VCU news

By Leila Ugincius

Brantley Tyndall, an avid cyclist, arrived at Virginia Commonwealth University as a student right around the time gas prices spiked nationwide. It was 2007 and — perhaps not coincidentally — VCU Facilities Management had recently noticed an influx of new cyclists on campus. That year, VCU began investing in new bike racks. Over the past five years, the university has invested about $250,000 to add 250 bike racks around campus with the capacity to hold about 2,000 bikes.

Tyndall, who graduated in 2011, parlayed a student job with the Office of Sustainability into a fulltime job with VCU Parking and Transportation.

As the alternative transportation coordinator, Tyndall encourages the university community to cycle more and drive less. As a means of promoting cycling, he spearheaded the opening of a bike lounge on campus. The RamBikes Stand, which opened this month at the corner of Grace and Belvidere, takes an innovative approach to cycling education.

"We’re calling it a bike lounge because we want people to come and spend a little time here," Tyndall said. "The purpose of this is to be the one-stop shop for biking at VCU."

The RamBikes Stand has 29 program bikes that will be used for skill and maintenance clinics and group rides. It also houses a full repair stand and is staffed by bike ambassadors.

"They're a staff of enthusiasts, mechanics, instructors and advocates that are sort of the face of cycling at VCU," Tyndall said. "If you have a question — whether it be a good commuting route, what kind of bike you should buy, how to get into racing, what kinds of events and programs are available at VCU or in the city of Richmond — come ask them. They're incredibly knowledgeable and they keep their bikes working themselves, and many of them are astute racers. No matter what your question is, I'm sure they can point you in the right direction."

Ambassador Matt Kuhn, a sociology major, has been cycling for seven years and racing for five.

"Anything you would want to know about a bicycle, I teach," he said. "It's kind of like a walk-through process. I'll show [visitors] how to do it." For instance, since most bikes have two brakes, he'll demonstrate fixing one as the owner fixes the other.

"As of right now, no one's even heard of us and we [still] get a couple of students a day, so hopefully it will pick up a lot," Kuhn said. "We're the first of a kind. Hopefully other schools with follow our example."

Sophomore Alex Burkard, a member of VCU's cycling team, stops by occasionally to support the lounge, as well as to work on his bike. Recently, he brought his bike in after an accident.

"I tried to ride my bike through a turn really fast and I hit a hole, and — long story short — I went over the handlebars and bent my handlebars up pretty bad," he said as Kuhn examined his bike.

The lounge was a logical next step for VCU, a Bicycle Friendly University, Burkard said.

"It's pretty unique and it really fits in with the community here, since there is a big cycling presence," he said. "I knew it was going to happen over time. The whole cycling mentality — ideology — it's really taken off over the years. It was just a matter of time before it made its impact here."

Tyndall hopes the bike lounge will encourage more members of the university to take up cycling.

"What we really want to do is get people trained to work on their bikes themselves. That's a really important step for bike ownership and for eliminating a barrier for people picking up a bike as a reliable means of transportation," he said. "If you know how to fix it, [if] you know how to pump your tires up and [if] you know where on campus you can find these facilities to help you, you're much more likely to get actually on your bike and get somewhere."

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