Although there have only been 13 bike thefts this year, compared to 28 at this time last year, Public Safety continues to urge students to remain vigilant.
“Now that biking season is over, Public Safety strongly recommends that students take their bikes home, for both storage and safety issues,” said Director of Public Safety Maryann Wiggin.
Rob Kunkle ’05, however, is taking his chances. Kunkle, the co-organizer of a new biking club called Legit, insists that he will continue biking through the cold months.
“Wear gloves if it’s cold and you haven’t mastered riding with your hands down your pants,” Kunkle said.
Alex Uhlman ’07 plans to opt for comfort and convenience.
“I have a bike, but it’s getting cold, and I also have a car,” Uhlman said. “And even as the weather has been nice, I like to walk because I have poor coordination and a long history of stitches.”
Earlier in the semester, Public Safety issued a warning to all students with bikes that they should not use Kryptonite U-shaped bike locks, after the New York Times reported that these locks could be picked apart with a pen.
Public Safety hopes that by March it will be able to recommend a better Kryptonite lock.
Kathleen Salmon ’07 lived in Clark Hall last year and kept her bicycle in the bike room.
“I never locked it up,” Salmon said. “One day I went to ride it and it wasn’t there. I called Public Safety and filed a missing property complaint. Within the next week I found my bike locked up outside of MoCon. I presumed that whoever took my bike realized they stole my lifeblood and so returned my bike to a place where freshmen often went.”
Laura Goldhamer ’06 experienced a scare after parting with her bike for the summer.
“I lent my bike to a friend over the summer and he left it out on his porch under the elements,” Goldhamer said. “It got rusted and busted. Someone even tried to jack it by cutting through the steel, and now I hurt myself when I work too quickly at undoing the lock.”
The bike racks around campus are often overflowing, so students rushing to class sometimes lock their bike to other bikes.
“The school needs more bike racks,” said Oliver Bazainet ’07. “Otherwise though, I have no complaints. Due to my wonderful location on the top of Foss Hill, rushing down the hill in the morning makes me feel like a wild man, balancing my paper in hand, my pajamas adrift in the wind.”
Andrew Brooks ’05 is a co-organizer of Legit, which will begin to meet on Saturdays, and will provide tools and assistance for those who want to work on their bikes.
“I ride my bike on campus because it’s simply the best way to get around—it turns a small campus into a tiny one,” Brooks said. “If I’ve got my bike with me, I never think twice about going all the way across campus to a party or to somebody’s house because it takes so much less time and effort.”
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