Bikes provide convenient transportation on campus

When students are running late to class or need to get somewhere quickly, transportation starts to become an art form to get from one place to another.

Students have the option of walking to class of course, but considering the distance, some students would just rather take the Stinger buses.

However, students who ride bikes around campus clearly have an advantage in this dilemma.

"The biggest advantage [to riding a bike] is time...when you only have 10 minutes to get to class and walking would just be a lot slower," said Adam Kan, a fifth-year Mechanical Engineering major.

However, biking is a physical activity and the same resistance that comes from walking up hills also comes into play when riding up hills.

"The campus is somewhat hilly in places. I don't mind, but I suppose that might discourage others," said Lisa Safstrom, a City and Regional Planning graduate student.

Although Safstrom may not ride her bike around campus due to the close proximity of her classes, she regularly rides her bike around the Atlanta area and to and from college.

"[Biking] is so much fun, keeps me fit, is good for the environment and causes much less stress than driving," Safstrom said.

"My legs are kind of burning as I pull into class. you still have to use your body a lot," said Ben Murdock, a fifth-year Aerospace Engineering major.

One of the most noted advantages to riding bikes is that metro Atlanta traffic is much less problematic when on a bike, even though the rules of the road also apply to bike riders. However, driving in metro Atlanta traffic has its dangers as some drivers may not notice bikers right beside them as they are driving along.

This is why many bikers around campus participate in the world-wide Critical Mass movement which is a scheduled time in which bikers ride in mass in order to make their presence on the road well known, which can be a tough message to get across, especially in such a high-traffic city as Atlanta.

"I know five people who have been involved in hit and run accidents," Murdock said. Murdock has been involved with the Critical Mass rides scheduled in Atlanta.

One of the solutions for students who might not have bikes is a nation-wide phenomenon that started in Portland, Ore. called the Create-A-Commuter Program.

In order to cut down on pollution and prevent people from having to walk long distances in the absence of cars, Create-A-Commuter retained used bikes that were donated from previous users, police departments, and thrift stores, along with any other organization that made use of bikes.

The bikes are then spray painted bright yellow and made free to the public as long as they are returned.

Locally, Decatur Yellow bikes (http://www.dybikes.org) rents bikes out for $25 each, which is still a great deal, especially for college students on a tight budget. In return, the organization asks that participants help repair their own bikes and help paint the bikes yellow.

These are the same bikes seen around campus in dorm areas as well as outside the student center.

Bikers can generally be more alert as they ride since they do not have the stress and distractions that may arise while driving a car, agreed Murdock and Kan.

"When I ride my bike around campus, I have to pay attention much more. a friend of mine once described it by using the term: 'spider sense,'" Murdock said.

In general however, most bikers will put it rather simply and without much explanation:

"It's just too beneficial not to do it," Kan said.