Saving the Planet Two Wheels at a Time

Ripon's cycling team
campus cuties cycling





It was gratifying to learn today that Wisconsin is on the leading edge of something other than percentage of fatalities involving alcohol. The stats detailed today paint a grim picture of the effect of alcohol on the culture here in the "dairy" state, but enough about that. Let's talk cycling.
Under a program sponsored by President Dr. David C. Joyce, incoming freshmen at Ripon college who agree to leave their cars at home receive a new Trek bicycle, helmet and lock...for free! What initially began as a way to decrease auto traffic became a path to "fitness, health and sustainability," according to Dr. Joyce. The college spent $50,000 on 200 bicycles for the incoming freshman class, and in news to me, the college also has an off-road cycling team (pictured above)! Amazing! Where was something like that at Emporia State? Well, times change, I guess...though it must be noted that Ripon is not the only college setting where such a program has been initiated.
The University of New England provides new students with a $480 bike if they will agree not to drive. Some other universities have free bikes to travel around campus,or make deals with local bike shops for steep discounts on bike purchases. Such a program is not without pitfalls, however; Juniata College in Pennsylvania just cancelled its two-year-old program because students were not taking care of the bikes after the newness had worn off. St. Mary's College in Maryland also halted its program when vandalism reared its ugly head. Some places take reconditioned bikes, paint them in school colors and leave them around campus. Other schools have had the misfortune of getting bikes donated from big box outlets with the result being a very unsatisfactory product.
While it seems as if this is an idea which might be catching on, a similar program was sponsored back in the 70's at the University of Wisconsin. As I understand it, all the bikes were painted white, and students were free to take them and leave them in a bike rack when finished with them...so, the idea is not new, but parking lot issues being what they are, it seems a logical solution.
Me? I just bought fenders (out of recycled materials) for my bike so now I can ride five miles uphill both ways in rain, sleet and snow (touching the telephone wires)all year long...and nobody gave me a free bike, either!
Just call me Mr. Environment.