When I moved back to Richmond this summer, I decided to bring my bike with me for transportation purposes. At first it was great; I figured out that you can get to Carytown in less than 30 minutes with a bike, and biking to and from class made life a million times easier. But after a couple of weeks, I began experiencing what has become a series of unfortunate bike events that have changed my perspective on what it means to have a bicycle in the city. In chronological order, here is my Richmond bike history thus far with the lessons I have learned throughout these experiences.
1. The Tire Thief
It is 10 o’clock at night and I have officially been on campus for over 12 hours. I am tired and ready to go home. My bike has been parked behind the MCALC all day and I, in my naivety, think that this is the safest spot on campus since it is in a more secluded area. As soon as I see my bike, I realize that I have made a huge mistake. I did not lock my removable tire up along with the bike frame and now someone has stolen it, leaving my bike one wheel short. Defeated, I walk all the way home my arms aching from having to carry my bike.
Moral of the Story: Even if you’re on campus, lock your bike up as securely as possible. If your tire is removable (meaning that it isn’t bolted to the frame), make sure you put your lock through the wheel as well. Also, if you’re going to be on campus for a super long time, it might be a good idea to check back in on your bike at least once or park it in a high traffic area that’s less likely to attract bike and tire thieves. You can also register your bike with the VCU Police so it can be found more easily if stolen.
2. The Ants Incident
It is a month later. I have a new bike that my father bought for me at a neighbor’s yard sale (he likes getting bikes for discounted prices) to replace the bike that now is one tire short. I am running late so I park my bike in the first available spot I see outside of Temple near those big bushes by Oliver. After I get out of class I go to unlock my bike and see that there’s an ant on it. I swipe it off and go to get on my bike only to realize it looks like a horror movie. Ants are everywhere — on the tires, the handlebars, the seat — I don’t even want to ride it because it’s too gross. As soon as I get home, I attack my bike with a can of RAID and let the rain take care of any leftovers.
Moral of the Story: Don’t park your bike in or near bushes or other places that could be home to hordes of insects.
3. The Chain BLAH Massacre
The title on this one is a little misleading and I know my mom usually reads my articles, so I should put a disclaimer here that I am totally fine, but my bike could be better.
Anyway, I am on my way to class biking uphill when suddenly I feel myself tilting forward. Before I know it I am colliding with the pavement, fortunately knees and hands first, not head first. After I am over the initial shock of falling off my bike, I am able to move myself onto the sidewalk and make sure everything is OK. Overall, I’m fine and I walk over to my class and wash my scraped knee off with soap and water in the restroom. My bike is fairly OK, but once I examine it I realize that the chain has fallen off the gears, making it useless until I have it fixed. While I’m trying to put the chain back on I also see that there’s still an ant from the last incident hanging out under the seat.
Moral of the Story: Make sure you’re up to date on bike maintenance and that everything on your bike is solid and safe. Also, if you’re biking in long or loose clothing make sure it’s safely away from your bike gears. I’m pretty sure the chain just popped off my bike and that’s why I crashed, but I’m not 100% sure what did happen and my pants could easily have gotten stuck in the gears and caused the accident.
Finally, there are some really awesome people in this city. After I crashed, a couple of cars stopped to ask if I was OK and that was such a great thing to do.
Biking in the city is pretty rad for the most part, even if you have to take extra precautions with certain things. I’m sure everyone who rides a bike around here has at least one crazy Richmond bike story. At the moment, my bike is still out of commission from the chain falling off, but once it is fixed I’ll be riding it again (with my helmet on, mom, I promise).
If you’re interested in learning more about bike safety, bike maintenance/repairs, or are interested in renting a bike through the university, you can check out VCU’s RamBikes website here.