Whether for fitness, recreation or transportation, Ball State University cyclists say the bicycling trend is taking hold.
Kyle Perry, architecture student and president of the Ball State Cycling Club, said the club has increased membership from two students a few years ago to as many as 30 this year. He said the popularity of the Tour de France and "green" movement might be responsible for the increased interest in the activity.
Perry runs the cycling club with co-president Ben Hanus and faculty adviser Jeff Frame, manager in the Biomechanics Laboratory at Ball State.
The club competes in the Midwestern Collegiate Cycling Conference against schools such as Ohio State University, Purdue University and Marian College. Last year, eight Ball State students competed in various difficulty levels. However, the club is expanding from a focus on competitive riding to a combination of sport and recreation, Perry said.
"We all have one goal in mind, and that's just the love for riding our bikes," he said. "It's a really healthy way to get out and relieve stress. We favor it over running and swimming a lot because you can travel a distance and see more of Muncie."
This year the club will participate in recreational group rides around Muncie and to Prairie Creek Reservoir, with special attention to accommodating varying levels of ability.
One of this year's club efforts was to collaborate with Kirk's Bike Shop (on Walnut Street in downtown Muncie) to offer bike gear to students. Kirk's will be on campus from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday at the University Green between Bracken Library and the Architecture Building with bikes and accessories. Ben Biggerstaff, a sales associate at Kirk's, said students who wanted to take up cycling should consider buying a bike at the event because the $300 bikes are safer and more reliable than $50 ones sold at Wal-Mart or Target. Biggerstaff said the investment is worth it because of money that can be saved.
"[Cycling] is easy on the pocketbook when you consider the price of gas," he said.
According to a spring Working Well survey of Ball State faculty, about 32 percent of faculty members regularly walk or bike to work. Student information is not available.
Kirk's Bike Shop sale
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