Facilties at work!

KitsuneAndy

I'm lucky, we have a fully enclosed cycle bay that can only be accessed with your ID card, showers and changing rooms. Couldn't ask for more really.

John_E

Also pretty lucky, showers and gym (free) in the other building 2 min walk across the road, which I never use, happy with changing in the loo and moisterising wipes. Undercover bike storage behind security guard/CCTV protected barrier. Most people at my place don't even bother locking their bikes (I do). Wouldn't mind somewhere to dry clothes on the wet days, but pretty perfect really

dazzawazza

We have an entire room in the basement delivery area of the building.
The rack is insufficient though for the amount of bikes, so often I leave the bike un-locked. However, I'm on name terms with the building manager and we are expecting extra lock-up facilities soon so I'm happy. I was even asked which type of rack to use.
The security is quite tight so I'm ok leaving my commuter unlocked. If I'm riding my road bike I make sure that I'm at work before 8:30, which guarantees a place on the rack.
We have two shower rooms, which is fantastic after our last facilities (wipe down in the toilet). We moved HQ to Wimbledon in March 2008.

Tara911

I'm lucky where I work, plenty of bike racks and room to put more in, not covered though. The place is all pass operated, no pass you're not getting in.

2 showers for the blokes and 2 for the women, as there are only a couple of females who cycle this isn't an issue.

Only problem I have is nowhere to hang wet gear other than the wardrobes which have peoples clothes in for the next day or so.

Kieran_Burns

We have a locked enclosure that three cyclists share. No shower as yet, so it's the disabled toilet and a wipe down at the moment.

I can leave my stuff in the Server room (being an IT guy helps) so I can dry things off, and we are moving to a new building next month which has showers, so my morning will change drastically then (I'll get up and leave pretty much straight away and get cleaned and fed at work rather than at home)

always_tyred

That's definitely going to deter people from messing around with the server.

OldSkoolKona

I've just moved locations and at both places I was pretty spoilt. First place had locked bike cage (with security swipe card), free towels, showers and lockers (though limited numbers). New place has covered (but not locked) bike store, showers, limited lockers and large separate from toilets changing room.

In both cases, decent facilities increases numbers cycling to work. The old site had events to coincide with cycle to work week (free breakfasts, a prize draw etc)

killiekosmos

I work for a council and at HQ we have no facilities for bikes. They get chained up to posts at back of building. One colleague locked his at front and was told to move it as it made the place untidy. We have a car park which takes well over 100 cars but no bike rack. We tell everyone we want to encourage cycling to school etc but I don't think we really mean it. We introduced bike2work a few months ago - which is good but with no proper place to lock bikes then insurance is an issue. No facilities for cycling visitors.

I'm waging a solo campaign at present. I lock my bike to a pole at the car park exit so everyone sees it. I've found every paper the council has on cycling - apparently we told Sustrans we would put cycle facilities at our offices - so I may start asking questions to councillors too.

(We provide outside facilities for smokers) :evil:

desweller

Fuel injector factory ~300 to 400 people or so on site at once. Not many cyclists by percentage, but I think this has a lot to do with the three shift rotation - I know a lot of cyclists that found cycling in too wearing when we introduced it.

7 male showers, 7 female showers (presumably, I haven't looked), some better than others

2 changing rooms

Stacks of lockers.

2 covered sheds, directly opposite the Security office/portakabin 20 feet away, although the sheds themselves are not locked they are in a notionally secure car park with lockable gates.

Drying facilities could be better; at present I hang my kit up on clothes hangars in an unheated room, so if it's wet out there will be a lot of soggy gear sharing the same rack - result, nothing will dry but hey ho can't have everything eh? Everything is kept nice and clean.

Not too bad all in all.

AaronM14

At my work there is a toliet......sinmple as that. Get chnaged in there and that is all

Chain my bike to a fence post in the car park. I ahve convinced my boss to put in a bike rack now as half of the staff cycle.

SmellTheGlove

AaronM14 wrote:

...half of the staff cycle.

Where or what is this Valhalla? Are the other half intimidated/amused/what have you by the number of cyclists? I understand you haven't totalled the number of people working there but 50% has to be some sort of record. And I can now fully understand why you've joined in lately. Can't be long before the facilities improve surely.
As for me, only cyclist at a firm of 80+ but full shower room thanks to a former boss who used to ride once in a blue moon and insisted on having the shower put in for himself. Near-indetectible places to lock up in the car park so no worries really.

AaronM14

Ah yes should of mentioned, there are 8 of us, 4 cycle

NGale

kind of ironic, in our place (an NHS ambulance trust) they say they are encouraging people to cycle. Yet if you are on a night shift and decide you have to sit in your own sweat because the shower room is on the side of the building which is alarmed after 5pm in the evening and all weekend. We have no cycle racks, so need to use a neighbouring buildings racks and they always complain about us parking our bikes there. even then there is no CCTV and finishing at 2am is a bit on the frightening side when it's dark and your in the middle of an industrial estate.

Oh and if we want to get changed...then it's the toilet!

Bugly

Very lucky my employer has lock up parking for bikes and a shower on each of 5 floors as well as lockers for clothing and towels.

Very appreciative of the effort they have made.

Mwnci

Currently where I work (the Local Authority) there are no dedicated bike shed/stand but two n shaped 'things' by the entrance that are used for locking bikes to.

