Spring is the time of year that many University of Oregon students strap on their helmets, dust off their bicycles and begin to ride. This spring, the UO Bike Program has a lot of new workshops and programs available for the entire biking community to take part in.
The Bike Program offers a variety of clinics to help students learn how to do both preventative maintenance and emergency repairs. A do-it-yourself bike station inside the bike barn allows students to bring in their broken bikes and get hands-on help from mechanics.
Alec Wright, a UO sophomore and avid cyclist, uses the do-it-yourself bike station frequently.
“It’s frustrating at times, but you learn a lot and it becomes more fun,” Wright said. “Next time if I have the same problem with my bike, I will know how to fix it.”
Kate Armstrong, UO junior and operations coordinator of the Bike Program, explained the usual bike school will continue this term. The bike school is a six week class that meets once per week.
“Bike school is where you take apart each system of the bike and put it back together to learn about how all the systems are working with one another,” Armstrong said.
Some of the other workshops that the Bike Program is offering this spring include: 5 Repairs on the Fly, Confidently Biking Campus and Beyond, Women’s Maintenance Night, Bike Music Fest and BicyClean. More information for each of these workshops can be found on the Bike Program website: http://outdoorprogram.uoregon.edu/bikes.
Most friday mornings the Outdoor Program hosts, “Ridgeline Friday,” a mountain bike trip with the Bike Program that is free and open for anyone to go on. “We are trying to encourage more beginning riders and especially more ladies to come out with us,” Armstrong said.
The Bike Program also rents out bicycles to students for $30 per term. Over 100 bikes of various styles and shapes are available to rent. Max Vuylsteke, a UO junior and bike mechanic, said part of his job is to maintain this fleet of bikes so that they stay in good condition for the following terms.
Vuylsteke explained many of the bikes were donated, but some are just found around campus.
“It’s very common for students to ditch their bikes when they don’t want them anymore. Those get impounded and come to us,” Vuylsteke said.
With spring in the air and warm weather on the horizon, Armstrong said that this is the Bike Program’s busiest time of the year. She encourages all students to come in to the barn to learn more about bikes and to go on some bike trips this term.
Vuylsteke said, “The bike program is all about empowering students and community members to take transportation and bicycle mechanics into their own hands and to show everyone that bicycling is not only functional, but fun.”