As fifth hour ends and advisory starts, classroom 1401 is filled with students wanting to learn more about the new Biking Club. Students who are novices to biking and cycling experts alike take up every seat available.
“It excites me. I really felt like there was a hole in that we didn’t have this club. I felt like it was a need but I wasn’t sure how students would respond and if they would feel the same way. So honestly, I could barely chill myself out enough to like to teach for sixth hour. And I think that what’s cool is that it appeals to many people for many different reasons,” the club’s advisor Siri Felker said. Bike Club is made up of a diverse group, from students who bike to school every day to students who don’t know how to ride a bike.
Felker grew up riding her bike but didn’t start seriously riding until this past spring.
“I rode my bike to work every day, I went on other rides and learned how to start fixing it up,” Felker said.
She participated in RAGBRAI this summer and has continued to ride her bike to school every day this fall.
“Bike Club is not a racing club. It’s not competitive. It’s not exclusive. It’s really about being just radically joyful and welcoming everybody into a community of people who like to spend time on the ground together,” Felker said.
The club will primarily focus on creating a community within City High. Things like sharing biking trails, learning how to fix bikes, and learning how to ride a bike are all to be included in the club’s activities. As for the club’s plans for the future, expect events like bike rides with other students, learning trails around Iowa City to get from place to place, and biking to try some new ice cream spots.
A main focus for the club is getting bikes for students who don’t have one. Pairing up with The Bike Library so students can get bikes for free.
“We were able to collaborate with the Bike Library in downtown Iowa City to get three sophomores set up with bikes of their own. The Bike Library is a non-profit bike shop that accepts donated bikes, fixes them up, and checks them out to community members,” Felker said.
If those who are given bikes wish to keep them, it’s allowed. The Bike Library also provides bike repair lessons after school on Thursdays.
“I think that some big needs are going to be infrastructure. We need more space for kids to park bikes, and for kids to park bikes safely. So I’m working with the teacher of a geometry and construction class here to build covered bike sheds with racks,” Felker shared, referencing the recent involvement of the construction classes in working to build projects around the school.
The group held their first meeting Wednesday during advisory but anyone interested in joining can find the bike bulletin board near the science hallway. The club’s next meeting as a whole is currently unknown as Felker finishes organizing things relating to the club, but students are encouraged to get in contact with her via email or find her in person in room 1401.