On the cleaning facilities side a shower was installed in the disabled toilets specifically for the use of cyclists. No storage/drying for clothes but a couple of radiators arround the building where the public don't go.

I don't currently ride to work as I live less than a mile away and walk instead. But we are moving offices soon to the council HQ, I have enquired about showers/cycle storage/cycle2work. Apparently we don't do c2w, I have been told there are railings outside the HQ and silence about the showers/lockers.....

Since I am a really sweaty person I am not sure that I would be happy with wet wipes. I may join the union (I know I should have by now, but they keep going on strike when I am in a brassic period) just to put pressure on for things to improve!

Nick6891

i have to cycle to a school that just happens to be a sports collage so it has showers and everything

AndyManc

Mwnci wrote:

Currently where I work (the Local Authority) there are no dedicated bike shed/stand but two n shaped 'things' by the entrance that are used for locking bikes to.
!

For a local authority ( they supposedly promote green issues ) that's just not good enough.

Manchester council force feed us a never ending tide of green policies and yet they've just submitted plans for an underground car park ( for council leaders only ) in the centre of Manchester .

Join your union , council staff need legal backing at present with all the cutbacks.

TheMightyHet

No showers or anything at my work, decent cycle sheds though. As far as arriving sweaty from the ride in, it's a change of shirt and a good spray of deodorant!

vitesse169

I don't know how so many of you manage with the pi** poor conditions.... I work in a tri service call centre; we have showers/changing rooms, lockers, and those that cycle in keep the bikes under the stairs. We hang wet kit in the changing area by the showers. I cycle in, shower, change, go to 2nd floor & have a nosh then into the office. On nights I will eat as and when able thru the night.
The handful that cycle to work have no probs with the facilities.

biondino

[quote="vitesse169"I work in a tri service call centre[/quote]

Read this as "tricycle service centre" which sounds pretty cool

Pangur Ban

Bike is locked to a pillar in local NCP multi-storey. Short walk to the office, horrible tiny toilet cubicle to get changed in, quick wash in the bogs. The cubicle makes me hotter and sweatier than I am after the ride.

Horrible experience, hating the way in which I'm red and sweaty when I get to the desk and am becoming a bit of a joke in the office. Not helped by being over 17st but, hey, that's why I'm cycling 15 miles a day - and I have lost about five pounds in weight since I started commuting by bike six weeks ago.

I'm really enjoying the cycling, but hate the changing and cool-down stages.

OrbitRider

I have a nice brick shelter to put my bike in at work. Last week it was out of action for one day while they ripped out the old wheel-bender gutter stands and put nice Sheffield stands in instead. Also, there's a shower in the toilets near my office. Hanging my cycling kit up in my shared office is a bit of a pain, but I have access to a large vacuum tank for express (freeze) drying of soggy gear!
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gabriel959

I can't complain. We got a covered rack under the main entrance, racks and rails for your clothes/bags and a 3 showers (2 male and 1 female).

joew4ll

We've got a bike rack which is locked after 4.30, which before I managed to get a key, I had to climb over the 8 ft gate with my bike before I could go home - no-one batted an eyelid!

Other than that I've got a nice disabled toiled with a tiny hand basin to wash down in - fortunately I've got 1.5miles of flat canal path to cool down on so it's not too bad... I've got a big radiator next to my desk which dries everything nicely - upsets some of the people in the office, but I'm their boss, so it's tough luck really. :P

I've been trying to get a shower installed, but the chap in the wheelchair needs a dry floor otherwise it gets messy!

beseku

We have a courtyard that serves the offices in our building, with a recently installed bikerack, that's watched by CCTV and a security guard. Not bad for central London

Unfortunately the racks have been in a week and already there are no spaces by the time I get in.

Shower in the office, and drying room too.

chuckcork

Bike is locked front wheel + frame, rear wheel + frame, to a set of railings a few doors down the street, with all removable bits, computer, pump, tool bag, taken off before I go in.

I'm not a stinky cyclist, so just change out of my cycle gear in the toilet, wet clothes that I have to wear home can be a problem, though I use a shirt going in and a seperate one going home getting waterproofs dry enough to wear home again can be a hassle, but I've found if I hang the trousers at least over the rear of my work PC the heat and fans mostly dries them out.

High tech or what?

Supposed to get somewhere to lock up the bike and a shower when the firm moves offices, assuming that ever occurs, we were supposed to be in their in March!

ansbaradigeidfran

Pangur Ban wrote:

Bike is locked to a pillar in local NCP multi-storey.

What are NCP bicycle parking rates like?

Tobiwan

I'm very lucky in this regard - I work in IT in the City, and we have a secure (guards, CCTV, swipe-card access) underground carpark with plentiful dedicated bike racks which we can use. It's quite funny parking up with all the flash cars Most people don't even bother to lock their bikes there, though I do myself, albeit I don't worry about wheels or lights.

Shower-wise we don't do too badly either, as there's an on-site gym with very good showers. Not being a gym member (£30/mth) I have to pay £1 for the shower each day, but you get a towel thrown in with that so it's pretty reasonable. I'd rather take my own towel and not pay, but compared to many I can't complain!

C2W scheme as welll, so all in all I think they do a superb job supporting us cyclists.

biondino

Tobiwan, if you used the gym even twice a month you'd be getting good value from membership!