Helping people discover the joys of bicycling! (Visit www.bikes.msu.edu for full information)
This is a handy page of links to our most frequently requested web resources.
The MSU Pack-up Pitch-In campaign is in full swing!
Are you no longer needing your bike? Thinking of leaving your bike on the rack and hope it’ll be waiting for you in the fall? Well, please consider donating it directly to MSU Bikes rather than leave it to be vandalized or stolen over the summer. Or remove it from the rack and drop it off at the “Pack up Pitch in” donation location available in each hall.
MSU has very few staff for hauling stuff around this year, so if you can PLEASE drop it off at the MSU Bikes Service Center before you leave campus (link to location info). If you have no time to drop it off please take it to the designated donation station in your residence hall.
If you’re wanting to store it for the summer and know that it’ll be waiting for you in the fall consider the secure bike parking garages on campus (there are 2, one in the car parking ramp next to Olin Health and one near the MSU Parking/ Police station). The MSU Parking Department manages them so go here to learn more & register to use them.
More info. about the secure bike parking facilities here.
A recent social media post about car parking headaches at MSU has struck a raw nerve that . It started out “Can we talk about parking?”
As you might imagine, responders immediately and correctly assumed the subject of the original poster was about motor vehicle parking.
Some of the responses:
I couldn’t resist, so I elaborated:
“I enjoy FREE parking, the CLOSEST parking spots to my destination everywhere on campus, get fresh air and exercise and the ease of getting anywhere on campus in 5 min. regardless of how busy the roads are. What mode do I use? I ride a bike. Oh, and I save much much more than $800/year for the parking pass (yes, the full-year pass is $66.75/mo. now which is a bit over $800/yr). Consider how much do you spend on gas, maintenance and time sitting waiting in motor vehicle traffic. Your time is worth something isn’t it? You say you live too far from campus to ride a bike all that way? Well, park in Lot 89 for less than $100/yr. and bike, scoot, bus or walk in. Stop by the MSU Bikes Service Center and let us talk you through how you can enjoy bicycling.”
Within the hour I stumbled across this gem which was spot on this topic:
“More food for thought on the costs of car ownership:
“Lifetime Cost Of Small Car $689,000”
I’m guessing this can’t possibly factor in the very volatile cost of gas.
For the record I ride a bike every day, but only ride all the way (6 mi.) from home about 8 months of the year. As soon as the temps fall into freezing territory overnight I switch over to my winter commute mode, which means I switch to an old mountain bike equipped with studded tires, fenders, etc. which I don’t worry about rusting away from the road salts it gets exposed to all winter. I then park on the outskirts of campus where it’s free and ride my winter bike the mile or so in to the shop. I call this hybrid mix of bike commuting “bike commute light”.
Another hybrid mix, if you perhaps live too far from campus to ride all the way in, or maybe your commute route is more dangerous than you care to ride, would be ride to your nearest bus stop, load your bike on the bus’ bike rack (all the CATA buses have 2-place bike racks) and then ride your bike for the last mile to your destination.
You could also car or van pool with others and keep your bike locked up somewhere secure on campus (check out MSU’s Secure Bike Parking service)
then ride your bike the rest of the way to your office or other destination.
Here are even more commuting options (other than single-occupancy-vehicles), courtesy of the MSU Worklife Office.
MSU Bikes Blog 
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