Park Your Streetbike The Right Way

When parking your bike on the street, roll it into the parking space backward, so the rear tire touches the curb. Leave your bike in gear so it doesn’t roll. Doing so is especially important if you must park it with the front wheel facing downhill.

Park defensively. It's better to be in the center of a parking spot than at one end where a car may try to squeeze in and knock your bike over. Share a space with other bikes if possible. There’s power in numbers, and it conserves parking resources. Consider putting it on the sidewalk, but be aware that you might get a citation for that.

If you have to park on a hill, try to keep the sidestand on the downhill side. Try to park with your rear wheel facing downhill—it makes pulling out easier, and keeps the bike from rolling off the sidestand and tipping over.

If you’re parking on a soft surface (dirt, grass, gravel) or brutally hot asphalt, put something under the sidestand to increase its footprint. A scrap of wood, a crushed soda can, a flat rock, a square of scrap metal all work—even something like a thick magazine folded in half.

In a public garage, utilize unused spaces where a car can’t fit—behind pillars in parking garages, in wasted spaces next to elevators, etc. You'll leave a parking spot open for a car, and doing so will also keep cars from trying to encroach on your space.