Q: Should I bring my bike when I come to campus?

A biker travels west along Green Street in the winter. There are paths for bikers all over campus.
Trevor Greene The Daily Illini

In my first class freshman year, my professor began to go on a rant saying that everyone needed to be careful here on campus. Most of the students expected her to begin to talk about drinking on campus, walking alone at night or something to that extent. This was not the case. She was talking about the bikes.

While the bikes can be dangerous, at times, they do offer students the ability to get around faster and with less physical exertion.

However, the amount of time when you can use a bike on campus is limited. The weather determines student’s ability to use their bikes. If the weather isn’t warm and sunny riding a bike around campus can be unpleasant.

When it rains the bike seats have a tendency to retain the moisture from the rain until you ride it. When it does release the water, it happens to be on your butt as you ride to class. Many people will put plastic bags over the seats. However, this can only do so much.

In the winter, you can’t ride bikes because the paths are not cleared. Also riding in the cold weather is just unpleasant.

Not only can bikes be used for only a certain amount of time on campus but they also can be dangerous. Bikes have crashed, knocked pedestrians over, and the list goes on. This presents an issue for all students on campus.

Also bikes have been stolen around campus and can only be parked in certain areas.

I personally have never used a bike while at school. I prefer to walk everywhere. Also if you do not want to walk everywhere, the MTD bus system goes many places and stops frequently.

While I have not personally used a bike, many students swear by riding their bikes to class. It really is a what you are most comfortable with.