Bike borrowing is something that everyone becomes aware of immediately after arriving at Sewanee. However unfortunate, throwing bikes into Lake Trez is real.
I’m someone who would make sure to always lock their bike in fear of it being stolen or forced to take a dip in Lake Trez, so I never imagined that my bike, while locked, would be dismantled and partly missing. Sadness struck me as I returned to my bike, parked outside McCrady, placed perfectly balanced, upside down, with its front wheel gone. I was always empathetic towards people whose bikes were stolen, but now I relate through experience and I am angry!
In writing this article, I hope to bring more awareness and caution to this issue because even if your bike is locked it can still be in danger. I hope to healthily get my anger out, and try to make sense of people stealing bikes. Bikes are expensive and we are college students, so perhaps people’s main reason for takes bikes is because they cannot afford to buy their own. Or maybe someone took theirs, so they’re taking someone else’s in return (a bad cycle!). Regardless, stealing is morally wrong and a huge inconvenience to people like me who live far away from central campus, or to people who can’t afford to buy a new bike. Just be a decent human being and don’t take something that isn’t yours (did people not learn this in elementary school?)!
Although I don’t believe I needed to learn a lesson because I always locked my bike, I guess I have learned to take further caution, and I intend to now lock my bike through its frame, both wheels, and something tethered to the ground. I suggest doing the same, especially on weekends when drunk people have worse judgment and think that it’s funny, even though it’s not.