A guide to biking on campus

With its new bike paths, urban cycling classes and student-run bicycle co-op, UC Berkeley is one of the most bicycle-friendly campuses in the country, as ranked by the League of American Bicyclists.

For cycling enthusiasts or novices thinking of giving biking a try, Berkeley’s campus offers resources for everyone. (UC Berkeley photo by Elena Zhukova)

Berkeley’s campus offers its riders a variety of resources to encourage cycling:

• A bike map, created by the parking and transportation department, shows designated cycling routes, secure bike parking areas and self-serve maintenance stations and offers safety tips.
• UCPD provides bike theft prevention tips, from how to lock your bike to licensing and engraving your bike so it’s easier to identify should it get stolen.
• People without their own wheels can grab a Ford GoBike from one of the several bike-share stations close to  campus.
• To help cyclists navigate city streets, the campus and its partner, Bike East Bay, offer a two-day workshop for people who want to brush up on the basics of biking. The classes, open to the public, teach cyclists the rules of the road, how to ride predictably and how to quickly maneuver to avoid a collision. The workshop allows cyclists ticketed by UCPD to have their fines reduced.
• The student bicycle co-op, BicyCAL, stationed in the MLK Student Union, provides a space for campus people and the public to learn how to maintain and operate their bicycles. Riders shouldn’t expect a free tune-up; the co-op offers free repair instruction and maintenance education, so cyclists are able to do it themselves.
• Every May, the campus participates in Bike to Work Day, a day when riders across the country make their daily commute on two wheels instead of four.

For more bicycling resources, visit UC Berkeley’s parking and transportation website.