The first couple weeks of school have not been all sunshine. Students have had to walk through the pouring rain or scorching heat to make it to class.

Fortunately for me, I ride my bicycle around campus. This helps me get to my classes faster on the hotter days and out of the rain faster on rainy days. It also allows for me to have a nice breeze on humid days.

The only downside to riding a bike on campus are the times when it seems like everyone on campus is trying to go to the same place you are. Riding a bike in a crowd of people is a test of patience and skill.

The test of patience comes in when the people in front of you are going slow, taking up the whole sidewalk and won’t get over for you to pass. I like to think of a sidewalk just like a road. Which means that if the left lane is open, then I can pass the people in front of me.

In cases where this does not happen, my skill is tested as a bike rider. I am tested on how slow my bike can actually go without me falling over and how close I can get to people without running them over or side swiping them (which thankfully has not happened).

I have been riding a bike since I was little, but riding a bike on campus is a different environment than out in the country with wide open space.

While bikers and walkers take each day as it comes without fully understanding each other, I think that if all campuses offered informational bike classes, then it might make everyone’s time on sidewalks a little less stressful.

Trying to predict how a walker will react when I inform them that I am about to pass them can be nerve-wracking. It also does not help when they have headphones on and cannot hear me anyway. This brings up the possibility that I will startle the person (which has happened).

Biking on campus has its perks, but it can be improved by allowing all bikers and walkers to get informed of the rules of the sidewalk. Let’s avoid the game of chance and start riding and walking informed.

Karena Ozier is a sophomore elementary education major. She can be reached at 581-2812 or at kmozier@eiu.edu.