VCU news

By James Shea

With her bike stolen a few months ago, Vedika Krishna needed a new ride. Her replacement came at no cost – except some time well-spent – thanks to a volunteer program at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Krishna, a School of Business student who plans to graduate in December, was walking home late last year when she saw a bicycle on the street and loved it. She asked if it was being given away, and the owner invited her to take it. She rode the bike for several weeks – until someone stole it from her front porch.

“It was locked. They just didn’t care at all. They tore off the railing,” Krishna said. “I found that bike on the streets of Richmond, and it is back on the streets of Richmond.”

Krishna had come to rely on the bike. She works at a restaurant off campus and had been walking to work, which often took 30 minutes, until she acquired the bike.

“I was really excited, because I don’t have a car,” she said. “Biking was a welcome change.”

Shortly after the theft, she learned about a program through RamBikes. Each year, the organization collects around 150 abandoned bikes around campus; per the VCU Bicycle Parking & Removal Policy, RamBikes tags abandoned and inoperable bikes left around the campus once a year in order to make space for incoming students and their transportation.

Sera Erickson, alternative transportation coordinator and bicycle program coordinator at VCU Parking & Transportation, said many of the castoffs are in terrible condition, but some can be salvaged. RamBikes already has several programs through which bikes are distributed, some are refurbished for the VCU international student rental fleet and others are donated through partnerships with local nonprofits, but it wanted to make some additional bikes available to students without the means to secure transportation. The RamBikes shop implemented a volunteer initiative, figuring it could give away 10 or 15 bikes each year.

RamBikes has a list of organizations whose work aligns with its own mission. VCU is required to hold on to abandoned bikes for 120 days. After that, students who sign up for the program and volunteer 25 hours of time to approved organizations can pick out an unclaimed bike to make their own. Krishna is the first to complete her service and earn a “new to her” set of wheels.

“We would like them to do something that is either bike-related or sustainability based,” Erickson said. “We want them to get involved locally in initiatives that benefit the Richmond community.”

The volunteer program started this past fall, and Erickson hopes more students will take advantage of it. Several students had inquired about applying other volunteer hours toward earning a bike, but RamBikes requires students to work through its designated list.

Krishna volunteered for several projects around Richmond. The first was the Invasive Plant Task Force, through which she helped clear the Buttermilk Trail of English ivy and Virginia creeper along the James River. She also volunteered for Food Not Bombs, packaging food boxes that were given away.

Krishna volunteered 25 hours over several weeks and did a lot of the work with a good friend.

“I was working toward the bike but also had an amazing time volunteering,” Krishna said. “Every time we volunteered, we met so many neat people. We just had a really great time.”

When Krishna had only a few hours of service remaining, staff at RamBikes gave her a few options that met her biking needs. She selected a Mongoose mountain bike that required a little maintenance.

Erickson worked with Krishna on repairs, and those hours completed her service. The bike needed new grips on the handlebars and a new seat, which Krishna purchased herself. Krishna also painted the bike. Staff at RamBikes helped her take the bike apart and put it back together.

“I wouldn’t say it was in rideable condition, but it could be refurbished,” Erickson said of Krishna’s bike.

Krishna has been riding her new bike to work during the spring. This summer she will be studying overseas in France but will pedal around Richmond again in the fall as she nears graduation.

“I’m really excited to get my bike and very thankful to everyone at RamBikes for helping me out,” Krishna said. “I loved volunteering.”