One of my favorite pubs is Village Idiot at Melrose and Martel–good food and a great selection of brews–it’s the only place I know of so far–besides Hel-Mel’s own beloved Pure Luck–that carries Craftsman on tap!

But going there used to be a bit of a hassle–no place to lock up the bikes except a few parking meters–technically illegal, and besides they were usually taken up when we got there.

Well, last week we had a nice surprise, which you can see in the photo below:

That’s right–not just one bike rack, but four–look on the left there for a mini-bike-corral. Room for eight bikes!

The surprise, though, wasn’t that they had arrived, but that they had arrived so quickly.

You see, I had recently filled out the LADOT bike rack request form for the location, and usually it takes them two months to get around to installation.

The other surprise was that I had asked for two, and they put in four!

Being the squeaky wheel pays off.

So here’s the deal: start using all these high-tech resources your taxes have paid for to make LA a better city for bicycling. Don’t be satisfied with locking to meters and signposts when you can have an easy-to-use, sturdy rack that no cop can hassle you over.

Here’s the URL:

Where it says “Contact Name” and “Telephone Number,” put in your own. And instead of using their link to the City Council districts map (they ask for council district), use the “Neighborhood Resources” form a few inches down on this City of LA page–it’s much, much easier to use.

After all, it’s kind of pathetic to get somewhere by bike and then not be able to park. Tens of thousands of acres for car parking, and no room for bikes–just pathetic!

But you can change that now.