GET A BIKE by Ankita D. '23

okay. i’m super behind on this and that’s my bad. but…

when you return to/arrive on campus, you should consider getting a bike. it’s so worth it. i lived in Burton-Conner, the fourth dorm down Dorm Row, so i never thought i needed to bike anywhere, but y’all, i was wrong. SO wrong.

it normally takes me ~8-10 minutes to walk to Lobby 7,⁠01 the entrance on Mass Ave. that most students pass through to get to class so if i needed to get to a class in Building 16 by 10:05, i would leave around 9:47.

with a bike, that’s a four-minute commute tops. i could’ve left around 10 and gotten to class in time!!

what about the infamous 15-minute trek from West Campus to Walker Memorial, where a lot of dance practices are held? or the ~20-minute one to the Martin Trust Center (MTC), which is my go-to place to study?⁠02 see: free granola bars, ramen, coffee, and quiet study rooms

well, with a bike, you can speed down Memorial Drive to Walker in maybe three minutes, and get to MTC in under five. WILD.

this is so revolutionary for me…i didn’t bring my bike down from my house in New Hampshire the whole year because i thought it would be a huge hassle, but all it entailed was shoving my bike in a car and driving down to Cambridge. and the benefits are astounding!!

i’m currently living near the MIT Museum, which is a couple of minutes down Mass Ave. from Lobby 7. it’s 10 minutes by foot, but only 2-3 minutes by bike. crazy! all those times during the school year when i wouldn’t want to walk to places like Roxy’s⁠03 i would die for a grilled cheese because of the distance, or when i’d UBER to Trader Joe’s when i needed groceries, seem ridiculous now.

okay, so we don’t know what our next academic year will look like, so this rant about how useful bikes are is…untimely, at the very least. however, i can say that i am excited to experience whatever semblance of a school year we get with my ~beautiful new bike~ in hand.

reasons why i didn’t want to get a bike DEBUNKED:

1. safety—don’t people’s bikes get stolen pretty often? also, locking your bike seems time-consuming and annoying.

   this is just not an issue; U-Locks are quite cheap, accessible,⁠04 i got a good one off Amazon for <$20 and easy to use, and if you lock your bike correctly, you should not have any problems. i was pretty frantic the other day because i fucked up and misplaced my keys (thankfully, i found them), but if you don’t do this…you’re chilling!

2. biking in the city is Scary

   it’s really not that bad lol. Boston is bike-friendly! IMO, biking in the city feels super freeing compared to how walking feels.

3. what if you can’t find a bike stand???

   this has never happened to me. given, i will need to identify where to lock my bike to access X part of campus, but that’ll take barely any time/effort

4. walking is like, fine…i’m too lazy to get a bike

   i REALLY regret my complacency because my bike is such a game-changer. i could’ve saved so much time and hassle, especially during IAP, when i was running all over campus for hours of dance practice every day. a bike would’ve been so worth it…

you should definitely consider getting a bike if…

1. you live in an FSILG or any dorm that’s not Maseeh, Baker, or East Campus

   the walk to class is longer than you think, especially when you want a reasonable amount of sleep before your 10 am. also, if you’re cooking for yourself and not relying on services like Instacart or Amazon Fresh, a bike comes in handy.

2. you have activities scattered across campus

   as i mentioned earlier, i had dance practices every week in Walker that i was always late for because i would tend to underestimate how long the walk is. i also would have to yeet from Building 36 to Sloan to McCormick twice a week for various things i was involved in, and a bike would’ve saved my life

3. you’re a Course 15

   Sloan is hella far. that is all

4. you have friends all over the place

   i have so many East Campus friends who i was too lazy to visit during the year! i’m glad that will no longer be a thing

aaaaand that’s my psa. catch me biking to frat parties whenever that’s a thing again ✌️ (haha jk would literally never do that)