Every morning Dylan Ferris rides his red and silver bike to class not for the convenience but for the exercise.
“It’s like leg day but every day,” said Ferris, an 18-year-old UF computer engineering freshman.
On Wednesday morning, Ferris and about 30 other bicyclists came to “Bike to Campus Day” on the Plaza of the Americas, an event that happens each semester. Organizers offered free coffee, fruit, pastries and a bike rack for students, faculty and staff to park.
The UF Office of Sustainability supplied about $300 for the event to inform people of bike resources.
Ferris is part of the more than 9 percent of faculty, staff and students who use bikes as their main mode of transportation to campus.
When riding a bike, people should pay attention and be free of distractions, said University Police Ofc. Dianna Ullery. Ullery helped people register their bikes in case they were stolen or lost.
Organizers like Jacob Adams, the 36-year-old UF Office of Sustainability office manager, gave information to students about programs like Gator Go: Bikes. This new program helps students pick out a bike and accessories, Adams said.
Adams said he commutes to UF on his white electric bike.
“We may not get hundreds or thousands more people cycling with an event like this, but we hope that it provides encouragement to the people who do,” Adams said.
Seth Wood, 23, and Lian Plass, 24, both first-year UF urban and regional planning graduate students, examine Plass’ bike on the Plaza of the Americas Nov. 28 at a “Bike to Campus Day”, that rewarded bicyclists with free food.
