Bikes: faster, more efficient modes of transportation students often use to get around campus.

Bikes: the two wheeled vehicles that strike fear in walking pedestrians because the rider is usually scrolling through Spotify or texting his/her friend about the geese they just dodged.

A nice brisk breeze swirls around campus as students rush around to classes. I stay to the right because that is the normal traffic rule of thumb. I hope that if I stay in my lane, maybe others will too. I look down for a brief second to check my schedule because, even going onto the third week of classes, I still have not memorized it. Stuck in my own little world, but still in “my lane,” I am abruptly startled when a biker weaves through the crowd and leaves little distance between the peddles and my legs.

With that, my heart is in shock and I question: when in my four years here will I finally be run down? What if that’s the end? I will be nothing but overlooked tire tracks left behind in my lane. Fellow walkers will observe and shake their heads because they too hear the pressure of tires rolling on the ground and look frantically over both shoulders.

There are no bike lanes at Oswego State, but perhaps there are some guidelines bike riders could follow to bring a decline to walkers’ anxiety. For example, how about a simple heads-up? Put a bell on the handlebar and give walkers a little ring-ring so that they don’t see their lives flash before their eyes before they have even finished their morning coffee.

Weaving in and out of clusters of people… just don’t.

Also, friendly reminder: if you are a biker and on your way to class, parkour is unnecessary. Keep those tires on the pavement because walkers will also be startled by the screams of you falling if your bike does not make the landing.

If you are a biker and are riding on the street, avoid pulling out in front of cars. Believe it or not, their engines speed up a lot faster than your feet can peddle. When you think about bikes in the middle of the road with cars, normally the word ‘disaster’ follows.

Overall, bikes really are efficient ways to get to class. That being said, it is important to keep courtesy in the back of our heads. As you bikers ride around, make sure you are alert. Riding without using your hands, with your head in your lap texting is not a skill; it is luck.