When DOTS teamed up with Campus Recreation Services to create a more bike-friendly university, one of the first steps was simple: moving the Campus Bike Shop to Cole Field House.

Before relocating, the bike shop was located in the Outdoor Recreation Center at the Eppley Recreation Center, a long walk away from where many students live. The relocation is part of bikeUMD, a collaboration between the Department of Transportation Services, CRS and University Police to improve biking conditions on the campus, and officials hope it will make the shop more convenient for students.

“We wanted the shop to be more visible and more accessible. The old shop in the Outdoor Recreation Center was in the corner of campus and at the bottom of the hill — not easy to get to with a broken bike,” said Mike Doyle, the assistant director of outdoor programs.

The new location seems to be working. Last year, the bike shop received 23 visitors during the first week of school. This year, 143 people visited.

For the first time this semester, the shop is renting out bikes for $60 a semester to anyone affiliated with the university. It also offers riding and maintenance classes, as well as free repairs — fixing broken chains, changing or adding air to tires — to all non-motorized bikes.

The maintenance provided is unique, however, because the cyclist is made a part of the process. 

“Because our staff are teaching mechanics, you can’t just drop the bike off. We want people to learn to care for their own bikes,” Doyle said.

Tools are also provided so experienced riders can fix their bikes themselves.

bikeUMD is part of a larger effort to increase cycle ridership on the campus. Last year, DOTS registered 412 bikes, a number they hope to increase by at least 85 percent this year. Beverly Malone, assistant to the director of DOTS, said increasing available services — like the shop — should help the department meet its goals.

Besides moving the bike shop, other parts of the bikeUMD effort include offering free U-locks to cyclists who register their bikes and increasing the number of racks on the campus.

“The first two weeks we had a huge flood of people,” said Cameron Etienne, a mechanic at the bike shop and a junior environmental science and policy major.

Although many students still don’t know the shop exists, cyclists who frequented the shop before its move appreciate the accessibility of the new location.

“I’d probably ride a bike anyways, but it’s nice to come here because it’s free,” said junior computer sciences major Matt Orlove, who visited the shop to get a new tire for his bicycle. “It’s so much closer to everything now.”

redding@umdbk.com