<p>My son will be in East Halls, and we saw tons of bikes there when we visited. Given the size of the campus, do current students recommend having a bike on campus ? It would seem to be a nice convenience. </p>
<p>Also, is theft an issue ? Should we look for a "beater" bike (relatively speaking) ?</p>
<p>Thanks in advance.</p>
<p>My D will be in Curtin Hall. She considered a bike, but decided against it because the bus (or her feet) will take her just about everywhere she needs to go. She didn't need anything else to worry about.</p>
<p>We did hear that a "beater" is the way to go; lots of bike theft/vandalism.</p>
<p>We live in town and my DS has been biking around town and campus for years; I can't imagine him not taking his when he moves into the dorm. With all the people we know who work at (including DH) or send their kids to Penn State I have not heard of a case of theft or vandalism.</p>
<p>My niece's bike was brutalized outside of her East Halls dorm this past year; she ended up having to throw it in the dumpster. We also so a lot of vandalized bikes on our trip up there in February. Just something to consider.</p>
<p>I am sorry to hear that.
Penn State salvage has an annual auction of bikes that are abandoned or stolen/retrieved/unclaimed. I believe it's in the spring, so if a student didn't bring a bike and then wished s/he had one that might be a way to pick one up at a reasonable price. The range of quality and price was quite remarkable and there were scores available the year I went. (I came away with a nice Schwinn for under a hundred dollars.)</p>
<p>There really is no need for a bicycle. You can walk to classes or take the loop. Why bring something else to worry about? Besides, when it gets really cold outside, bicycles aren't that useful.</p>
<p>^^My thoughts exactly</p>
<p>Oh, and I also want to add that Happy Valley is a very hilly area. If for some reason you decide to take your bicycle, you'll be doing a lot of up-hill and down-hill riding. Not fun.</p>
<p>Some people think it's a lot of fun--
<a href="http://www.clubs.psu.edu/up/bike/%5B/url%5D">http://www.clubs.psu.edu/up/bike/</a></p>
<p>This semester I will be using a bike and I think it is a great way to get to your classes at any large school. Because of my schedule, there are some days where I will only have ten minutes to get from one building to another, so I don't really have a choice--it is the only way to make it without being late every time. One difficulty I see is that the campus is pretty uneven, so you will probably break a sweat if you are going uphill often, but this also makes it easier if you are going the other way. But most importantly, a lot of times there will only be small pathways leading to some buildings and with the constant human traffic at PSU, you'll have to do a great deal of maneuvering through crowds or pedaling very slowly to avoid hitting someone. In some areas, I see no other way but to get off and carry the bike with you or ride on the grass--the front entrance to pattee, for example. And of course, during snow days, you will probably have to walk otherwise you run the risk of slipping or getting wet. I have actually seen people riding on heavy snow days, though, so it is possible.</p>
<p>So I think bikes are very convinient, especially if you don't have a car and want to go to walmart or somewhere distant quickly. I wouldn't rely on the bus system because sometimes the stops are loaded with people and it only goes around the perimeter of the campus. There is a funny essay about this on the penn state composition booklet for the fall of 06, which I was required to buy for some reason.</p>
<p>Hey, Frasi, We moved DS into West Halls today and his dorm had a bike storage room in the basement. There were quite a few racks, though I would imagine it would get pretty full during the winter. </p>
<p>I hope your move-in goes smoothly!</p>