Category: Bike

#CofCMoves: Brian Scholtens Moves by Bike

How do you move? Do you walk, bike, or use public transit? Join the Office of Sustainability and participate in the College’s first official event celebrating the different modes of transportation that the College community uses to commute to campus. On April 9th, during Sustainability Week, let us know how you move by using #CofCMoves and why you move the way you do.

We interviewed Dr. Brian Scholtens of the Biology Department about why he bikes.IMG_5912

Office of Sustainability: What is your role at the College and how long have you worked here?

Brian Scholtens: I am a professor in the Biology Dept, and have been at the College for 23 years.

OOS: Why do you bus, bike, walk, and/or carpool rather than driving?

BS: I bike to work when possible.  That ends up being dependent on my schedule and the weather.  I enjoy biking to work for at least two reasons.  It is a great way to build exercise into my day, and it also reduces my carbon footprint.

OOS: How long have you been doing so?

BS: About 5 years.

OOS: How far do you commute daily?

My ride was about 8 miles each way until we moved to Harbor Walk.  Now it is about 7 ½ miles.

OOS: What are the benefits to commuting by bike versus driving alone?

BS: Great exercise and reduced carbon footprint.

OOS: What do you value most about the way you commute?

BS: I like the exercise and time to think without electronic interruptions.

OOS: What is the biggest challenge you face as a commuter?

BS: The biggest challenge is my schedule, which varies enough that I can’t always carve out commuting time.

OOS: What are some improvements you’d like to see?

BS: My commuting route is quite nice, with good, off-road bike paths.  Others, that would like to bike, aren’t so lucky. Every street and road improvement project should include planning for safe bike paths, not just a lane marked on an already existing road.

OOS: Are there any myths about your method of transportation that you’d like to address?

BS: None that don’t have some grain of truth.  It can involve danger if you don’t have safe bike paths.

OOS: Would you recommend this method to others?

BS: With appropriate bike paths, absolutely.  Each person needs to carefully evaluate the route that they will ride.  Currently, Mt. Pleasant residents are very fortunate with the bike lane on the bridge.

OOS: Do you have any fun commuting stories?

BS: I sometimes keep track of the number of people using the biking/walking lanes on the bridge.  On nice days there are often over 100 people on the bridge at any particular time.  I think this illustrates how much demand there could be for other well-designed biking/walking lanes in and around Charleston.

#CofCMoves: Martin Jones Moves by Bike

How do you move? Do you walk, bike, or use public transit? Join the Office of Sustainability and participate in the College’s first official event celebrating the different modes of transportation that the College community uses to commute to campus. On April 9th, during Sustainability Week, let us know how you move by using #CofCMoves and why you move the way you do!

We asked Professor Martin Jones of the Math Department why he bikes.IMG_5975

Back when I was in graduate school, I bought a ten-speed steel frame bike.  It was a fairly top-end bike back then.  I still have it and ride it everywhere today.  In 1997 I was getting ready to spend a sabbatical year in Costa Rica.  I decided to sell a lot of stuff including my television and my 1976 Pontiac Catalina.  I hardly ever drove that old bomb.  It had grass growing under the tires.  One time I started it up (a feat in itself) and turned on the AC.  A family of ants had made a nest in my AC unit and they came blowing out the vents.  When I got back from Costa Rica in 1998, I just decided to do without a car.  It was the best decision that I’ve ever made other than going vegan.  I live downtown, so my commute is only about five minutes, but I use my bike to ride everywhere, Folly Beach, Mt. Pleasant, to go shopping, and for fun.  The freedom of not being tied to a parking space is one of the great things about biking.  Also not having to pay car insurance, repair bills, parking and for licenses is pretty nice.  If I need to go out of town, I rent a car. Yes, I face some challenges.  The connector is not really suited for bike travel.  There is so much debris in the breakdown lane.  I would hate to think what would happen if I were riding there when some of that stuff came flying out of someone’s bass boat.  Also, drivers in Charleston at times seem pretty hostile to cyclists.  I think everyone who drives a car should spend a day riding around town on a bike just to see what it’s like to have to avoid debris and drainage grates while trying to negotiate traffic.  I don’t think most motorists realize what a challenge cyclists face.  The laws are written so that cyclists have to follow the rules that cars follow, but this is for the cars’ convenience, not the safety of the cyclists.  I would love to see improved bike lanes around town and over the bridges.  It would certainly encourage more folks to bike to work.  Despite these challenges, I think biking is great exercise and a very convenient and environmentally friendly way to commute.

