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LEASE A BIKE
Need a bike to get around campus?
Click here for lease information and application ...
VOLUNTEER
Would you
like
to volunteer to
help repair, paint, or maintain bikes? Volunteers learn a wide variety of bike maintenance skills and earn access to work on their own bikes. Click here for details.
DONATE A BIKE
We welcome donations of sturdy bikes that are in
good working condition. If you have a bike that you'd like to donate, please
click here for more information. To drop off donated bikes (contact us first
please) here's location information to the MSU Bikes Service Center.
March 2008
If you’re a bicyclist (or pedestrian) parking at the Commuter Parking Lot the closure of Farm Ln. is a major inconvenience (unless you're taking the bus). Well, a temporary pathway/ shortcut for pedestrians/ bicyclists from Commuter Lot 89 thru the Ag Expo fields to Crescent Rd. (near the MSUFCU office) is now open which provides a shorter and safer route to campus than walking/ riding Mt. Hope to Harrison/ Hagadorn Rds. Click here to see a rough map of where this pathway is located as well as a cut-thru to the sidewalk on the east side of Harrison Rd via the parking lot on the west side of the Manly Miles Bldg. Being a temporary pathway it is NOT paved; it's a gravel road that is pretty messy right now; it's also NOT lighted, so beware if you have plans to use it at night.
April 8, 2008
The State News published a series of articles about MSU-area bicyclists which were pretty interesting. Check them out here:
Cyclist's passion provides ever-changing career
If it involves bikes, Tim Potter has probably done it. Potter, 44, has been a newspaper delivery boy, opened a bike shop out of his parents’ garage and served as a translator for bike tours in Japan and Canada.
Hello, my name is Julian Simioni
During the cold winter months, as many as eight members of the MSU Cycling Club could be found in Julian Simioni’s McDonel Hall dorm room, all riding their bikes on stationary “trainers” with the windows wide open, everyone watching a movie or listening to music.
Oct. 17, 2007
A new web-zine, Capital Gains, has recently launched in the Lansing market and did a nice write-up on a few local cyclists who are commuting and or helping folks commute in the area which is where MSU Bikes comes into the picture. Check out the article here.
The State News ran an article on 6/27/06 regarding the revisions
to the 2020 Vision Plan that
is guiding future developments at MSU regarding buildings and traffic/
transportation infrastructure.
"(In interviews) we're looking for people that have that
new idea that can get thrown into the mix and see if it is
worthy of consideration,"Campus planner Stephen Troost said. "You
never know where you're going to get that new idea from."
Send in your bicycling/ transportation related ideas to Stephen here and also consider sending them to the State News.
6/26/06 - MDOT announced that it is partnering with the Library of Michigan, regional library cooperatives and local libraries throughout the state to help set the direction for transportation decisions and investments through 2030. Participating libraries are encouraging their patrons to complete a brief on-line questionnaire to help MDOT update its long range transportation plan. Take the questionnaire | Learn more about the State's Long Range Transportation Plan...
Nov. 28, 05, State News
As the winter winds blow into campus and the first snows cover
the ground, MSU students racing and weaving across campus face
new challenges to make it to class on time. Bikers brave the icy
streets and pedestrians test their luck in front of approaching
traffic. More...
How do you get more folks on campus to understand the advantages of alternative transportation in real terms? Well, Terry Link (co-founder of the Bike Project) director of the Office of Campus Sustainability, at the suggestion of Gus Gosselin (the other co-founder of the Bike Project) set up a challenge where a biker, pedestrian, auto-driver and bus rider would start at the same point and head to the John Hannah statue in front of the Admin Bldg. and see how the times compared. Everyone had to park and drive legally and not race. The State News ran an article (10/27/05) with some of the preliminary results. Cyclists can pretty well guess the results (and riding on sidewalks wasn't allowed!). Also, the challenge began at noon and ended within 15 minutes for most, so most of the car drivers had no problem parking which isn't exactly real-world around campus! More details coming soon...
This week's (10/17-10/21/05) Lansing Noise features an article called "Day without a car -- With fuel prices on the rise, our reporters give up their rides and learn why gas is so valuable". Excellent potential for change but unfortunately a big disappointment. None of the reporters have apparently ridden their bikes since they were 12 yrs. old (one had to stop every few blocks to take a break during her 4 mi. ride to MSU!); too bad they didn't interview anyone who's a real cyclist or include something in their sidebar that puts cycling in better light or gives a link to a pro-cycling org. for people who want to learn more about bike commuting. Anyway, seems like a ripe article for some real cyclists to comment on before others out there rule out bicycling to work. Here's their Letter to the Editor form.
