QUIST wrote: ... You may well own the property but you do not ... own the highway
Don't be too sure about that. In many cases the land over which a highway runs belongs to the owner of that land, rather than the highway authority. This isn't a trick answer, based on things like footpaths across land, because it applies to many roads "maintained at public expense." When existing roads and streets were adopted in the late 19C and early 20C, the ownership of the land often did not change. (Any owner-occupiers, especially with older houses, who do not believe me can check their deeds.) So, it's possible for somebody to be a trespasser, even on a "public" road if their purpose is unlawful. eg one of the offences colloquially referred to as "poaching" is (or was when I was at police training centre) "trespassing in pursuit of game." That could be committed on a highway because the public right of way does not include a right to go poaching. (All the case law there was from the 19C of course.)
I've not offered any sort of an answer to your original query, because it's civil law and I don't know the answer, but in the absence of anything from a lawyer I'll suggest where to look for that answer. I suspect it lies somewhere in the law of trespass. I presume the stuff on Wiki is generally correct as a starter:-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trespass_in_English_lawI do know - because it was an important element of the Larceny Acts, that the fabric of a building is "real" property ie it forms part of the land it stands on. So leaning your bike against somebody else's building wouldn't be the same tort (civil wrong) as leaning it against their car (which is personal property) even if the result might be the same. I suspect that leaning a bike against either a wall or a car amounts to a trespass, especially if they have asked you to desist. Without damage, it's a very minor trespass, of course, so it would only be somebody on a mission and with really deep pockets who might take it to court to find out. I'm still in "I suspect" mode when I suggest their summary remedy would be to remove the bike (reasonably carefully) to somewhere else. If they went a step further - like trying to shove your bike where the sun doesn't shine - you might get a decision on trespass to the person - also explained in Wiki.
Reading your last couple of posts, this doesn't seem to be about trespass at all. Your feathers have been ruffled.