Monday, September 14, 2009

Nice commute with Grey, Hen House Update

... and I hope that's how he spells his name.

Anyhow, I got out a little early this morning, and saw a cyclist carrying a good pace up ahead of me. Being 5:30ish in the morning, I figured it had to be Grey. If that's the case, I probably wasn't going to catch up with him, but it didn't keep me from trying.

Sure enough, though, as I was pulling up to Johnson Drive on Merriam, I saw him bombing down the hill and turning in front of me. I'd closed in on him, but only because I took the easier route. I think he takes Quivira to 75th, then Nieman to Johnson Drive, whereas I take 67th east to get on Merriam Lane.

He was racing cyclocross yesterday, so was taking it easy this morning. Grey's version of "taking it easy" is somewhere toward the upper end of the speed I can maintain for the distance of my commute. Still, it was nice to run into him. I only see him a few times per year, and it's usually not for very long. In fact, this might be the only time I've actually commuted WITH him versus just seeing him in passing along the way. I bid him farewell as we turned onto Main, mostly because I just couldn't keep up the pace anymore. I took it easy up the hill into Downtown KCMO and used it as a bit of cool-down time.

Hen House Bike Parking
I've been in communication with a few different people from the company that runs the Hen House Market stores, and they've been a real pleasure to work with, asking for suggestions on where and how to mount their new bike rack. My suggestions were:

  • Under the overhang, near the building
  • Perpendicular to the wall so bikes can park on both sides of the rack
  • Spaced far enough from the wall to make the closest spot usable.
After hearing from the director for that specific store, I checked the rack out last night (sorry, no camera) and I don't think I could have placed it better myself. It should be bolted down soon. Again, I find it exciting when local businesses that I patronize take a few steps to accommodate cyclists. With so much residential space nearby, it makes sense that people will show up by bike.

Matt from Hen House also wanted me to let you know that they're now on Twitter, where they advertise some of their specials.

Random Tunage:
Sarah Mclachlan - Into The Fire
Chicane vs. Natasha Bedingfield - Bruised Water

4 comments:

Nancy said...

Hey Noah,

Last year I asked the Hen House in PV at Tomahawk and 69th to add a bike rack since I'd seen so many people bike to that store...and they did it! So, good to see that yet again they are easy to work with and very responsive.

Sairen said...

That's great! How can I reach this manager and thank him?

Noah said...

Customer service, probably. The director's name is Pam.

ksteinhoff said...

This is funny. I read Hen House and wondered if that's what Freakbikers all over the country call their garages.

That's when I read more closely and saw that it was a store. We don't have those in FL.

Here's a West Palm Beach Hen House.

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