<p>As a freshman from Norcal, my son won't have a car on campus, at least at first. Would a bike be a good idea? Do very many students use them? The UCI campus looks pretty large!</p>
<p>We live near UC Davis, where bikes are everywhere. Seriously, the city's mascot/icon is a giant bike! The countryside around Davis is swarming with serious cyclists in training, also casual riders. Does Orange Co. have many cyclists who use bikes to commute, and/or for recreational rides in the surrounding areas? Does anyone ride their bike from the UCI campus to the beach, or is this too far/too much traffic?</p>
<p>But what about the surrounding area? Are there other places you might want to bike, like that nature area near the campus? And especially, can you get to the beach by bike? People told me you can get to the coast by bus, but it isn't a direct trip. Seems odd to me to have >20,000 people located 10 mins from the beach, with no easy way to get there other than by private car. Isn't there any public policy effort to reduce pollution/congestion in this area? I hear the parking is really bad at Newport Beach, too. </p>
<p>No. A bike is not useful outside of campus. I don't hear many people bike to the beach. It's not very popular either. I say unless you live in mesa and are really lazy, you don't need a bike.</p>
<p>(Continuing rant) If bikes can't go on the Ring Road for safety reasons, then are there any bike paths on this campus as an alternative? </p>
<p>Can you go by bike to commercial areas/restaurants, etc., like Costa Mesa? I don't want my son totally stranded on campus, but I don't want to pay $2000+ extra $$ for him to have a car his first year, either.
(Parking, insurance, gas..... ) </p>
<p>Also, what about cycling as a sport, anyone into it?</p>
<p>Thanks, la_demolition, the UCI bike club would be a great contact. And yackityyack, riding to San Diego sounds ambitious! </p>
<p>worriedsenior, thanks also. Though my son is planning to live in Mesa, and he is quite lazy :) Maybe it would be handy to bike over to the ARC, or I guess the shuttle would be better if bikes are not allowed on the main road. </p>
<p>Unrelated question--In aerial photos, I see there is a swimming pool across the road from Mesa. Is that the pool for people taking swimming as a class?</p>
<p>having a bike in irvine is meaningless in my opinion. It's suburbia and coorporate hq surrounding the school. YOu cannot easily get to the beach from campus housing w/o breaking a serious sweat.</p>
<p>Seems like a variant of Murphy's law...if you ask others online for information about a topic, you will discover the relevant site you were looking for immediately afterwards!</p>