u/EcstaticBadger9313

My partner & I bought a one-bed, ground floor flat with a garden 6 months ago and have been struggling to work out the best solution for how/where to store our bikes overnight, hoping to get some advice on any other ideas from experienced commuters!

We commute 2/3 times a week each to our respective workplaces, but have to wheel our bikes through our narrow flat everyday to store in our garden. This is not ideal when wet or muddy or generally shattered and end up scuffing up the walls…

There is a cycle hangar on our road but no space (have written notes to see if anyone isn’t using), our front garden isn’t large enough for a bike storage box and the shared hallway is also too small to hang the bikes on the wall.

Some people on the road lock their bike to lampposts but we’ve had bikes stolen before elsewhere in London, so don’t want to risk that again - even though our bikes are <£500, they are setup perfectly for commutes

The final option is to use a back alleyway, behind a locked gate that gives us access to our garden. It’s very overgrown and full of rubbish, I’ve tried to clean this up but my partner isn’t comfortable using it in the dark.

Does anyone have similar experience or have any other ideas that we are missing? With the warmer days coming up I want to commute more often on the bike but the parking situation is putting me off!

I cycle into the City twice a week from West London and come through Trafalgar Square and then down Northumberland Avenue to Embankment.

There is a person who I assume is homeless, in the exact same position everyday - sat at the Northumberland Ave/Trafalgar Square bus stop (just outside the Prezzo) with their hood up, plenty of layers and with a bag.

I wondered if anyone had any knowledge of this person?

I’ve posted in this group because there must be hundreds of cyclists who do the same route and have also noticed them sat there. I also saw a post about the abandoned car which is parked opposite so I assume I’m not the only person who has wondered what is happening here.

Every day, all year round they are sat there asleep facing the corner. They are never there on my cycle home in the evening.