What can I say? I’m a woman. When I see a new, interesting-looking store with a sale sign in the window and folks walking in, I have to stop and see what the fuss is. Fortunately, it’s a lot easier to pull over and park on University Avenue when you’re on a bike than in a car. Let me rephrase that: not just easier, possible.
About the Bike Commute Diaries: Launched in May 2012 for National Bike Month, this series explores the unexpected and surprising things I’ve learned about bicycling for transportation.
One woman. Many bicycles. 
Richard Masoner
October 23, 2012 at 2:48 pm
University Ave seems like it would be a parking nightmare, but the few times I’ve driven there I’ve never had a problem find a parking spot.
The benefit to biking, though: you don’t need to walk five blocks away 🙂
ladyfleur
October 23, 2012 at 2:57 pm
Palo Alto spent a lot of money building parking garages downtown ($30K+ per spot), so it’s not hard to park. That is, assuming you aren’t hell-bent on getting a street spot, a behavior of several of my former co-workers that I still can’t explain (It’s better when you win it?). The new garage on Bryant is never full and it’s centrally located so I couldn’t get why they wouldn’t use it.
On this particular evening I was meeting a friend for dinner on the other side of downtown and only had a few minutes to spare. If I had to park and walk I never would have made it to dinner on time.
anniebikes
October 24, 2012 at 9:17 am
Ah yes. I know the scene. You can bike and park anywhere. Added benefits are that you can easily keep an eye on your two-wheeled love as as opposed to parking a car in a lot or garage. My favorite thing to do is push my bike (cycling not allowed) up our lively pedestrian mall and lock it outside my favorite local coffee shop. I sit in the window, reading, blogging, and people watching – of course with a delicious cup a joe. Can’t do that with a car unless it’s at Dunkin Donuts.
gold account
November 10, 2012 at 4:35 pm
You wear skirts in the winter because it’s easier to remove bike tights from under a skirt than change pants.
ladyfleur
November 10, 2012 at 7:53 pm
How did you know? 🙂