The cover of
the LSJ Living Section on 6/24/05 (see right) gives owners of VERY old bikes
a new take on the saying "put it out to pasture". Cool idea, but
pls. don't do this to a bike that still has some life in it! Give it to the
Bike Project instead... click here to
donate a bike.
Click here to see Tim Potter's garden bike (yes, he had to have one after
reading this article!).
High gas prices encourage alternatives to cars
St. Johns man rides cross-country for diabetes(State News, 6/6/05)
To Willie Taylor, everyone has a selfless ability waiting to be revealed, and
at age 44, he said he has discovered his own.
Taylor will use his endurance biking ability when he embarks on a two-month
ride from St. Johns, Mich., to Los Angeles and back to raise $100,000
for the American Diabetes Association. More....
 Pat
Flinn, volunteer for Back
Alley Bikes of Detroit, stopped for a tour of the Project workshop
w/ Tim Potter; pictured with his tandem after the Farm Daze Tour.
Photo by wife Maggie Flinn who rode the Tour as stoker. |
(5/21/05) The weather couldn't have been better for the 100+ riders
who came out to enjoy the rolling countryside south of the MSU campus & to
support the MSU Bike Project. Volunteers from the MSU Cycling Club were
on hand to help with registration and other details and were also delighted
with brisk sales of their jerseys & other items. More photos coming
soon!
The inaugural week of
bike commuting events went very well. A full report from the organizers
is here. Local press was good starting with a cover story (see right)
in the City Pulse ("Riding
into a bike-friendly future, Smart Commute takes over greater Lansing
for one sane week") w/ a great cover collage and
a couple excellent articles (the North Okemos route is also my own;
Hamilton Rd. is beautiful indeed, but the pavement makes one think "Baghdad"!). Click
here for the online version. The SCW coordinator, Jessica
Yorko, and LMB At-Large Chair Phil Wells had a very nice, lengthy interview
on 88.9 FM's "Exposure" show last night covering SCW activities,
bike commuting in general and Lucinda Mean's life work, etc. (does
anyone know if we can get a copy of that interview digitally to archive
it?). The LSJ also did a cover story on bike commuting on 5/20 here.
Well
over 100 cyclists participated in the rain-soaked parade which started
on the edge of the MSU campus and went straight downtown under the watchful
escourt of a bunch of Lansing Police Dept. patrol cars who completely closed
down the west-bound lane of Michigan Ave. What a show of respect for bicycling
that all those motorists got! Here's
a report page w/ lots of photos. The get together at the Creole Gallery
in Old Town that same day was very well attended too. Here's
the official LMB page re: the memorial parade and other activites.
For those of you who have a few $ to consider donating towards a worthy
cause, click here for details
on the newly established Lucinda Means Bicycle Advocacy Fund.
The
(cycling) world lost a great visionary teacher this week.
Borrow a Bike - Bike Project hopes to clear traffic and keep MSU green,
(8/18/04, Lansing Noise) - The basement of Demonstration Hall at Michigan
State University contains stacks of chairs and desks. It's a semi-dismal,
concrete storage area for classrooms undergoing renovations. But on Tuesday
and Thursday evenings, the basement transforms into a bike shop with the
sound of metal tools clanking and the smell of fresh paint hanging in the
air....
 ROBERT KILLIPS/Lansing State Journal Happy trails: Harv Seeley (left) and Jake Pangle negotiate the trail along the steep bank of the river at the Riverbend section of Delhi Township's Burchfield Park. |
Local bike trails may be vertically challenged but offer a great spin (7/16/04, LSJ) You don't need mountains to mountain bike. But you do need dirt, and Michigan's back country has plenty. Some of the Lower Peninsula's most challenging trails are within a short drive from Lansing. An excellent listing of local trails...
• Got rid of 80 junkers (skinny-wheeled down-turned style bikes & other assorted basket-cases) to Surplus and picked up about 40 decent MTBs from DTN yesterday (7/6). It was a pretty good trade for the type of bikes people are wanting. Thanks to all who helped out!
