We biked up to the in-the-throes-of-remodeling Masonic/Geary Trader Joe's the other day, laughing at the poor people who waited in line in their cars. We cruised up to the little bike rack plaza, expecting to lock up at the normal, wavy, lock-eight-bikes-to-it rack like they have at the public library. But...they changed the rack to the ineffectual spoke variety that they had at our junior high school! See, the problem is that it's pretty much impossible to lock more than just a wheel to this kind of rack, unless you've got one of those long cable locks that local bike thieves laugh at evilly, twirl their mustaches, and cut through with a pair of nail clippers.

The photo above shows the practical limit for this rack. Two bikes. Why the change? Is the store in the pocket of the myriad enemies of the Bike Plan, who constantly scheme to make cycling in our fair city even more difficult? Or is TJs making an implicit assumption that the parking monitor will stop anyone who whips off a front wheel and makes off with a bike?