<p>Hello,
I will be attending the university of Pennsylvania in the fall and I will be commuting. The question I have is about how I should go about this. I plan to stay on campus throughout the day and try to complete my work there and come home after I'm done. The options I have are to either take the subway there or drive. Both of these have pros and cons and I am curious to what everyone thinks will be better for me while realizing that the final decision is my own. If I take the subway, the main benefit will be not having to deal with crazy drivers and traffic in the morning. The main con would be that I would have to carry all of my books and such to campus everyday and have the hassle of lugging them around. If I were to drive, it would be the opposite. Which would you choose if you had the option and why?
thanks.</p>
<p>(1) Use books in the libraries; they are usually available and will definitely save you trouble.
(2) You’re going to want to do some extracurriculars on campus. These can meet very late at night. Have access to a car even if you don’t use it every day.
(3) Definitely do extracurriculars. College is definitely about more than the schoolwork (otherwise you could have just gone to your state school and taken 20+ credits a semester).
(4) You’ll figure out a routine soon enough. Just alternate for a few days and find out what works best for you.</p>
<p>you might have trouble finding parking spaces on campus. so it might be a good idea to have a bike that you keep around campus, and not carry with you going back home. or carry with you through the subway, whichever. You can also store the bike near the subway so that you can have easy access every time you get off subway.</p>
<p>Use craigslist to get a cheap bike. Do some research on the models so you don’t get ripped off. I recommend vintage road bikes. These bikes are mostly 70s-80s, but they’re better than the low end bikes made today. They usually come around $150 on a good sale, $100 if you’re lucky. These bikes will typically need a tune up. You will need to know how to take care of a bike, and it may initially seem like a b1tch, but it’s worth the investment, trust me. paying for gas sucks… and considering you’re commuting, I’m sure you’d understand. Also carry a spare tire and a patch kit with you. A couple of wrenches for brake adjustment can’t hurt either. Saddle bags and rack bags will do the trick of carrying them.</p>
<p>always have a night bike light if you bike at night. helmet is optional (I only say that because I don’t wear one). If you run into high traffic situations, DEFINITELY wear a helmet!</p>
<p>get a U-lock if you intend to keep the bike (if you go to walmart, buy the Kryptonite U-lock, NOT the Bell U-lock). Lock the front wheel and maybe the back wheel too, and maybe get a small lock for the saddle. Always take whatever’s easily accessible on the bike with you (eg. saddle bags, bike light, etc.) It really depends on the crime activity. Around here, it’s pretty quiet, but I can’t really speak for Wharton, or where ever UPenn is. I would try to find a place where there’s 24 hr surveillance.</p>
<p>Off the top of my head these are the things I can think of to prepare a bicycle newbie. If you find this useful, great. If not, then I’m heartbroken.</p>
<p>I got nothing else to do this morning, so looky here:</p>
<p>[road</a> bike. (gmc denali )](<a href=“http://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/bik/2435749954.html]road”>http://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/bik/2435749954.html)
This bike looks nice and new, but it’s probably a piece of crap.</p>
<p>[Schwinn</a> LeTour](<a href=“http://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/bik/2432004261.html]Schwinn”>http://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/bik/2432004261.html)
this is a nice bike! and not a bad deal either. But it was probably gone within 36 hrs of the ad being published, if not earlier. So you have to watch your local Craiglists like a hawk.</p>
<p>[Schwinn</a> Continental road bike](<a href=“http://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/bik/2452508067.html]Schwinn”>http://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/bik/2452508067.html)
ehh… I tend to prefer 80s bikes. But this one can do if all you want is to get around. It looks old and rusted, so it might need new cables and housings for the brakes and the shifters. You’ll also probably want to take apart the brakes and lube up the joints to make it go smoothly.</p>
<p>here is a very good source. A lot of pros and geeks here to answer your questions</p>