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July the first.
It took more tries than I was happy with to rent a bike this morning. There weren't many around in my neighborhood, and of those that were physically present, few were capable of being rented - electric bikes without juice in them, regular bikes with something wrong. I ended up going several blocks farther south than I usually do, and when I saw the state of the one bike that was there, almost decided against it. Then I figured, it was there, I'll keep the ride short, just take it.
It didn't have handlebar grips.
Just raw handlebars.
This meant I couldn't maneuver the gear shift, or ring the bell. Just stop and steer.
It also meant that I decided to take a much shorter than usual ride, only going through Riverside Park itself and not up to Sakura, and that when I parked it for a few minutes to do an errand inside of a store, it was still in the kiosk when I was done. Because nobody else was willing to ride it.
Citibike kiosks have the capability of logging an issue with a bike, holding it in place and not letting it be checked out until someone comes to investigate. I didn't log the issue on this one. I realize it's a genuine concern - but I also realized how much I needed it, and figured the next person who came along might be similarly relieved just for wheels and a set of handlebars.
It didn't have handlebar grips.
Just raw handlebars.
This meant I couldn't maneuver the gear shift, or ring the bell. Just stop and steer.
It also meant that I decided to take a much shorter than usual ride, only going through Riverside Park itself and not up to Sakura, and that when I parked it for a few minutes to do an errand inside of a store, it was still in the kiosk when I was done. Because nobody else was willing to ride it.
Citibike kiosks have the capability of logging an issue with a bike, holding it in place and not letting it be checked out until someone comes to investigate. I didn't log the issue on this one. I realize it's a genuine concern - but I also realized how much I needed it, and figured the next person who came along might be similarly relieved just for wheels and a set of handlebars.