John W. wrote:


> While I think the entirety of your post is a good idea, it's not very 
> practical in Japan, particularly in that situation. My guess is that the 
> core of the problem has nothing whatsoever to do with the actual riding 
> of the bike, but perhaps the size of the bike. Perhaps somebody 
> complained that the bike sticks out too far, maybe someone bumped into 
> it, something like that.

Well, the message I received referred explicitly to the issue of a crash 
on the way to work. However when discussing the matter with some friends 
at work, one person who I do not know well did chime in with "Ah, you 
are the ones with the big bike. Someone told me that it takes up a lot 
of space in the bike park" (or words to that effect). There are also a 
few motorbikes that take up a huge amount of room (and only carry one 
person each, rather than 2) but it wouldn't surprise me if this was the 
reason that someone thought to mention it in the first place.

We often leave the bike outside the covered park, leaning up on a fence, 
for precisely this reason. But I don't see this working as a permanent 
solution now that someone has got his knickers in a twist over the law.

James