Cyclists enjoy their chilly ride through Oxford Saturday. (ANDREW BRAY | The Miami Student)
While many were at Yager Stadium enjoying the cool air and Saturday's football game, others were on High Street participating in the Ride to Renewal, an event hosted by Renew MU to raise awareness and visibility for green environmental policy and cyclists' rights.
Around 2 p.m. Saturday, the group of about 25, ranging from age five to the mid-50s, circled from High Street to Patterson Avenue to Spring Street and down College Avenue.
They were escorted by two squad cars from the Oxford Police Department with the hope of using direct action as a means to promote sustainability and raise questions of ethical and environmentally sound policy. They also rode to prove a point: that area cyclists are concerned about the safety and accessibility they have in the city of Oxford.
"We'd like to see bikers have more freedom on the road. We'd like to see the adoption of a more aggressive policy, including bike lanes in the city of Oxford and on Miami's campus," senior Christian Adams, the president of Renew MU, said.
The event allowed cyclists in the area to speak under a unified voice.
"There is a perception in the community that cyclists are not a powerful or large group. That it's not a significant number of residents. We would like to dispel this myth," Adams said.
The group plans to host another event some time in the future, potentially next spring, according to junior Tyler Elliot who was also instrumental in putting on the event.
The afternoon was inspired by efforts of the Sierra Student Coalition, as well as Critical Mass, an organization that hosts large bike rides through the streets of their cities. In Elliot's hometown of Cleveland, the group started off modestly, but has grown to the hundreds. Elliot hopes that the same will happen for the event in Oxford, as the group plans to put on another ride sometime in the future.
The group included students, residents of the Oxford community and Miami University faculty.
David Prytherch, an associate geography professor, was invited to participate.
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"As a participant, it was really fun," he said, "In the words of my wife, it was very empowering. My kids are little and they really enjoyed it. For them just to ride down the street was kind of a new experience, usually campus streets are too busy and unsafe. It was an empowering experience for my family."
It is evident that the city of Oxford had not planned for cyclists in the past, according to Prytherch. However, the city is now considering a change. Miami is currently finalizing its first campus circulation master plan, which will emphasize walking, biking and the Miami Metro for use on campus.
"What Miami is trying to do right now is figure out how best to plan for bikes, to encourage people to not drive and provide safe alternatives," Prytherch said. "Bicycle infrastructure, routes and storage is a real focus of that plan. Definitely Miami is in the process of planning for bicycle routes through campus."
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