<p>Hi, I’m a incoming freshman at Bard and I wanted to know how students go around campus, from dorm, to classes, to the restaurants and the like. Bard reccomends bikes instead of cars and, since I don’t have a car it’s not like this is a option, but I wanted yo know if people have bikes and all. I saw that there’s a way of renting a bike for the semester but that doesn’t seem too much attractive financialy.</p>
<p>Expect to do a lot of walking. However, there is a regular shuttle bus that loops around campus from North to South, and into the towns of Red Hook and Tivoli. I would post the link to the schedule, but right now only the summer schedule is online. Students do ride bikes, of course, and you’ll also end up with friends who have cars. </p>
<p>There are also scheduled shuttles to Kingston twice a week, I believe, and shuttles to the train stations, as well as shuttles to the airports at breaks.</p>
<p>If you can bring a bike, definitely bring it along. While a car is useful, it is perfectly possible to get by using the shuttle into Red Hook/Tivoli. The only time D has used a taxi service is when none of her friends could pick her up at the train station.</p>
<p>Bikes are incredibly popular. Most students bike or walk to class. As stated there is a shuttle that goes between Red Hook and Tivoli and makes between two and six stops on campus (depending on if you ask the driver to drop you off in a specific spot/if people are waiting in/if it’s an unpopular stop). Most groups of friends have at least one or two students who bring a car with them which is helpful to get into town so you’re not reliant on the shuttle, though I’ve had fun looking through antique shops with friends while waiting for the next one to come.</p>
<p>If you’re coming from far away where bringing your bike is not feasible, I recommend the bike shop in Rhinebeck (sorry can’t remember the name, but I think there’s only 1 in town). Didn’t check the bike stores in Kingston but they are probably good too.</p>
<p>Oh, and get a bike lock as there are cases of temporary “Bard borrowing” on campus. :-)</p>
<p>Thanks everybody, I guess I’ll be buying a bike. Now what about storage? I’m an international student so it’s pretty impossible to bring everything home at the end of the year and then everything back to school. Are storages close to school? are they expensive?</p>
<p>Summer storage is easy. There is a service which will pick up & deliver your belongings and deliver them back right to/from your dorm. Or, for a more inexpensive alternative, if you have a friend with a car, or pay for a taxi, you can rent a storage unit in Red Hook and other nearby towns. If you share with friends it can cost as little as $25-50 for the entire summer. And there is plenty of room - my son stores his keyboard, speakers, guitar, bedding, books & scores, & winter clothes…</p>
<p>A bike is useful around campus but not great for getting into town given the roads in the area. </p>
<p>My daughter had her bike stolen near the end of her third year, even though it was locked. Can’t figure it out since we didn’t spend a lot for the bike. I’d look into picking one up for under $200 at the WalMart in Kingston since the elements are pretty rough on bikes in the Northeast. Come with a nice bike and prepare to be worried about it. Of course, given the demographics of the Bard population, there are expensive bikes and avid bikers, but they haul their bikes into their rooms every day. If you’re just using it as a means to get around campus, don’t go too fancy. </p>
<p>$200 will buy mono-shock rear and fully-sprung front end with aluminum frame in a Chinese-made mountain bike these days at Walmart in the USA. You don’t need anything more than that at Bard. There is a bike co-op on campus to help with maintenance issues but their hours of operation were never convenient for my D, or so she said.</p>
<p>Definitely check out the Bike CO-OP. They have free summer and winter storage for bikes as well as a bunch of old abandoned bikes that you can fix up and ride for free.</p>
<p>As far as hours, what do you expect? Nobody’s getting paid to work there. Most of the year they’re open at least two days a week for a couple of hours. Also, most of the time they don’t lock the doors, so you can go in there 24/7 to work on your bike.</p>
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<p>Of course. That’s why I said it exactly the way I did. I think the bike co-op is a great idea and spoke to several students who used it or helped run it. It was just one resource of many at Bard my daughter just never had time to take advantage of. The summer storage would have been fantastic. If you’re part of it, keep up the good work!</p>
<p>Whether you’re at Bard, Columbia, Cornell, University of Michigan, or Texas Christian University, you should follow this rule: Your **bike lock **should cost more than your bike.</p>
<p>And as far as Bard’s bike co-op goes, they totally rock. And when they’re not available, there will be three people on your dorm floor lining up to help you fix that gear problem.</p>