The Executive Bike Shed?

I wonder if these are the Council’s executive bike sheds and I’m very intrigued. Who uses the executive bike sheds? How can I get one? Intrigue, intrigue!

I enjoy hot desking at my local Council office in Dunstable, instead of driving over to my normal base.  Naturally I cycle to my local office when ever I can and I have been intrigued by some of the bike sheds.

Executive bike sheds?

Executive bike sheds?

These appear to be a decently strong, well designed and secure bike storage facility.  In all the times I have been there, I have never seen anyone using these and it had me wondering who they are for, how you get one and so on.  If I get the chance I might ask the Facilities Management folk but in the meantime I wonder if they are for the exclusive use of the higher levels of management?  Perhaps like the legendary executive washroom?  Perhaps there is a demanding application and vetting process?

They appear to have a minimal footprint on the ground, ideal for whisking in your carbon fibre machine and parking it in an upright position.  Alternatively it’s possible one has to be a unicycle rider to be entitled to use one. Yes perhaps that’s it, a unicycle storage facility as it would fit very neatly.  Maybe there’s even a shower in there!

The alternative, which I use is humble and shown below.  Yep you can see my bike there with my non-corporate pannier bags which I keep all my notebooks, phone, iPad and snacks in.  I quite like parking there as I can just about see it from the hot design area on the first floor; I like to glance out of the window to make sure all is well.  On a fine, sunny day there are always a number of other bikes there, including a few BSOs.  Funnily enough, I think these are fine as they are being used (unlike the huge numbers of BSOs sitting collecting dust in garages across the country).

The ordinary bike shelter

The ordinary bike shelter

While the Executive Bike Shed is all very well, it does double up as the smoking area.  In fact I remember it was meant to be a school thing where lads would gather behind the bike shed for a crafty drag on a shared cigarette.  Nowadays this is far from the case with evidence of much behind-the-bike-shed smoking still going on.  Once I thought the whole thing was on fire and then I realised it was someone vaping.  Evidence of the smoking includes a horrid smell lingering there, an overflowing wall-mounted ash tray and a load of soggy empty cigarette packets on the ground. Ugh.

So I’ll keep you posted if I find out anything about these mysterious executive bike sheds!

 

 

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