1. Act Like a Pedestrian and a Car
One of the most amazing things about biking around UConn is that you can ride on either the sidewalks or the road. Riding on the road is amazing because you don’t get stuck behind the super slow walkers or packs of frat boys who take up the entire sidewalk. You can act like a pedestrian, too, by crossing in crosswalks rather than waiting at intersections like cars. On a bike, you can beat the foot traffic and the real traffic.
2. Extra Sleep
As stated above, beating the pedestrian traffic and car traffic makes biking the fastest mode of transportation on campus. From the Alumni Quad, you can get anywhere in approximately 5 minutes. My farthest class is in the Floriculture building (the green houses next to Towers) and I am able to bike there in 10 minutes when it is normally a 20 minute walk. Able to get to class faster means you are able to sleep in later; and there is nothing better than 15 extra minutes of sleep.
3. Park Anywhere
In the age of parking tickets and rants about parking services going up on Buy or Sell almost everyday, bikes are a huge benefit and great alternative. There are bike racks in front of almost every building on campus, and even if there isn’t one, get a lock that goes through your wheels and park your bike wherever you please without worrying about a $50 ticket.
4. Exercise
Mid-semester, it is almost impossible to find the energy to get to the gym after classes. With all of the little hills on UConn’s campus, your legs get some nice tone after biking around for a month, and it feels a lot less like exercise when it gets you from point A to point B.
**Don’t let this happen to you in a Body Wise spin class, just bike around campus
5. Cute Insta Pics
Bikes make for amazing impromptu photo shoots. Wearing a cute outfit but don’t want to pose alone? Grab your bike! Want a group picture but don’t want to look basic? Get on your bikes for a unique “biker gang” pic. Not to mention you can make some adorable Boomerangs peddling by.
6. Helps the Environment
Every little action can have a big impact on the environment. Choosing to bike rather than drive not only improves the air quality on campus but also lessens your carbon footprint overall. This may be a big picture reason, but it is the cherry on top. For all of the reasons above, you also get the benefit of directly helping the environment by making a small change to your daily routine.
Bikes are extremely effective at getting you around campus, and after starting biking around campus after a month of school, I certainly felt like my life improved because I had more time in the day I wasn’t spending so much time walking place to place. Worried about the upcoming cold weather? You’re still going to be bundled up to walk to class, why not bundle up and get there quicker via bike. Biking on campus is a lifestyle students should definitely adopt.