A Conversation with UVM Bikes! Treasurer

UVM Bikes treasurer, Brandon Schoenfeld

UVM Bikes! is a student-run cooperative organization at the University of Vermont. The organization makes an otherwise expensive hobby accessible to all students. They facilitate rentals of a variety of bikes including mountain and tandem bikes. They also offer lessons to teach people the skills necessary to tune and repair bikes. 

I had the pleasure of meeting with Brandon Schoenfeld, treasurer of the club. He keeps track of the finances of the club which entails many responsibilities and working with UVM’s Student Government Association. He has acted as the vice president of the club, helping assist President Malia Macleod with the workload.  

According to Brandon, UVM Bikes! was first founded as Bicycle Users Group in 2011. They had some humble beginnings, with their headquarters located in the basement of the Dudley H. Davis Center. They were mainly a bike interest group where fellow bike lovers could connect. They offered spot repairs on bikes, but mostly they maintained a rental fleet from the Davis Center. If you wanted, you could go and rent a bike for the day from the front desk. Eventually, they lost some members –as clubs ebb and flow over the years– which led to the club dissolving. Later, in 2013,  the club was reformed as UVM Bikes! This time, the club had more of an emphasis on community service and bicycle education. 

UVM Bikes! differs from your typical bike shop. For one, they offer bike repair services at low or no cost. Furthermore, they work with you to repair your bike, passing on valuable skills. Not only does your bike get fixed, but you learn how to fix your bike. The club provides a space for students to learn how to work on their own bikes. This is unique as this isn't something that otherwise exists in the area. This isn't just out of the goodness of their hearts, Brandon says. 

“We all love bikes, and we love getting people on bikes. But what we really want, what we all deeply care about is bicycle access and bicycle transportation. It’s about getting the general community comfortably and safely out in a 2 wheel fashion,” Brandon explained passionately.  

Brandon and I discussed ways to increase the accessibility of bikes to students on campus. Brandon proposed that rather than having one bike rental station at the Andrew Harris common, there would be multiple stations, each outside a dorm. 

UVM Bikes! offers rental bikes for students

One of the biggest barriers to biking nowadays is safe routes. With cars and pedestrians, it can become difficult to share the road. Recently, UVM has taken steps to mitigate this issue, as seen in the recent University Place reconstruction project, which has reduced this problem. Previously, this intersection was one of the most dangerous for cyclists, but after reconstruction, it is now substantially safer. We would like to see the University continue to make it safe and accessible to be out on a bicycle.  

We’ve all experienced how it can be difficult to commute to class when pedestrians and bikers attempt to share the sidewalk. One way to remedy this would be to widen the sidewalks. This is not easily said and done, but it’s been shown that wider sidewalks are beneficial to both pedestrians and bikers.  The sidewalks of the Andrew Harris Commons are a good example of this. They are wide enough that you can have people walking in either direction on either side with people biking down the middle. 

However, on other parts of campus, such as Athletic Campus, the paths are very narrow. Should a cyclist want to pass someone, they have to either go on the grass or the pedestrian has to jump out of the way. It's just not conducive to students using several forms of transportation. It is important to have spaces that can accommodate that. Because ultimately, we want to encourage people to be out on their feet or biking and practicing other forms of sustainable transportation. 

UVM Bikes! headquarters

Be sure to keep an eye out for UVM Bikes! around campus, especially as the weather gets warmer. Additionally, look to support their cooperative through UVM’s annual LUVMYCLUB fundraiser which typically runs from late February to early March.

The ​​UVM Bikes! shop is located at the Booth House, behind the Waterman Building on South Williams St. The shop is open from 10-3 Monday, Tuesday, and Friday and 10-1 Wednesday and Thursday. They can be reached at bikesuvm@gmail.com or found on Instagram and Facebook @UVMBikes and online at https://uvmbikes.w3.uvm.edu/