 

#CofCMoves: Nancy Whirley Moves by Bike

How do you move? Do you walk, bike, or use public transit? Join the Office of Sustainability and participate in the College’s first official event celebrating the different modes of transportation that the College community uses to commute to campus. On April 9th, during Sustainability Week, let us know how you move by using #CofCMoves and why you move the way you do!

We interviewed Senior Server Administration of IT Nancy Whirley about why she bikes.IMG_5988

Office of Sustainability: Why do you bus, bike, walk, and/or carpool rather than driving?

NW: I bike to work for many reason – it is economical, less of an environmental impact than driving, great exercise and I love to cycle.

OOS: How long have you been doing so?

NW: I started riding from home in 2010 after I moved to West Ashley.

OOS: How far do you commute daily?

NW: About 7 miles each way.

OOS: What are the benefits to commuting by Bus/Carpool/Bike versus driving alone?

NW: Along with all the reasons I listed above – just being outside and enjoying the beautiful place we live.

OOS: What do you value most about the way you commute?

NW: Having the opportunity to see things you miss in a car – the sunrise on the Battery- watching dolphins while riding over the bridge.

OOS: What is the biggest challenge you face as a commuter?

NW: Drivers that don’t believe I should be on the road on a bicycle.

OOS: What are some improvements you’d like to see?

NW: More accommodations for cyclists and pedestrians.

OOS: Would you recommend this method to others?

NW: Yes, cycling is a great way to commute.

 

#CofCMoves: Richard Moss Moves by Bike

How do you move? Do you walk, bike, or use public transit? Join the Office of Sustainability and participate in the College’s first official event celebrating the different modes of transportation that the College community uses to commute to campus. On April 9th, during Sustainability Week, let us know how you move by using #CofCMoves and why you move the way you do!

We interviewed IT Senior Application Analyst Richard Moss about why he bikes.

Office of Sustainability: What is your role at the College and how long have you worked here?IMG_5938

Richard Moss: I’m a Senior Application Analyst with the Student Programming group in IT.  I’ve been at the College since 1997, having helped in bringing up the old CougarTrail system, the web application we used prior to Banner.

OOS: Why do you bike rather than drive?

RM: A combination of saving some income on parking, and building into my schedule an activity that provides regular exercise.

OOS: How long have you been doing so?

RM: Since they opened the new bridge in 2005 (I live in Mount Pleasant)

OOS: How far do you commute daily?

RM: My commute is 6 miles, door to door.

OOS: What are the benefits to commuting by Bus/Carpool/Bike versus driving alone?

RM: I look forward to the commute now.  With about half of the route on the bridge pedestrian/bike path, there’s very little time spent in traffic.

OOS: What do you value most about the way you commute?

RM: Getting out in the world and feeling the weather, and getting some exercise. I’ve also made numerous friends along the commute, over the years.

OOS: What is the biggest challenge you face as a commuter?

RM: Staying alert, and developing habits that are safe.

OOS: What are some improvements you’d like to see?

RM: There are bike lanes on most of Coleman Boulevard, but they are incomplete.  It would be nice to have those completed.

OOS: Are there any myths about your method of transportation that you’d like to address?

RM: It’s not totally cost-free.  My bike needs regular maintenance and a collection of cold weather apparel is a must.

OOS: Would you recommend this method to others?

RM: Absolutely.

OOS: Do you have any fun commuting stories?

RM: I engage in my own adopt-a-highway activity on the bridge and in front of the port facility on East Bay.  Sometimes, I come by useful items.  There have been a number of occasions where there’s been an eerie correlation between my thinking I need something, and finding it on my commute – an 8-foot step ladder; a brown t-shirt; an old raincoat (for working in our churchyard, that very morning!?); work gloves; boating cushions; a waterproof boating bag.  And the list goes on. Otherwise, I’ve taken to collecting miscellaneous metal items I clear from the roadway (mostly stuff you wouldn’t want to run over, when in a car).  I recently took the home-side portion of that collection to the scrap metal yard.  It returned to me a very small amount of cash, and the very great feeling of satisfaction similar to what Reid Wiseman must get when he turns in his aluminum cans!