far it is from the main doors. Sure, I could go in the nearby side door and grab a basket, but I prefer the main door and the small grocery carts. My panniers hang nicely on the carts so I can shop unencumbered.

The main entrance is down the sidewalk and around the corner.

Oh -- and it's not sheltered.

But I use it. It's both whimsical and functional, which is a nice combination.

It has also caught the eye of TheSlowLane.

The third location is too painful to mention. So many good memories! Perhaps when the garden supplies go away and the good racks return in the fall I will also.

Why hast thou forsaken me?!?

In conclusion, the Community Food Co-op store on N. Forest St. has perfectly adequate bike parking facilities. Since their parking lots are nearly always at capacity during peak shopping hours, biking to the store means you're more likely to easily find a place to park. It's a much less stressful option.