by With the various weather conditions brought on by early-spring blizzards in Minnesota, many people are looking for warmer weather to choose to bike onto campus. But for some avid bikers, they never stopped during the winter months.
“A lot of people are intimidated by lots of snow,” Ryan Slomkowski said. ” But honestly, in my opinion, I kinda dislike water and stuff because it’s so uncomfortable. Like with the snow, you’ll lose a lot of efficiency. But, when you get soaking wet from the rain it’s honestly a lot worse.”
To still retain some traction in the winter, B.J. Tomczick, the store manager at ERIK’s Bike Shop in Dinytown, said that people change to studded tires.
“It provides traction in icy conditions,” Tomczick said on the benefits of changing tires. “But, you can usually get away with regular bike tires in the winter time. It’s just the ice underneath that you have to worry about.
The spring is the busy season over at ERIK’s. Slomkowski, who manages service and bike repairs at the Dinkytown location, says that a lot of people are starting to buy their first bike to save some money in the future.
“Usually as apposed to driving, you’ll save more later on,” Slomkowski said. “Even if you buy all the gear, you’ll save more just on gas.”
Tomczick encourages anyone who can to try biking as apposed to other forms of transportation.
“It’s way more fun than walking. Walking and running suck. Riding a bike is fun and anyone can do it,” Tomczick said.
With over 9,000 places to park on campus, all you would need to start is a bike, lock, and a will to bike in any conditions.
