Bikes are great – especially during the school year. You see students cruising along to class and start contemplating whether or not you should make the purchase. Our 10 tips can help you with your decision.
1. It will (most likely) get stolen
- By stolen, I mean put in a tree. Take a walk around campus and you are bound to find at least one bike in a tree.
2. Get a bike lock
- Park your bike without a lock? Good luck. If you’d rather not find your bike tangled up in a tree somewhere or worse, stolen for good, you’ll definitely want to buy a lock for it…and I cannot stress it enough that it WILL find its way to a tree if it’s not secured.
3. Register your bike
- Buying a lock is the first step. Next, you’ll need to register it. Registration helps protect your bike in case of theft. Follow this link to fill out a registration form. Find more information about registering your bike here.
4. Use the bike paths
- Either you’ll get hit or people won’t move…use the paths that are designated specifically for bikes to avoid problems.
5. Easy exercise
- No time for the gym? A quick bike to class is an easy way to workout. Plus, biking can actually be really relaxing, even if it’s just a 10 minute ride.
6. You will need a Granite bike pass
- So you have your bike, lock and registration…now what? If you’re living with Granite, be sure to get a bike pass from our office for protection.
7. Less gas, more pizza money
- This one is self explanatory. Gas is expensive & pizza is good. Get a bike.
8. Quicker than walking
- With campus construction, I find myself spending a good 10-15 extra minutes sitting in traffic. With a bike, you can skip out on the traffic and limited parking and find a bike rack right outside of your class.
9. Avoid the parking ticket
- Purdue has 2-hour parking on various places around campus, and if you’re lucky, you’ve never showed up to your car with an orange ticket on your window. If you’re like most students though, there’s been a day or two where you’ve left your car over the limit. With a bike, this can be completely avoided!
10. Park in designated bike racks
- There are bike racks for a reason, use them! If you park your bike in a place other than a bike rack, you risk the possibility of Purdue removing your bike from campus. There are bike racks around every corner on campus, you just have to look.
Now that you know the tips, enjoy your new ride!
