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| Bike Centre volunteer Douglas Smith works on a bicycle. (Nick Pearce Photo) |
Do you want to ride your bicycle? Now you can ride your bike where and when you like with the help of the Campus Bike Centre. Located at the Studley Gym, this small but mighty centre is working to make Dal a more bike-friendly spot.
A study conducted by the Office of Sustainability revealed Dalhousie was not viewed as a particularly bike-friendly campus. Safety and a lack of education were cited as the major reasons why more people were not using bikes as a means of transportation to and from campus. The study did however indicate that there was significant interest by students to have an on-campus bicycle initiative. The Campus Bike Centre was opened one year ago as a way to help address these concerns.
The centre is a pilot project over seen by Scott MacPhee, WiserTrips Project Coordinator for Clean Nova Scotia in conjunction with staff from the Dalhousie Office of Sustainability and the Department of Athletics. Clean Nova Scotia is a not-for-profit organization that focuses on environmental sustainability. Mr. MacPhee notes that with the proper knowledge and education, anybody can be a biker. And, in case you were wondering, MacPhee rides his bike every day – that’s 365 days a year, rain or shine.
Road worthy
The centre is meant to both educate and assist avid cyclists and encourage would-be riders. This is achieved through rider education, such as offering safety and maintenance classes and tips on the rules of the road and how to cycle safely in the winter. It also offers a drop-in style bicycle repair shop service. The service is staffed by volunteers like Ed Rushton, an MBA student and avid cyclist.
“We can look at a bike and see what it’s going to take to either get it on the road or keep it there. By building bike awareness, it helps to make it easier for people to commute,” he says. He notes that the Campus Bike Centre has all the pro tools found in a bike-repair shop, but the service is free of charge. Volunteers like Mr. Rushton will assist cyclists with maintenance and help to educate riders on proper bike-riding safety.
How-to
It should be noted, the Campus Bike Centre is not a bike shop. That is to say, you cannot drop off your bike to have it fixed or leave it at the centre. Instead, volunteers will guide you through the maintenance process and teach you how to perform the maintenance yourself. The tools are available to use, but there are only limited spare parts in the centre- purchasing the parts off-site is also your responsibility.
So far this year, the Campus Bike Centre has seen an average of 15 to 20 people per day stop by. Concerns range from general maintenance questions to questions on where to purchase a bike in Halifax. The centre is open to all students, staff and faculty of Dalhousie University.
Get on your bikes and ride!