# What kind of idiot parks their bike inside a laundromat? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 17, 2005, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-idiot-parks-their-bike-inside-a-laundromat/285249 "2005-01-17T21:59:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![11811](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/9d8465/32.png) [@11811](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/11811)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-idiot-parks-their-bike-inside-a-laundromat/285249/1 "2005-01-17T21:59:27Z")
I’ve always wondered this. Turns out there are at least two types of idiots: Type 1 is a sketchy homeless guy that takes his shoes off and puts them in the dryer, the better to leave is putrid pedal scent on everyone’s fresh laundry. Okay, he’s homeless, helpless, clueless, I guess he gets a buy. Plus his bike is kind of out of the way. Type 2 is a sort of indie-looking chick who parks her beater right inside the door, the better to obstruct traffic in and out of said laundromat. I knocked over her bike with my duffle bag because it was a tight fit. I said I was sorry, but I really should have said, “What kind of idiot parks their bike inside a laundromat, and right inside the door no less?” Worse, there was a lock on the bike. She could have locked it up outside. Next time, she’s getting a load of shit from me, maybe literally. Grrrr! :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-idiot-parks-their-bike-inside-a-laundromat/285249/2 "2005-01-17T22:12:52Z")
Maybe they don’t want their bikes to be stolen. Meanwhile, what kind of idiot doesn’t know a buy from a bye? ---
**Author:** ![11811](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/9d8465/32.png) [@11811](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/11811)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-idiot-parks-their-bike-inside-a-laundromat/285249/3 "2005-01-17T22:19:44Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > Maybe they don’t want their bikes to be stolen. Meanwhile, what kind of idiot doesn’t know a buy from a bye? What kind of idiot doesn’t see the bit about the bike having a lock? :wally And she truthfully didn’t look aware enough to know about the bic hack, just lazy, thoughtless, and inconsiderate. The kind of idiot that doesn’t know a buy from a bye is the kind that doesn’t pay much attention to sports but wants to use the metaphor anyhow. Appreciate your correction there; I’ll try to remember that. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-idiot-parks-their-bike-inside-a-laundromat/285249/4 "2005-01-17T22:23:20Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > Maybe they don’t want their bikes to be stolen. Meanwhile, what kind of idiot doesn’t know a buy from a bye? I don’t want my car to be stolen. I assume then that the next time I go shopping I can park it inside the grocery store? ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-idiot-parks-their-bike-inside-a-laundromat/285249/5 "2005-01-17T23:07:32Z")
> [@This Year's Model](#): > > I don’t want my car to be stolen. I think that information would be pertinent in a thread titled “What kind of idiot arms their car with a theft alarm?”. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-idiot-parks-their-bike-inside-a-laundromat/285249/6 "2005-01-17T23:11:21Z")
> [@11811](#): > > What kind of idiot doesn’t see the bit about the bike having a lock? Maybe her lock was unreliable. Maybe she’d had her bike stolen before. Maybe it’s the only thing she has in the whole wide world besides a pathetic bag or two of clothes that she has to lug into a dank and dreary laundromat frequented by all sorts of weirdos who play with their quarters while entertaining themselves by speculating about her life and motives. ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-idiot-parks-their-bike-inside-a-laundromat/285249/7 "2005-01-17T23:20:56Z")
It’s times like this that one needs only to consult the [Good Book](http://www.actsofgord.com/Vengeance/chapter06.html). ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-idiot-parks-their-bike-inside-a-laundromat/285249/8 "2005-01-17T23:28:39Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > Maybe her lock was unreliable. Maybe she’d had her bike stolen before. Maybe it’s the only thing she has in the whole wide world besides a pathetic bag or two of clothes that she has to lug into a dank and dreary laundromat frequented by all sorts of weirdos who play with their quarters while entertaining themselves by speculating about her life and motives. Maybe that’s all completely irrelevant. Maybe she shouldn’t put her bike where it has no business being. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-idiot-parks-their-bike-inside-a-laundromat/285249/9 "2005-01-17T23:48:13Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > Maybe her lock was unreliable. Maybe she’d had her bike stolen before. Maybe it’s the only thing she has in the whole wide world besides a pathetic bag or two of clothes that she has to lug into a dank and dreary laundromat frequented by all sorts of weirdos who play with their quarters while entertaining themselves by speculating about her life and motives. Maybe it had a tracking device and if she travelled further than 30 feet from it at any time, klaxxons would go off and a Black Op would hunt her down. Maybe her weird Uncle Brewster left her $300 million dollars, but only on the condition she carry her bike with her everywhere for an entire month. Maybe God Himself came down to her from a mountaintop and said “Thou art my shepard. Tend to my flock. Go forth with thy chariot!” The Heavens then opened up and two angels flew towards her along a beam of pure light, carrying the bike. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Asbestos\_Mango](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/edb3f5/32.png) [@The\_Asbestos\_Mango](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Asbestos_Mango)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2005, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-idiot-parks-their-bike-inside-a-laundromat/285249/10 "2005-01-17T23:49:59Z")
What kind of idiot leaves their bike outside where there are no bike racks or even a handy post to chain it too, so that it can be easily picked up and carried off? Yes, even if you chain the frame to the wheel, a bike can still be fairly easily stolen. Not every city is bicycle friendly, and here in Vegas, your options are either take your bike inside (many businesses allow this, provided the bike isn’t obstructing the door or customer access) or leave your bike outside to be stolen. I’ve lived here seven years now, and I think I’ve seen one bicycle rack outside a business the entire time I’ve lived here. I used to end up parking my bike as much as half a block away from whatever store I was shopping at because it was the only place I could find a post to chain it too. My mom and I ended up donating our bikes to Goodwill because most apartment complexes don’t even provide a shed for tenants to keep their bikes (in Indiana, an apartment building or complex that didn’t have a place for tenants’ bikes was unheard of) and we got tired of hauling them up and down the stairs to our second-story apartment whenever we wanted to ride them. ---
