Where is the best place to park a folding bike? This is quite a generalised question, but I'm looking for some principals to follow when looking for parking for my folding bike, that I just bought this morning. I think the ideal situation would be if I had an office - I would just put it under my desk then - but I am a student without an office. I want the parking to be secure, because my bike is new and shiny, and having it indoors means that it won't get wet in the rain. One of the reasons why I like cycling is that I can park very close to the place I have to be, so that leads me to think that I could lock my bike up at the back of a lecture hall, where it is out of the way, or in the passage outside. I don't want to be a nusiance, because people aren't used to seeing bikes parked inside. But, on the other hand, they probably don't understand my desire to select the most secure place to put my bike.

The prinicple I'm thinking of at the moment is to take it into the same room as I am in if I am going to a meeting, or lock it in the passage where it is out the way, if the room is too full. What about longer-term parking, e.g. parking for the whole day? Could it be in a big, open, indoor public area? It there logic to parking it outside where the bike racks are? I have a locker, but I think it doesn't fit inside my locker.

I'm planning on using it to park my car further away than usual, and cycling the rest of the distance.

Edit: I wouldn't leave it without locking it.
if you can: carry it with you. When I was riding my brompton to school, I'd just fold it and take it into buildings and classrooms with me. There were some building guards that didn't like bicycles, so a small fabric bag/cover was used to disguise it.  The brompton is unique in being small enough to tuck in just about anywhere, even under a conference table. Since it was by my knees, I didn't bother locking it up. 

I have a Dahon at my parents' house which is bigger, heavier, and not easily carry-able. I locked that bike up at bike racks with a solid lock. It's hard because many folding bikes lack good places to lock because they aren't  double diamond design.