Most people know what a bike, or bicycle, is. Whether a person knows how to ride one or not, he or she should not just dismiss a bike as just something those people on bikes ride. It is important to ask, “Why would a person choose two wheels over two feet?” Well, there are many reasons. Foremost, as a student, cycling is an excellent form of transportation.
Campus is big, and growing. Getting from one end of campus to the other takes more time than what is provided between back-to-back classes. Even making it from the bottom floor of RCH to MC can be cutting it close. However, cycling can cut at least three minutes from that time. This helps to avoid the awkward moments of walking into small lectures just after they begin.
Where a bike really shines is in the ride to and from campus. Whether you are coming from a residence or from off-campus, a bike can make the desired trip home for lunch a reality. Coming from MKV takes about 5 minutes, compared to about 15 minutes of walking. Most of the area between King Street, Northfield Drive, Fischer-Hallman Road, and Union Boulevard is within a 15 minute bike trip. This is compared to waiting for a bus, possibly missing the bus, the bus taking the worst possible route to campus, and finally having to take the 5 minute walk from the bus stop to class. Within this area, it is also faster to bike to campus than to drive. The process of getting a car started, driving to campus, finding parking, and then walking from the parking lot often takes longer within this area.
Riding a bicycle also has other advantages than convenience and speed. As an engineering student, most people reading this article will find that they do not have enough time to get exercise in a day. Exercise has many health, mental, and social benefits that are beyond the scope of this article. The important note is that utilizing a bicycle can help a person get exercise during the time that this person would otherwise be sitting on a bus or in a car. Even a person living close to campus can benefit from this through his trips away from campus. The convenience of cycling will provide the opportunity go more places and do more activities. Going to a grocery store on the way home to top up on groceries is no longer a complex question of when the best buses to take are coming. The places within a reasonable distance for lunch just went from the plaza to most of uptown and the many other food sources in the area.
Some buses come fast and often. A cyclist can also utilize this. Meeting friends for a movie at Conestoga mall requires getting to a bus stop, riding the bus, and then getting to the opposite side of the mall to the movie theatre. All Grand River Transit buses have bike racks. Riding to the nearest iXpress stop, utilizing the express bus speed, and then riding around the mall can make this trip much faster than any alternative.
Riding on some roads can be scary during rush-hour, especially King Street or Northfield Drive near the highway. However, many of the roads near campus are either quiet or have bike lanes. Even better, there are many trails and paths near campus. It is possible to get from downtown Kitchener to the University of Waterloo while spending about two minutes on roads without bike lanes, and these are quiet roads. The time from such a long bike ride is also about as fast as the iXpress, which takes around 20 minutes, if one peddles hard. Even coming from MKV, paths other than the main one to campus exist. As a cyclist, taking the path beside REV which goes down Westmount Road and then through the Health Services parking lot can save time from not having to avoid large crowds. For details of cycling paths and lanes, the Grand River Transit bus system map doubles as a cycling map. The map is available for free online, viewable on the side of some bus stops, and for purchase at the Turnkey Desk.
Fear may be warranted, though. Roads can be scary. The best way to stay safe on a bike is to keep yourself protected. Wear a helmet. Even though wearing a helmet can look dorky, having a brain injury because you were too cool to wear a helmet is much dorkier looking. On the road, the best way to stay safe is to follow the rules of the road. Cyclists on public roads are required to follow the same rules as cars. This ranges from using the appropriate ordering at stop signs, using hand signals when appropriate, and not drinking and biking. A cyclist with a valid driver’s license can be changed with a DUI against that license while on a bicycle. Whether all the rules are really valid, the reasoning behind the rules being the same for both is that it causes less confusion on the road.
Other than safety for the rider, it is also important to keep bikes safe and performing reasonably well. To keep your bike safe, ensure to get an appropriate lock for the desirability of the bike. If it is a nice bike, ensure to use a lock that can also secure the front wheel. Keeping a bike tuned up is a bit more complicated. A bit of oil every couple of weeks will keep everything running smoothly, but managing the gear shifting and breaking maintenance procedures can be complicated. Fortunately, there are often bike maintenance workshops on campus. A well tuned bike can stay tuned for a few seasons before adjustment may be desired. Although owning a bike can take a little bit of work, it provides many benefits to make up for it.
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