Gift Expands UW Bike Library

June 5, 2012
Man working on bikes
Clay Palmer assembles a new bicycle for the UW Pokes' Spokes Bike Library. Students may rent the bicycles for $20 per semester.

The University of Wyoming's Pokes' Spokes Bike Library is expanding. Cycle Wyoming recently funded 10 new bicycles, plus locks, helmets and UW bike permits.

"We are very fortunate to have the support of Cycle Wyoming," says Dan McCoy, coordinator of the UW Outdoor Program that manages the bike library. "They have done a tremendous job supporting a number of bicycle-related improvements all across the state, and we are glad to be added to that list."

Started in 2005 by the Associated Students of the University of Wyoming (ASUW) and the UW cycling team, the bike library provides students with an opportunity to rent bicycles for the semester as an easy, inexpensive way to get around campus. Widely used by students, the program began with fewer than 20 bikes. McCoy says it has grown to more than 100 bikes and a number of other services.

The library now boasts a full set of bike tools, a work bench and a part-time mechanic who offers popular bike-tuning clinics in the fall and spring semesters.

"A number of students come in and work on their own bikes," McCoy says. "The tools and stands are all free for their use, though I should be clear that we don't provide these services for personally owned bikes."

Cycle Wyoming is a nonprofit organization started in 2001 to promote cycling and cycling safety across the state. Cycle Wyoming is known primarily for the Tour de Wyoming, an annual event that takes cyclists from throughout the country on tours across the state.

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