"What better place to park than inside the store?" or, "got milk?"I managed to survive another day in Los Angeles without driving. To be fair, I spent nearly the entire day at home (read: at the office). When I finally decided to head over to Trader Joe's on Santa Monica Blvd. around 6:00 p.m. I opted to walk rather than bike. While at the store Nicole and I couldn't resist buying some "all natural" ready-to-bake frozen chocolate chip cookie dough. mmm...cookies.
Of course, no sooner had the dough gone into the oven was I reminded that we were out of milk. How typical to have just returned from the store only to need to head back out for a forgotten item. With eight minutes left in the baking process, I decided to head down the street to 7-11 and pick up a half gallon of milk. It is a fact that there can be no cookie consumption without the all-important bovine elixir.
Arriving at 7-11 I immediately realized that there wasn't anyplace to lock up my bike. Not about to leave my new investment sitting outside unsecured, I decided that since the store wasn't busy anyway I would simply bring the bike inside with me.
A customer exiting the store was nice enough to hold the door for me while I pushed my bike inside. The clerk glanced at me as I entered. Hoping to avoid a confrontation (though prepared for one if it should arise), I avoided eye contact, walked directly to the fridge, grabbed the milk, and paid without incident.
Then, just as I was about to wheel my bike outside, the clerk began to speak. At this point I was ready for the confrontation, completely prepared to point out the lack of adequate bicycle parking and reommend the manager contact the city of West Hollywood to have a free bicycle parking space installed. However, much to my dismay, the clerk wasn't interested in reprimanding me for bringing the bike inside. Rather, it seemed that he was quite intrigued by my chosen mode of transportation.
The clerk asked me how much I had paid for the bike and if the headlight cost extra. I happily answered his questions and told him that despite the initial cost, I fully expected it to pay for itself shortly with gas approaching $3.50 a gallon in some nearby areas. The female clerk working alongside him commented that although it may be difficult for people who work to ride a bike rather than drive, cycling made perfect sense for short trips (such as an evening run to 7-11 for a half-gallon of milk). She was also quick to point out that cycling was also a good way to stay in shape.
I agreed with the female clerk but also pointed out that riding the bus with a bicycle is a generally painless experience and that some people might just find that such a bus/bike commute could serve as a favorable alternative to driving their own cars. She seemed to see the merit in what I had to say, and the male clerk asked a few more questions.
After discussing my bicycling habits for a few moments with the clerk, another customer entered and his attention was redirected. I decided that this would be a good time for me to depart without appearing rude (after all, I had fresh-baked cookies to enjoy!). I headed home.
Having been fully prepared for, and expecting to be reprimanded for bringing my bike inside the store, I was pleased that an act as seemingly insignificant as buying milk had resulted in a spontaneous dialogue regarding transportation alternatives. I was especially pleased that my presence appeared to spark a genuine interest in the clerk that handled my purchase.
posted at 20:20