UREC rental bikes now available
UREC rental bikes
As a new addition to the UREC Adventure Program and equipment rentals, students may check out bicycles to see if they want to use them in their day-to-day lives before actually investing in one. One bike may be rented at a time for a week. Bikes cost $7 for one week.
Posted: Monday, September 16, 2013 12:00 am | Updated: 10:59 am, Wed Sep 18, 2013.
Students sick of traffic and parking now have a chance to try a different type of transportation.
UREC was approached at the end of last year by the JMU EARTH Club to help with bike rentals, according to Director of University Recreation Eric Nickel. Students and faculty can rent them from UREC’s Adventure Program now for $7 per week.
Bikes can be checked out by the equipment center in the back right corner of UREC, across from the locker rooms and past the climbing wall on the right.
“We didn’t plan to implement it, but the EARTH Club decided they wanted to buy bikes that students could use,” Nickel said.
There’s a fee so the bikes can get serviced and tuned up after each rider. Shenandoah Bicycle Company works with the university and services every bike.
The EARTH Club started Cycle Share, a program on Wednesdays with 12 bikes on the commons which students could rent. After signing an agreement and writing down their phone number and email address, students had the bike for two weeks.
Cycle Share is now its own organization and isn’t a part of EARTH. Club.
“What I like about our doing it a week at a time is letting students to see what it’s like having a bike on campus,” Nickel said. “The goal is not for you to keep the bike, but to see if it works for them, and then you can get one and fold it into your lifestyle.”
UREC keeps a small number of bikes in the rental area, while the majority of them are in storage in the Champions Parking Deck. Eventually a storage facility will be built for the bikes at UREC.
If the bike rentals are successful, UREC will look into larger bike storage options and investing in more bikes. They want to promote healthy lifestyles and riding bikes on campus.
An EARTH club member, junior interdisciplinary liberal studies major Melissa Griffin, worked with JMU Cycle Share on the commons in past years. She’s happy to see more promotion of sustainable living.
“I think it’s a great idea; I personally use a bike to get everywhere,” Griffin said. “Even living on campus, I used my bike because it’s easier than the crowded buses.”
Griffin also likes biking because it makes going downtown to the Harrisonburg Farmers Market downtown on the weekends easy.
Sophomore anthropology major Jaimie Mulligan, is an employee at Shenandoah Bicycle Company.
After every use, the company services the bikes by looking it over, checking the brakes and parts and then taking it on a test ride at UREC, according to Mulligan. She’s also excited to see the bike share expand.
“I think it’s awesome people can bike and have a good time because they have so many great trails around here,” Mulligan said. “I have a friend who lives in Harrisonburg and goes to JMU because the trails are so hard to leave.”
The Shenandoah Bicycle Company sells bikes faster at the beginning of the semester, due to increased student demand. Used bikes are priced around $200, depending on the condition , age and what type of bike it is.
JMU’s increase in bike racks from last year also makes it easier for riders to find a place to lock up bikes before class.
“I love how the university is making more bike racks,” Mulligan said. “It’s easier for bikers and I really appreciate it, especially the one by Warren Hall.”
Always remember to properly lock up a bike to a fixed immovable object, like a bike rack in visible, well-lighted areas, according to the National Bike Registry. Riders should never lock bikes onto items that can be easily cut, broken or otherwise removed.
Bicycles, helmets and bike lights may be checked out with a students JACard on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays. A returnable deposit of $15, paid on FLEX or a credit card, is required and only one bike can be rented at a time per student.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, many bicycle-related crashes resulting in death or injury are related to the actions of the rider. Always wear a fitted helmet, go with the flow of traffic and follow the rules of the road.
Contact Elizabeth Dsurney at breezenews@gmail.com.
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