Recap: Fifth Annual Bike to Campus Week

Cycling events bring together campus communities

And just like that, the Fifth Annual Bike to Campus Week is in the books! BikePGH and our university partners are in agreement that it was the best one yet with a full schedule of successful events and tons of engagement from the university community! The weather wasn’t too shabby either ;) Read on for a recap of this year’s events. And remember, you can bike to (or even away from) campus every week with these helpful tips.

Events at The University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University, and Point Park University introduced dozens of students and staff to the joys of biking in The Iron City and provided useful information on navigation, safety, and accessing our amazing bike share system: POGOH! Carnegie Mellon’s event also featured a used bike sale which quickly sold out of inventory– over fifty used bikes! Many attendees of these events also registered for or attended other events throughout Bike to Campus Week. The week truly had something for all the bike curious!

Bike to Campus Week is all about education, because college, and in our two Confident City Cycling classes over twenty students learned to bike the streets of Pittsburgh safely and confidently– some for the first time ever! Shout out to POGOH who provided free flex pass codes so that students could learn without having to bring or even own a bicycle. Our two Operation Illumination events, one at Pitt and one at CMU, sponsored by Edgar Snyder and Associates, provided students and community members with 125 front and rear light sets and sixty free bike helmets. Participants also received free bike safety checks courtesy of The Pitt Bike Cave and BikePGH educational resources such as The Pittsburgh Bike Map and Biking 101 Guide. BikePGH and our university partners made sure that students and staff could access all the know-how and equipment needed to be safe and confident bike riders!

Monday

Pitt’s Bike to Campus Week Festival – Pitt kicked off Bike to Campus Week with a celebration of biking on Campus with a raffle to win a brand new bike as well as locks and helmets from Pitt Mobility and the Pitt Bike Cave. Students learned about bike safety from the Pitt Police and shared their thoughts on campus bike infrastructure with Pitt’s Planning Department.

Point Park Village Park Pop Up – The Pittsburgh Bike People popped up at Village Park! Students learned all about biking around town with free BikePGH Bike Maps and Biking 101 guides, info and discounts on POGOH bike share, fun giveaways, biking resources, and more!

Tuesday

Carnegie Mellon Bike Fair – Crowds of students showed up to learn all about biking on campus, registered for Confident City Cycling Classes and received free lights and helmets. The event also included a used bike sale that was totally cleaned out of inventory in under six hours! Thanks to Free Ride and Kraynick’s Bike Shop who provided safety checks and info about procuring and fixing bikes.

Confident City Cycling- Students and community members learned city bike riding skills and then went on a guided bike ride to learn how to use the roadways and bike infrastructure around Oakland and Shadyside. Thanks to Pitt’s very own League Cycling Instructors, Nick Goodfellow and Jason Graham, for leading the class!

Wednesday

Carnegie Mellon Campus Bike Tour- Students found out about the best routes from campus to nearby points (including a few secret shortcuts), bike parking hints, locations of repair stations and more!

Operation Illumination- BikePGH outreach staff (AKA The Bike People) and Pitt Bike Cave Staff rolled up to provide free bike lights, helmets, safety information, and free bike safety checks to dozens of students.

Thursday

Confident Ciy Cycling- League Cycling Instructors, Karen Brooks and Jason Graham, led a well-attended class to fifteen students giving them the confidence boost to bike to campus year-round!

Friday

The culmination of Bike to Campus Week featured a group bike ride from The Pitt Bike Cave (a cooperative recycle-a-bike shop on campus) to Point State Park Downtown. Over forty students from multiple universities came out for a delightful ride to the fountain. Shoutout to the ride leaders and marshalls for helping to keep everyone safe and together.

SEE YOU NEXT YEAR!

We were thrilled to see this week of events take students on a journey of learning about bikes, getting the gear they need, and feeling safe and confident riding in our great city. This is such a great event for newcomers to the bike scene, as well as people who already love bikes and want to find their community on their campus and in Pittsburgh at large.

We look forward to working with university partners again next year to get more students and faculty participating in these awesome campus bike fairs, events, group rides, and classes.