The Johnsonian

Issue date: 3/5/08 Section: Lifestyles

Bike Club president Jelisa Haynes rides her bike around campus. The club started last semester after Haynes noticed other students' interest in a bike club. The club partners with the Rock Hill Bicycle Club to promote healthier lifestyles on campus and in the community.

The world's most popular vehicle draws the attention of Winthrop. Not the car, plane or boat, but the bicycle.
Winthrop's new Bike Club joins the 1.4 billion worldwide bicycle users in an effort to get healthy and help the environment.
President Jelisa Haynes, sophomore psychology and criminology double-major, got the idea for the bike club from Jason Weil, program director of volunteer and community service.
"It just started last semester because there was a lot of interest," Haynes said.
The club strives to decrease ozone pollution and promote health and wellness.
"No matter how long you've been off a bike, you remember how to ride it," Haynes said. "It's like that with health and wellness; you always remember how to be healthy."
Bike Club vice president Elizabeth Allred, environmental studies and history double-major, says that the club consists of 15 to 25 members. Biking is an increasingly popular means of getting around campus, and the club supports the trend.
"Cars cost thousands. I can go to Wal-mart and buy a bike for an eighth of my paycheck," Haynes said.
Frank Rizzo, Bike Club faculty advisor, connects Winthrop's club with the Rock Hill Bicycle Club. Student members at Winthrop may automatically become members of the Rock Hill club free of charge.
"Together we strive to make Rock Hill a 'Bicycle-Friendly City,' Rizzo said.
Currently, Spartanburg is the only city in South Carolina to have the title, but Rock Hill and Winthrop's clubs hope to change that.
"The Rock Hill Bicycle Club has been proactive in our area in regards to making Rock Hill more bicycle-friendly," Steve Shepard, president of the RHBC said.
"We work with the local governmental entities to push for funding allocation to build bike trails and lanes. The RHBC contributes to the state legislative process to enact laws to better protect cyclists on the road. The club has purchased and installed bike racks at various location around the city," Shepard said.

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