Bike Parking

We have a problem at our house. Actually we have several but the one that's riding like a burr under our saddles right now is bike parking. Four of us live in our little house in Chardon. Three of us have motorcycles. My mama, who resides in a very nice in law suite through a magic door in my dining room, does not have a bike. She's 91 and says she's too old to ride. I hope I'm never too old to ride.
But back to our problem.
Three bikes plus three cars in additional to the normal accumulation of a 30 year marriage has us cramped for space in our two car attached garage. Don't suggest an additional storage building. The only thing smaller than our house is the lot it's built on so there is no room for an additional structure. We must make do with with we've got thus we've made The Plan.
The Plan includes inviting (an invitiation laced with guilt as almost all parental requests are) our adult children to help us dismantle said garage. We shall eliminate, donate, and deliberate until there is room for everything worth keeping with a high priority on motorcycles, motorcycle gear and accessories. The Plan shall be executed in early June so we have opportunity to sell what it sure to be very high quality discards before the remains get the heave-ho at Chardon's community trash day on the 26th. (this date should be noted by all curb-shoppers because treasures abound on all residential streets until the garbage trucks start round-up really early that Saturday)
The Plan also includes the destruction of an interior "office." We call it an "office" because it was here before us and that's what we guessed it to be. For us it's been a "holding tank" for some of our best junk. The simple stud-wall structure and it's accompanying 1960's paneling will be removed. And - viola! In its place there will be three bike parking spaces, shelves and pegs for all equipment thus opening up the second bay for one of the two cars that have been in exile.
It will be wonderful.
The result that is. The day of The Plan will be work but we've promised the kids a good working atmosphere, food and fun for all involved (LOL). I will try to give you a pictorial review of the project but only if we are successful and our faces are decently pleasant.
All this planning for creating some parking spaces got me to thinking about how motorcycles get to line up at special events and gathering spots. Special event parking is always a colossal operation. Orange cones, tape off corridors and corrals, whistle blowers and steady streams of taillights typify the effort. But for bikers - well as with most things - it's different. And I get a kick out of it.
Bikes get to fit in places that cars can't. Kinda like priority parking but usually unofficially designated by the first bikes to arrive. Gathering places take shape off the cuff along main street curbs. Just cruise through Willoughby on a beautiful weekend evening or visit Chagrin Falls on a Saturday afternoon. There they are - all lined up with their backends to the shops and front wheels angled in display. The bikers are usually lined up too - with a cup of coffee in hand, talking bike talk.
At the Maple Festival motorcycles find themselves on Court Street. Backwheels against the curb, they line up at the edge of the lights and wait for their riders while watching festival folks walk up and down Main Street with fair food in their faces.
At Vintage Ohio Wine Festival at Lake Metropark's Farmpark the fence closest to the red barn style main building is the hitching post for the motorized steeds of visiting wine tasters. However - the grass islands dotting the end of each row of cars in the main parking lot and the corners of the roped off parking fields may hold small bunches of bikes. Bikers must like wine.
When the Great Geauga County Fair rolls around motorcycles line up right near the ticket booths at Gate 1 in a small grass island seemingly made for bikes. After pulling our bike into the orderly group we linger before moving on into the fair. These rides are much better than the rides inside the gate for us and it makes for good talk. "Who do you think rides this one?" "Did you see these awesome pipes?" Contrary to popular belief - not all bikers like fringe and studs and the variety of personalization at the fair represents bikers well.
Though riding is ALWAYS better than parking, bike parking has a sense of order and commeraderie. Plus those bikes just look good all lined up. I'm looking forward to seeing ours looking good against the newly painted wall in our soon-to-be cleaned garage.