E-Bikes for navigating college campuses!
Do you have a child heading to college in the fall? An E-Bike may be a smart and economical alternative to a car.
As I write this article I remember my college days with great fondness: scraping up money to buy enough gas to keep my 16 year old Ford Ranger on the road another week, wondering how much money it will take to get it to pass inspection and praying that its ever balding tires would get me home safely for winter break. And how could I forget the 3 mile trek to the freshman parking lot to retrieve it. I was always eternally grateful to my parents for picking up the insurance tab every month and pitching in when it needed a new alternator. I don’t know how I would have survived in the 15 square miles that was my college town without it and without my parents constantly loaning me money to keep it going.
College towns and campuses are a world unto themselves who’s inhabitants rarely travel further than a few miles at a time. In hind site the whole thing sounds absolutely ridiculous, mostly because it was. I’m not sure why but I felt as though I needed a car. Perhaps because it was the only quick and easy way to get anywhere. How else would I have gotten to the discount book store 5 miles away? Back then I’m ashamed to say I wouldn’t have dreamed of riding a bike; but an e-bike would have been a different story.
I could see myself hopping on my e-bike and cruising up the big hill to campus then flying back to my apartment for an afternoon of grilling and throwing horse shoes. Granted college wasn’t all fun but I think I may have made a few more trips back up that big hill to the library if I had an e-bike to help me get there. Who knows that C in art history may have been a B!
Will riding an electric bike make your college bound child a better student?
Possibly, but I’m not going to make that claim. I can say with confidence that it will save them and you a lot of money. Forget insurance, repairs, parking tickets, traffic violations, parking permits, gas oil changes, car payments, tags and everything else that comes with car ownership. If their college campus is anything like the colleges I’ve seen, a car is simply an unnecessary expense.
So consider an E-BikeKit for your grad. We’ll be happy to help you find a bike model that works for you and we’re always here to help you through the install. They may push for a car but before you break down and buy one, take a moment to remember your college days and consider how an E-Bike may be a better alternative. Take it from me… I would have loved one.
Mark Mahoney