The 1st Annual Farm Daze Tour on May 15th, 2004 was a smashing success despite the nasty cold weather that rolled in for the day. We had 56 people participate, 36 of them registered the day of the ride! About a third came from the Detroit/Pontiac/Rochester area, we even had 6 people from Grayling who came the night before and stayed in a motel in order to ride on Saturday. Is there anything alums will not do for their Alma Mater? Photos here...
Lans. City Council approved River Trail Extension Grant App. (3/30/04)
The brilliance of the bicycling community and the steady, positive persistence
of Nancy Krupiarz resulted in a 6-0 vote in favor of applying for the Natural
Resources Trust fund to extend the Rivertrail south from Potter Park to Hawk
Island. They realized the mileages is dedicated to "capital improvement" of
the parks and that between the Trust Fund grant and the Ingham County
$100,000, the city has a fractional investment (<$300,000) in the $3 million
project. I expect to see action soon on this long delayed process. A letter of
thanks to the Council is in order. Pat yourself on the back for a job well
done! Tonight's meeting had 6 members of the bicycling community in addition
to the park commissioners.
Click here
for related article that appeared 10/21/03 in LSJ. (report courtesy of
Christina Riddle, League of Michigan Bicyclists)
Bike Project chair Gus Gosslein (rt) helps Grant Klein (ctr, Cycling Club
President) and CC member Alan Antonuk (lft) and bike owner remove a dead
freewheel. |
The 2nd Bike Project/ Cycling Club Public Clinic (3/24) had a great turn
out with probably 25 people in total w/ 10-12 new people coming to either get
their bikes worked on or to learn more about bike repair. We provided some
pretty extensive bike repairs for about 5 or 6 people (one rear axel overhaul,
1 complete brake overhaul, 1 freewheel overhaul plus several quick tune-ups)
and also got the rest of the ready bikes painted green by a paint team.
A couple members of the Cycling Club showed off some great/ cool bike riding
skills (hopping UP stairs, riding over a bench end-to-end, standing still
without putting a foot down, etc.).
We also had reporters & photographers from both the State News and LSJ come
and stay for quite a while; they all got the grand tour of our workshop space
as well and the whole scoop on what we're all about. The LSJ reporter promised
an article in this Friday's paper.
Here's a link to the
State News article (3/25).
Here's some pics I
took for your viewing pleasure!
Jenna all smiles with her bike after a complete brake overhaul |
MSU project
encourages 2-wheel travel, LSJ, 3/27/04). Free public clinics, 7-month
loaners aid bike use on campus.
Cycling Club, Bike
Project perform, discuss upkeep (State News, 3/25/04)
Bike Project to hold spring cleaning clinics, (MSU News Bulletin, 3/18/04).
The Bike Project is proud to announce its official alliance with the MSU Cycling Club, a student organization with a long, rich history of competitive bicycling at MSU. The Cycling Club will now have a place to call home as we share our space in Dem Hall. The two organizations agreed to share our tools and other resources to further advance non-motorized transportation in and around MSU. (3/18/04)
Kudos to Bike Project volunteer Christina Riddle for her excellent Letter to the LSJ Editor "Path foes wrong" (3/12; 3/4 way down).
1st Public Bike Clinic was a Grand Success! (Feb. 18, '04) We had about 6-7 students from the Bike Club (Mike Rizzo, Matt Cheely, Alan Antonuk, and Grant Klein) show up with their tools and enthusiasm and then another 5-6 students and even one person from off campus) who happened to see the notice in the State News) who stopped by. Two of the new students pitched right in working on bikes and say they'll come back on Wednesdays to help. The off-campus woman wanted advice on buying a touring bike and saw the Super Le Tour we had and wants to buy it from us, so I'm working on a price for that (the funds will go in the Bike Project kitty). No media showed up but that's OK; they at least know about us. The Bike Club students, Steve, Gus & myself all worked on Project bikes or the walk-in bikes; I'd say we rehabbed about a dozen bikes or so in total. Awesome evening. Very good energy in the room.
Two bike workstands were purchased recently and now allow for up to 4 bikes to be worked on simultaneously in our shop!
Ugly Bikes - A Better
Alternative to Cars?
This article is based on radio interview with MSU Bike Project volunteers in
the fall of 2003.
Proposed path
may link MSU, Lake Lansing
Communities see network that could stretch to Jackson (10/21/03, LSJ)
The MSU Bike Project was featured in the MSU News Bulletin in April 2003. You can read that story by clicking here.
