University of Wisconsin Oshkosh students who want an easy and affordable way to get around campus are encouraged to rent a bike through the University’s Outdoor Adventure Center.
The center is located inside the Student Recreation and Wellness Center (SRWC), 735 Pearl Ave.
Greg Batten, recreation coordinator at the SRWC, said dollars from the Green Fund Committee allowed the purchase of new Fyxation single-speed road bikes and single speed mountain bikes. At UW Oshkosh, the Green Fund is a student-run committee funded through students’ segregated fees to implement sustainable projects for campus initiatives.
“What is so cool about this project is this proposal to have more bikes on campus available to students was completely student-driven,” Batten said.
Rental is just $30 per semester. Most of the bikes feature a custom UW Oshkosh paint job.
“I used the bike rental program for the quickness and convenience of going between my off-campus housing and my classes, as well as to the Rec Center and Reeve and other activities,” said Annie Hackbarth, of Fond du Lac, who has a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology.
Hackbarth said bike rental provides a great way to work out and doesn’t create pollution like car emissions do.
“The bikes are quality bikes so you don’t have to try and drag your bike from home to use for the short time Wisconsin weather allows,” Hackbarth added. “You don’t have to leave your bike from home sit out in the snow all winter. With the bike program, the UWO bikes are returned for the nasty snow and salt and tuned up and ready to go in spring.”
Convenient, affordable
Esau Perez of Rockford, Ill., who will be a senior in the electrical engineering technology degree program, said the bike allows him to get to school in about 10 minutes from his off-campus apartment. If he took the bus, the trip would take just over an hour.
“During a 16-week semester, I’d be utilizing all that time commuting,” he said. “I just find it very convenient to have this program here on campus.”
Perez also uses his rented bike to travel four miles from his apartment to his job at Corrim Co.—a fiberglass door and frame company—where he was an engineering intern and now employee. During school, he calls an Uber driver to take him to work and then back to the University where his bike is parked.
“Vehicle maintenance and parking is just too much—especially for a college student,” Perez said. “Housing is expensive, food is expensive, a car is not something I want to deal with.”
Anyone wishing to rent a bike should complete a Long Term Bike Rental form at uwosh.edu/go/bikeshop or visit the Outdoor Adventure Center. Rental includes a choice of bike and lock.
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