Cycling–Not Driving–is the Move

Reported By: Sophia Lumsdaine

Photo from: georgefox

I have had my driver’s license since high school, but I came to college without a car. Instead, I brought a bike. Although having a bike certainly has its disadvantages, it is a good and feasible option for many students at George Fox University (GFU).

For those who do not have a car on campus, bikes provide an economical and practical transportation option. The choice to have a bike offers other significant advantages that ultimately outweigh the disadvantages. 

The first advantage is economical. Bikes do not require gas and therefore do not require spending money on gas. While the initial purchase of the bike and any later repairs will require some financial investment, the amount spent on bike maintenance isn’t comparable to how much it would cost to buy and upkeep a car.

Second, bikes are not harmful to the environment. In addition to the extractive processes involved in creating automobile fuel, the burning of gasoline and diesel releases harmful chemicals such as nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, and formaldehyde, as well as carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gasses. CO2 is not biologically harmful, but traps heat when released into the atmosphere, causing global temperature rise and increasingly severe climatic conditions on Earth. Automotive transportation accounts for 29% of US greenhouse gas emissions, the largest single source in the country, with a typical personal vehicle emitting 4.6 metric tons of CO2 each year. Bikes emit 0.0 metric tons of CO2 each year.

Finally, biking is fun and healthy. Cycling gets you outdoors and exercising and may even allow you to connect more with the Newberg community. Going out on my bike is something I enjoy doing, and biking has allowed me to explore local neighborhoods, trails, and parks that I would not have likely known about had I had a car.

Aside from the benefits of having a bike, one of the biggest drawbacks to relying solely on a bike for transportation is the limited distance a bike can travel and the fact that cycling sometimes exposes one to uncomfortable weather conditions. There are times when bikes really don’t meet transportation needs. However, since at least one person in a friend group will likely have a car, carpooling can be a great option. Carpooling means less CO2 is released per person than an individual car trip would and also that gas money is less for each individual. Moreover, carpooling can be fun and social!

If carpooling isn’t possible, public transportation may be another good option, both within Newberg and in the Portland metro area. This fall, I used the Trimet system to get in and out of Portland.

For students who already have a bike or are seriously considering using one, the closest official bike shop is in McMinnville. There is, however, a bike fix-it station in the Maker Hub that students can access, although Henry Clancy, the University Recreation’s (UREC) Equipment Repair Specialist, doubted that it would be fully equipped for all bike repairs. 

Hadlock Student Center does not currently offer bike repair services for GFU students, but Clancy said he thought that “if there was a lot of student interest in having such a resource, Hadlock could commit to making that happen.” He stated that the choice to offer such a service was ultimately up to the Director of University Recreation. Clancy recommended that GFU students who currently have bikes educate themselves on how to properly secure their bikes when they are out in Newberg and that they should reach out to UREC for any other bike-related questions they might have.

While not conventional or easy, having a bike instead of a car at GFU is possible, practical, and rewarding. Students who make this choice will be saving money, tanking their carbon footprint, and cultivating a more active lifestyle.