Bikes reach critical mass

Author: Patrick D'Arcy

On Oct. 31, an elephant, a cow, a bunny, a collection of garden vegetables and 30 or so others set out on bikes from the lawn of Twilight Hall as part of the critical mass bike ride that marked the finale of Middlebury's First Annual Bike Week.

Will Drucker '08.5 conceived the five-day event, spanning Oct. 27 to Oct. 31, which included bike safety classes, bike maintenance workshops, a critical mass ride and a Bike-to-Work challenge.

"I rode critical mass in Chicago in August," Drucker said. "I thought it'd be really cool to do something like that at Middlebury."

During these critical mass bike rides, Drucker explained, "bikers spontaneously gather, and ride through the city to raise awareness and increase outreach about biking." It was the intention of Middlebury's own Bike Week to spread the "sustainable and health benefits of biking," although Drucker also emphasized that Bike Week is less about biking and more generally about alternative transportations, which include walking and carpooling.

"We decided it was important to get everyone involved, not just students," Drucker said, noting that faculty members and sometimes families attended many of the events. "I think we did a good job of reaching out to students and faculty." Drucker also said that a goal of the week was to increase awareness about the resources available for bike-riders on campus.

"The college repair shop collaborated to host maintenance classes," Drucker said, "and we hoped to raise awareness about that too."

The week culminated with a festive gathering on the lawn of Twilight, Hall, featuring refreshments provided by local businesses, a small band and lots of costumes, followed by a mass ride through town.

"I'm very excited as a first-year to take part in such an eco-friendly event," Vincent Jones '12 said just before the critical mass ride, dressed as a self-described bunny-fairy hybrid. "The weather is so conducive to bike riding. We should do this more often."

"Obviously I would have liked to have had more turnout," Drucker said about the Bike Week events in general, although he added that there were surprisingly good turnouts for some of the maintenance workshops. He does, however, hope that there might be a new tradition in Bike Week.

"It was strategically named the First Annual Bike Week," Drucker said, "because I'd like to think it will continue in future years."