As many of you know, I generally walk to campus. However, today I had a meeting off-campus, near Snelling Ave., so I checked-out, for free, one of the cruiser bikes at the O’Shaughnessy-Frey Library (part of the UST Libraries and Wellness Center Bike Share Program). I thought I’d share my experience with you in case anyone else is interested in using a bike.

The bike itself is a true cruiser – very fat tires, wide handlebars, coaster brakes.  It does have three speeds, with an internal hub gear (rather than external derailleur).  The bike seat was way too low, and it isn’t a quick release adjustable, so make sure to borrow an Allen Wrench from the Library’s Circulation Desk.

I rode over on Portland, so very little traffic.  I will warn you, it is slightly uphill when you go from west to east towards Snelling (Marathoners discover this in the final miles of the Twin Cities marathon, too).  You don’t notice it if you are driving, but it is definitely there.

It took only about 20 minutes, from unlocking the bike to hooking it up at my final destination.

Though the bikes do not have baskets, they do have a rear tire rack.

The Twin Cities are increasingly bike friendly, in fact, Bicycling magazine (access full-text articles via the Library’s databases) voted Minneapolis #2 in “America’s Top 50 Bike-Friendly Cities.”

I’d recommend this Bike Share Program to anyone wanting a green alternative to driving.

 

Dan Gjelten (Director of UST Libraries)

 

Note:

• Bikes are available to borrow for Free to current UST Students, Faculty, and Staff
• Bikes can be checked-out for 3 days at a time
• Since the Library joined the program on May 15, 2012, the two Library bikes have been checked-out a total of 17 times
• The UST Wellness Center has an additional 10 bikes available to check-out