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March 22, 2012
Biking: Two Wheels Can Be Better Than Four
I’ll admit it: I’m a proud car owner. I drive my navy Honda Civic everywhere from Austin to Houston to Dallas for the occasional weekend road trip. But in addition to those long-mile trips, I also drive five minutes to the grocery store, 10 minutes to campus, five minutes to the sorority house and four minutes to the mall. All these little trips recently made me realize how much I get in my car to go very short distances, but I didn’t think there was much I could do about it. However, not too long ago I began brainstorming. Right now, Texas is getting around to the time of year when it’s pure bliss to be outside, and the 75 degree springtime weather is impossible to ignore by staying indoors. Since my destinations are often too far to walk, I decided to finally ditch my four wheels in exchange for only two. I’ll still drive my car places that I need to go if I’m in a hurry or if rainy weather comes around, but my newly purchased road bike has become a very fond acquaintance of mine in the short amount of time that I have owned it and now I hope more people pick up on this environmentally-friendly trend. I decided to go through with my purchase somewhat on a whim, which usually isn’t like me, or at least not for big-ticket items. It has been said that a person’s best ideas come to them when they are in the shower, and this one is no exception. I immediately googled ‘road bikes College Station’ and did some research and price matching. For the rest of the day, I was fixated on choosing the perfect new form of transportation for me to get around town. As I looked through countless styles, brands and prices, I learned about the different components of a road bike as compared to other styles of bikes. For example, there are three main builds, a typical professional road bike (skinny frame and wheels), mountain bikes (larger wheels and padded seat), and hybrids (a slight combination of both road-style functionality and mountain bike comfort-seating). While road bikes are typically more expensive, this was the style that I preferred most of the three because of its functionality and sleek design. It’s been two weeks now that I’ve been a proud bike owner, and I am loving every minute of it. I still drive a lot, but College Station is such a wonderful small (and flat) town, it makes it easy to want to breathe in the fresh air every chance I get. If the enjoyment of riding around isn’t enough of a motivator for you to start pedaling, bikes are also a great way to save gas money, preserve the ever-fragile environment and allow you to park anywhere you want (which is crucial on campus). If you end up looking around College Station bike stores and don’t like their selection, you can always order online as well. While the BCS area does have quite a lot of bikes to choose from, I actually ended up buying mine online and had it assembled at a local shop. Worried about the price being too high? Typical road bikes can start at $500, which is scary for a college student; however I bought mine as a final sale online and it was half-off. You can also purchase a used bike from many of the College Station stores and the price will be reduced dramatically. Good luck and have fun enjoying the great outdoors!
Michaella is a senior studying communication and creative studies. You may contact her at michaellawalton@tamu.edu.
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