I got my degree from the University of Bike

It’s all points this and course that and CAO whatever you’re having yourself in the news today, and I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m hopping on the news bandwagon here. As thousands of people across the country start preparing themselves for life as third-level students, now seems as good a time as any to set out some reasons (besides the environmental ones) why those starting college should seriously think about getting themselves a bike, as well as that all-important new set of Bic biros.

1 – Cycling saves you money

Initially, shelling out €250-300 to get a decent bike for the daily commute to college might seem like a lot. However, when compared with the costs of other transport options – walking excepted – the bike easily wins out. Take, for example, the Dublin Bus student travelcard. It’s currently €18 a week and, while this does represent good value, buying thirty cards a year will set you back €540. With that sort of money, you’d have a good quality bike, all the necessary accoutrements, and a bit of cash left over to cover the first service. Compare the costs of buying and maintaining a bike to those associated with car ownership, and the financial benefits are even more obvious. What’s more, with the right care and maintenance a decent bike should be roadworthy for years to come – so it’s worth looking after.

2 – Cycling saves you time

Until I moved recently I lived about a 25-30 minute walk, depending on the route taken, from UCD. It was hardly what you’d call a taxing distance to travel on foot, but when I started travelling in by bike I found that I was saving myself over half an hour a day. In essence, this meant that I could get up later and get home sooner. Two thumbs up from me.

The time-saving wonders of the bicycle are also evident when one compares cycling with travelling by bus. The bike allows you to travel directly, without having to live in thrall to a timetable. There are no waiting times, no queues, no dangling by the arm from the rail overhead because it’s 8am and the bus is packed, no transfers from one bus to another for those not living on direct bus routes to college. True, on a day like today the bus, no matter how crammed or rattly, probably seems like a far better option than struggling home through the wind and rain. A few choice pieces of effective raingear, however (a convenient post on this very subject is below), and you’re laughing.

3 – Cycling gives you more options

As noted above, with a bike you aren’t stuck to a timetable. However, in the case of the student moving to Dublin, or moving out of home before starting college, the bike offers great flexibility when it comes to the dreaded accommodation hunt. Cycling students can live anywhere within commuting distance of their chosen college, and therefore aren’t limited to the usually highly sought-after accommodation in the immediate vicinity of the university. For a student relying on walking or on public transport, somewhere that doesn’t have direct bus or rail links to college and is an hour’s walk away might not sound all that appealing. When that distance between home and college is translated into a half hour cycle, it suddenly becomes an option.

4 – Cycling = good for the body and mind

Alright, so for this one there’s no practical or physical evidence, apart from personal experience and that of fellow cyclists. However, I’ve always felt that my daily commute has been good for my brain as well as my body. All that fresh air and oxygen pumping around the body helps to make you feel more alert, and sometimes being on the bike allows me time to think over things – be it stuff that I’m working on, books that I’m reading, blog posts I plan to write or just life in general. That said, though, it should be noted that concentration is of the essence when cycling – but that in itself must surely be good for the old synapses. All those who I inspire to start cycling here can thank me when they get their first-class honours degree via a nice cash donation.

Anyone who gives it a go will quickly realise what a positive impact making cycling your main mode of transport can have on your life. I feel sad when I read of UCD’s plans for more car parking space on campus, with little reference in their grand plans for the future to, say, secure bike parking areas with CCTV and a security presence, or even to expanded bike parking facilities that won’t just become targets for bike thieves. More student cyclists in Dublin’s – and indeed, the country’s – third level institutions would mean more people to put pressure, not only on college administrators, but also on city and town councils to adequately provide for cyclists and their bikes.