The Ride Stuff (Butler Eagle)
The Butler Eagle reported on Slippery Rock University’s Green and Growing Initiative, a Community Connections supported Grassroots project.
The Ride Stuff
Bike ride celebrates $5K grantBy STEPHANIE REX
Eagle Staff WriterSLIPPERY ROCK — More than 50 cyclists pedaled through the streets of Slippery Rock Friday delivering a message that rang clearer than a bicycle bell.
Get out of the car and onto a bike.
“I love the look of that,” said Allie Bernstein, 21, of Fishkill, N.Y., looking back at the crowd behind her as the group rounded the first bend.
As bikers made their way down Main Street, they shouted, “Get on a bike!” to passers-by and patrons sitting on the North Country Brewing Company’s front patio.
Rachel DeWolf, another student taking part in the ride, waited for a moment at the parking lot entrance at Main Street and Franklin Street as a mass of bike riders blocked traffic.
“Look at the troops,” DeWolf said with a smile as she made the turn onto the road.
The monthly Critical Mass bike ride event in Slippery Rock is part of an international initiative to promote the use of bicycles instead of cars or other vehicles, said Steve Roberts, the event organizer.
Friday’s ride not only promoted green awareness last week, but also was a celebration of a $5,000 Green and Growing grant recently awarded to Slippery Rock University. The rides are held on the last Friday of every month and begin at the Aebersold Recreation Center. After riding across the campus, the bikers make their way down Kiester Road to meet a Slippery Rock police escort and onto Main Street. The group then circles back after reaching Franklin Street, and goes back to the recreation center.
The state grant came from the Pittsburgh 250 Commission and was used by SRU to buy new bikes for students to check out at Bailey Library, Roberts said.
Half of the grant was used to plant trees on campus. After the ride, a dedication ceremony was held in which trees were planted in memory of SRU professors David Dixon and Claudia Balach.
Roberts said the Critical Mass rides originated in San Francisco, when a man got tired of cars having the right of way and of cyclists having secondary road rights. Roberts said some of the events around the world have seen 50,000 people participating in one city.
