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This issue already marks buzz’s third cover story concerning wheels, gears and handlebars in less than a year. I would apologize for the redundancy and buzz’s seemed obsession with bikes, but I think it’s perfectly appropriate considering the community’s infatuation with making CU as bike-friendly as possible.

I’ve never really had a chance to try out CU’s bike lanes until this summer. My freshman year of college, I brought my bike from home, but it was stolen within the first month I was here. Sophomore year, I bought a bike from a bike hobbyist deep in Urbana who collected parts and refurbished old bikes that have been “found” around town (I can’t help think that mine was one of them). That bike didn’t last long either, though, as it quickly broke beyond repair.

After learning the consequences of not locking your bike up properly or maintaining it, I purchased a new bike this summer and have finally gotten a chance to enjoy the convenience of moving around town easily and quickly. The bike lanes can take you pretty much anywhere (although I would appreciate if some didn’t abandon you by dead-ending at busy intersections), and there are a large handful of organizations and shops to help with repairs or to just go out on a bike ride with.

This weekend should be exciting, then, for bikers around town as the Tour de Champaign hits up the downtown streets this Saturday. With bikers coming from all over the country to take part and the downtown Streetfest to look forward to after the exhausting race, it sounds like an exciting summer Saturday. Let’s just hope the streets don’t get too clogged with traffic from all the blocked-up roads.