Tip of the Month: September 2015 – Sustainable Commuting By Bike
[This information is out of date. Check out UHBikes for bike rentals!]
Today – September 22 – happens to be World Car Free Day. It’s a great time to think about cutting your commuter carbon footprint — a super
way to do so is to ride your bike. Certainly, cycling in the dead of winter during a blizzard or over 20 miles to campus is not for everyone. But why not take the “10 minute challenge” put forth by Bike Cleveland? This challenge asks you to consider biking ten minutes instead of driving five. By the time you park a car and walk in to your destination, more than likely, biking and driving will take nearly the same amount of time. On campus riding your bike will help you snag stellar parking right next to our buildings. And of course biking is great exercise, don’t forget your helmet. We have a wealth of cycling resources in Cleveland and right here at the University.
- If you don’t have your own bike, check out Zagster [no longer in Cleveland]. There’s a station located at the Cleveland Museum of Art’s main entrance off of Wade Oval and another next to the Uptown, University Circle Courtyard Hotel. You can rent a bike for only $3 an hour with a maximum $24 trip fee or buy a monthly or yearly membership and get your first hour each ride free. Just return the bike to any Zagster station around Cleveland. You use your smartphone to pay with their app.
Bike Fixit Stations on campus
- If you do have your own bike, you might need some help maintaining your ride and we have five new bike Fixit stations on campus to help you out. They are located between Sherman and Wade, outside Robbins, beside the Kelvin Smith Library near the bike racks, in front of the new Think[box] and outside of Fribley. Not only do these stations include a universal sized air pump to inflate tires but a rack on which to hang your bike and tools to fix it as well. Located on the rack is a QR code to scan with your smart phone to give you directions about how to use the tools.
- Bike Cleveland is a nonprofit working to forward cycling in Cleveland. Their current campaign is “We’re All Drivers.” It highlights people within the community from all walks of life cycling for transportation. Bike Cleveland reminds us that these cyclists deserve the same respect and courtesy on the road as vehicular traffic. They state, “Bicycles are legal road vehicles, and people on bikes are ‘drivers’ subject to the same rules and rights as people in cars. Bikes are not blocking traffic, they are traffic.” Know the rules of the road which are on the We’re All Drivers website.
- Also check out Bike Cleveland’s Biking Guide that is chocked full of tips on bike safety, maps, information about clubs and bike shops. Here is where you’ll find that 10-minute challenge we’re talking about.
- Some roads are more bike friendly than others and this information is captured within this Cuyahoga County biking map [no longer available]. We have a waterproof bike map for the Cleveland Heights/University Circle area, just stop by our office in the Peter B Lewis building Fowler Center, suite 110, free for CWRU faculty, staff and students.
- Also remember that you can use Google Maps to create a bike route which may be different than the route produced for walking or driving.
- If you have a competitive spirit consider logging your bike miles with the annual bike challenge, there’s a CWRU team!
Have fun with your bike! Enjoy the ride and bask in the knowledge that you’re only using your own calories to fuel your commute, not oil.
Story by Maureen Wise