Second annual Green Bike Rollout adds new bikes to campus

At the second annual Green Bike Rollout March 20, about 50 staff and students came to the Weinstein Center for Recreation and Wellness for a three-mile ride around campus on the familiar yellow bikes.

Lucia Anderson, outdoor and facilities coordinator, said the event would send 46 bikes throughout campus.

"The goal of the event is not only to have people [at the event], but also to increase the visibility of the bikes," Anderson said. "We were able to do that by riding around campus with the shirts on, and people knew who we were."

Anderson said she had started the program last year in the hopes that it would help increase student accountability for the bikes. Before the group bike ride, students signed and read out loud a pledge from the back of the shirts given out at the event. Anderson then read the rules of the bike program in her opening statement, including keeping the bikes on campus, keeping them at bike racks without locking them and calling the gym if they find a broken bike.

The pledge reads as follows: "I __________ support the Green Bike Initiative to create a more bicycle-friendly campus for students, faculty and staff at the University of Richmond. I pledge to treat the Green Bikes with respect and leave them in the same condition they were found in. I recognize that the UR Green Bike Program is a privilege and will use responsible judgment when riding on campus."

About 50 students and staff members came to the bike rollout, picked up a free shirt and food and took advantage of the warm weather and sunshine.

"It was a beautiful day," junior Julia Baer said after the bike ride, "and it's a great way to celebrate the spring season."

Baer said she made a point to come to the event after having so much fun when her living and learning group, Earth Lodge, came out together last year. She also said the event was a nice way to see all of campus in a much more relaxed way.

"I usually don't have a lot of time to bike around leisurely," Baer said. "So this is a great way to hang out with friends and enjoy the release of the green bikes."

Contact staff writer Jeremy Day at jeremy.day@richmond.edu