Biking@Dickinson Manager
In February 2012, I started getting involved with the Handlebar, Dickinson's bike co-op and swap-shop. After volunteering for many hours each week, I decided that I wanted to get more involved with biking on campus. I applied for the Biking@Dickinson internship position and became the Biking@Dickinson Manager in August 2013.
Biking@Dickinson encompasses everything biking-related on campus, from infrastructure to events to education.
The biking infrastructure not only involves adding bike racks, pumps, and bike work stands to campus, but also means finding ways to integrate biking into the lives of everyone on campus. I assist in holding bi-semesterly meetings with leaders from various departments on campus to find ways to impliment and integrate biking into daily life.
Our most popular biking event on campus is the semesterly Bike to Farm Potluck, where we lead a ride (typically 20-30 people) out to the Dickinson College Farm, which is seven miles from campus. We drive food out to the farm, and once there, everyone gets to enjoy the sunshine and meal.
Recently, through a lot of hard work, Dickinson was given a League of American Bicyclists Silver Bike Friendly University rating!
Volunteers
Our volunteer base has grown from about three people in 2013-2014 to around twelve dedicated volunteers in 2014-2015. Most of the volunteers are students, and they come for anywhere between two and eight hours a week to help out.
As the Biking@Dickinson Manager, I make sure there are projects for the volunteers to work on, such as fixing up an old Schwinn Tandem that was donated to the Handlebar. I also plan a few events each semester and have volunteer dinners each week, to foster a sense of community between everyone.
Our bike co-op and swap-shop, known as the Handlebar, is run by volunteer students, faculty, and staff. They teach other people in the Dickinson community how to fix up their bikes, and provide a space where mechanics, bike advocacy, bike safety, and fun all come together. In the past year, our volunteer base has significantly increased.
My job, as the Biking@Dickinson Manager, is to spend a few hours in the Handlebar each week, make sure that all of our materials and parts are in stock, and to manage the volunteers.
The Green Bikes are a fleet of about 60 bikes that have been built by Handlebar volunteers from donated bikes. These bikes are loaned out to students, faculty, and staff each semester. For a $25 refundable deposit, a user will get a bike, a helmet, and a lock, as well as free maintenance and upkeep from the Handlebar.
The Green Bikes program has become so popular that there is always a waiting list to recieve a bike. There's been a fantastic response from international students, students from the West Coast, and visiting professors, who otherwise might not have a bike on campus.
Cycling
In addition to fixing bikes, planning biking events, and working on biking infrastructure, I am also a cyclist. I take after my father and grandfather, who are both road bikers. Here in Carlisle, I like to go for longer rides, since it's much flatter in central Pennsylvania than back in Pittsburgh!