Bike and be happy!

Well, IU, it’s official. Start counting down the days to Little 500, because spring is here and the weather is wonderful.

Time to put away the ugly sweaters, the Kilroy’s scarves and the scratchy layers for good, because it looks like a Disney movie outside, and it’s time to celebrate.  
So how to welcome in the new season?

I imagine that your ceremonial spring break road trip may have left you feeling a little more than cooped up.

I know that I want to avoid cars as much as possible, especially if you’re like me and your air conditioning hasn’t worked since high school.

You might want keep up the tan you just got or recommit to your New Year’s fitness resolutions.

Or maybe you just want to spend as much time outside as possible. In short, this is the perfect time to get back on your bike.

Maybe your bike hasn’t seen sunlight since November. Bring it out! The persistent myth that bikes are just for hipsters and racers is far from true.

The truth is that bikes are not just a vital means of transportation; they also work to improve our quality of life.

More than 70 percent of all IU students, faculty and staff live within three miles of campus, a distance that is perfectly suited for bicycle transportation.

Even at three miles, your bike ride will take fewer than 15 minutes, fast enough to avoid any sweat or a change of clothes, three miles calculated at 12 mph. 

IU also has more than 3,400 bike rack spaces on campus to make sure you’ll have a spot waiting for you wherever you want to go.

The League of American Bicyclists recently designated IU a Bronze-Level Bicycle Friendly University for its efforts to encourage cycling, and it’s time to take advantage of our beautiful campus. 

As a soon-to-be graduating senior, I feel that I’m lucky to go to a school that’s as livable and easy to navigate as IU.

It admittedly does take some cojones to grab your bike for the first time and jump on the road with cars, but it’s more than possible.

If you feel that your ride needs a tune-up, our campus has placed Fix-It stations outside of the Herman B Wells Library and the Indiana Memorial Union.

You could also make the short trip to Bloomington Community Bike Project or any number of bike stores downtown to make the needed repairs.

Bikes are meant to be useful and enjoyable. And hey, it’s less than a month to Little 500.

Don’t you want to say you were a part of an IU bike culture that produces the largest collegiate bike race in the country?

Mother Nature’s given us the spring weather to do it, so go ride that bike.

­— hehunt@umail.iu.edu