**Author:** ![Gfab912](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a9a28c/32.png) [@Gfab912](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfab912)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-idiot-parks-their-bike-inside-a-laundromat/285249/11 "2005-01-18T02:21:44Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > Maybe her lock was unreliable. Maybe she’d had her bike stolen before. Maybe it’s the only thing she has in the whole wide world besides a pathetic bag or two of clothes that she has to lug into a dank and dreary laundromat frequented by all sorts of weirdos who play with their quarters while entertaining themselves by speculating about her life and motives. NOW I see why your girfriend fucked your cousin! ---
**Author:** ![chaparralv8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@chaparralv8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chaparralv8)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-idiot-parks-their-bike-inside-a-laundromat/285249/12 "2005-01-18T02:27:51Z")
> [@Gfab912](#): > > NOW I see why your girfriend fucked your cousin! Actually, Gfab, that wasn’t Liberal… Open mouth, insert foot. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-idiot-parks-their-bike-inside-a-laundromat/285249/13 "2005-01-18T11:33:48Z")
> [@Gfab912](#): > > NOW I see why your girfriend fucked your cousin! Moron. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-idiot-parks-their-bike-inside-a-laundromat/285249/14 "2005-01-18T11:46:11Z")
> [@The Asbestos Mango](#): > > What kind of idiot leaves their bike outside where there are no bike racks or even a handy post to chain it too, so that it can be easily picked up and carried off? Yes, even if you chain the frame to the wheel, a bike can still be fairly easily stolen. The Mango beat me to it. Many businesses do not provide a rack to secure ones bike. I usually try not to patronize such businesses but this person may not have a choice. Feel free to patronize another business if you think the manager’s policies do not suit you. ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-idiot-parks-their-bike-inside-a-laundromat/285249/15 "2005-01-18T18:01:20Z")
The only person responsible for determining whether or not a bike belongs in the laundromat is the laundromat’s owner (or agent). Ya don’t like it? Complain to the management. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2005, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-idiot-parks-their-bike-inside-a-laundromat/285249/16 "2005-01-18T18:27:52Z")
> [@The Asbestos Mango](#): > > I used to end up parking my bike as much as half a block away from whatever store I was shopping at because it was the only place I could find a post to chain it too. Not a whole half a block away!!! :eek: How did you drag yourself such a tremendous distance on foot? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![11811](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/9d8465/32.png) [@11811](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/11811)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2005, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-idiot-parks-their-bike-inside-a-laundromat/285249/17 "2005-01-19T01:31:49Z")
> [@Liberal](#): > > Maybe her lock was unreliable. Maybe she’d had her bike stolen before. Maybe it’s the only thing she has in the whole wide world besides a pathetic bag or two of clothes that she has to lug into a dank and dreary laundromat frequented by all sorts of weirdos who play with their quarters while entertaining themselves by speculating about her life and motives. First of all, the laundromat uses tokens rather than quarters. Second, she didn’t have just a pathetic bag or two of clothes and a bike. She had a pathetic bag or two of clothes, a bike, and the meager aid of an addle-pated nincompoop for a defenseman (that being you, in case you didn’t recognize yourself), although she was not aware of this last and little good it would do her if she was. Third, I think “what kind of idiot” speculates on someone’s intelliigence and not their motives. Further, I have no interest in her life, you hemorrhoid-huffing taint-stain. I have an interest in getting in the laundromat door unobstructed. Sketchy homeless guy at least had enough sense to be out of the way. ---
**Author:** ![11811](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/9d8465/32.png) [@11811](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/11811)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2005, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-idiot-parks-their-bike-inside-a-laundromat/285249/18 "2005-01-19T01:42:09Z")
> [@The Asbestos Mango](#): > > What kind of idiot leaves their bike outside where there are no bike racks or even a handy post to chain it too, so that it can be easily picked up and carried off? Yes, even if you chain the frame to the wheel, a bike can still be fairly easily stolen. > > Not every city is bicycle friendly\ > > My mom and I ended up donating our bikes to Goodwill because \ we got tired of hauling them up and down the stairs to our second-story apartment whenever we wanted to ride them. Asbestos Mango Hope I did the snip thing correctly. I live in Philadelphia and ride through the city without much worry. There are parking meters on most streets where I live and want to ride to. On this particular street there are traffic signs. Philadelphia is fairly bike friendly. We have bike lanes through most parts of the city. Believe it or not, I carry my bike up and down to and from a second story apartment when I want to ride. There’s no bike room in my apartment building, and I don’t feel comfortable leaving my bike outside overnight. That’s as much about the weather as it is the security. Believe it or not, the only place of business I take my bike into is my local bike shop. And sincerely, thank you for making some good arguments and not just reacting by jumping down my throat. 11811 ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2005, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-idiot-parks-their-bike-inside-a-laundromat/285249/19 "2005-01-19T06:45:59Z")
> [@11811](#): > > What kind of idiot doesn’t see the bit about the bike having a lock? > :wally > And she truthfully didn’t look aware enough to know about the bic hack, just lazy, thoughtless, and inconsiderate. > 🙂 Were there bike racks outside on which to USE said lock? I have a lock on my boke too, lots of places don’t have anywhere to lock it to. ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2005, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-idiot-parks-their-bike-inside-a-laundromat/285249/20 "2005-01-19T06:51:11Z")
> [@CanvasShoes](#): > > I have a lock on my boke too, And one on my bIke too. :o [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-kind-of-idiot-parks-their-bike-inside-a-laundromat/285249.md?page=2)