KSCP holds bicycle workshops on safety and laws
Josh Goran, 23, teaches a bike workshop at Risman Plaza on Wednesday. The workshop is being held at the student center for the next four weeks to inform students about proper bike safety. Photo by Nikolas Kolenich.
April 7, 2011
Kent Student Center Programming held its first of three Kent State Bike Workshop Series, which took place Wednesday at noon near Risman Plaza.
“The point is to unite people on campus who love to ride bikes,” said Kyle Johannes, junior human development and family studies major.
Johannes said he came up with this bike event for the KSCP. He said he’s always had an interest in bikes and wanted to make an event out of it.
Johannes said he brainstormed ideas and came up with the event with Ian Broadhead, sophomore history major, who works at Eddy’s Bike Shop.
The first workshop taught students about the basics of a bike. The session covered the different components of a bike and how they work. This event also featured a pre-ride and post-ride checklist.
The first session taught students that there are different bikes meant to do different things, Johannes said. All bikes have positives and negatives. Some are meant for racing or mountain biking and others are for recreational usage.
One tip that was enforced at this meeting was the importance of wearing a helmet. Johannes said bicycle fit is a very important aspect of riding. It’s important to have the bike fit the rider properly. Students can really injure their bodies in the long run with problems in the knees and back.
The second workshop will take place April 13 from noon to 1:30 p.m. That workshop will discuss bike safety. Part of bike safety includes bicycling laws and how to communicate with others safely while riding a bike.
Johannes said there a lot of laws about biking that people believe to be untrue. For example, bikes are not supposed to be ridden on sidewalks, he said. It’s a vehicle that is supposed to be ridden on the street.
The third workshop will take place on April 20 from noon to 1:30 p.m. A mechanic from Eddy’s Bike Shop will be at this session to help students repair and tune their bikes. Students who have questions about how to fix their bikes can come and have their questions answered by the mechanic.
The last two bike workshop events will be outside the student center at Risman Plaza. If it’s raining, the sessions will be underneath the overhang on the far side of the Student Center by the library.
Contact Rachel Hagenbaugh at [email protected].
