With summer around the corner many CSUN students, faculty and staff are keeping cars at home and buffing up their bikes to take on a nice ride to and from campus. Students who’re riding their bikes to school aren’t only taking advantage of the pleasant weather the Los Angeles area has been experiencing during the past week, but are also getting in shape by riding bikes.

‘It’s definitely healthier for me to bring my bike to school,’ said Nawwaf Alsuhaim, senior, financial management major.’ ‘After a while, you start to feel healthy when you wake up in the morning.’

Other CSUN students find it very convenient to cycle through campus, because it gets them to class faster and beats walking from one end of campus to the other.

Senior biology undergraduate, Brad Rice, said he’s glad he has his bicycle on campus because time is a big issue with him and he usually ends up running late to classes when he doesn’t have his bike.’ He has had his bicycle since eighth grade which gets him to class on time, saving him from strolling through the door late.

Some students agreed with Rice, using their bikes is a quicker way to get around campus.

‘I live at the dorms, so it’s a lot easier to get around campus,’ said Kevin Miller, freshman, psychology major.’ ‘It’s a lot quicker than walking.’

Because CSUN is a commuter school, parking can be a bit of a hassle for students, making a bike a better option for transportation.

‘You can never find parking on campus,’ said Monica Shaike, senior, EOH major.’ ‘I actually got a parking pass my first year here and then I realized it was a big waste of money because at the times when I needed the parking I couldn’t find it, so I decided to just bring my bike.’

Bridget Ryan freshman liberal studies major, said she also rides her bicycle to campus because there’s never any parking left when she brings her car and it also gives her a little bit more time to sleep in.

Some bike riders like Michael Dilley, have a couple reasons for bringing their bikes to school.

‘Two reasons, one is it’s expensive to have a car, fuel, insurance and all that,’ said the junior, public health major. ‘Two, this is fine, keeps my life slower paced, keeps me healthier and allows me to experience life more deeply’hellip;but mostly for my health,’ he added.

There are some students who don’t live near campus but ride bikes to CSUN like Sean Tessier living five miles away.’ Tessier rides his bicycle to and from campus everyday making his bike ride 10 miles a day.’ He also commutes to campus six times a week, totaling his bike mileage to roughly 60 miles a week.

All students agreed commuting to campus on their bikes would help lower the CO2 emissions in the air.

Both Miller and Dilley have recently had their bikes stolen and were forced to get new ones.’ However, according to the CSUN Web site, students can bring their bikes to the CSUN Department of Police Services and register bikes for free.’ This’ll improve the chances of getting their bicycle back if it’s ever stolen.

In the coming weeks, the weather will be more inviting for more CSUN students to begin biking to school, and the bike registration efforts should make these students feel comfortable bringing their bikes out of their garages and onto campus.
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