Wheelin' through winter

It’s that time of year again. The snow is falling, the temperature’s dropping and bikers are storing their bikes away for the winter.
Except for winter bikers, that is.
King’s is home to so many cyclists that facilities installed an extra bike rack last October to attempt to accommodate students’ needs.
With winter in full swing and a large number of bikers packing away their bikes for the winter, Regine Tiu, a second year student at King’s, is grateful for the extra space.
“I used to have to store my bike on trees due to the amount of bikes, but luckily now there are less people biking. There’s not a lot of storage now, so there’s lots of room for the winter bikers,” she said.
But with the recent construction on North Pole Bay, a large number of bike racks have been removed, with more scheduled to be moved in the upcoming weeks.  Winter storage has been left scarce.
Tiu is also concerned about the lack of snow removal in and around the bike racks.
“The problem is that once it snows, the snow tends to freeze underneath the racks, and it makes it very hard to be able to lock up my bike since I have to lift it and it slides around so much,” she said.
Not everyone opts for winter biking. Halifax’s harsh winter weather can cause major damage to bikes, making storage during the winter months especially important. Students who live on campus are able to access the free on-campus storage provided through the front desk at Alex Hall, but day students are left to fend for themselves.
Finding means of storage off-campus can be tough considering the lack of space in student housing. Jonathan Gallagher, a second year day student, is currently storing his bike in a hallway of his home.
“I’m lucky that I’m the only one in my house who has a bike to store, otherwise it would get a little crowded and crazy,” he said.
With winter coming to a close within the next few months, bikers at King’s are left wondering about what storage will be available once bikes are back out in full force.  The missing racks in front of North Pole Bay leaves both Tiu and Gallagher hoping there will be other options for bike storage come spring.