Once the weather decides what season it is, biking is a great way to get outside and stay active. The Ames Library can help you with that.
In collaboration with Student Senate, the Ames Library provides a bike-borrowing service to Illinois Wesleyan students and staff, free of charge.
Similar to checking out a book, students can scan their IDs to check out one of the program’s eight available bikes.
A student then has the bike for three days, and receives a bike lock and key. The green bikes can typically be seen on bike racks outside the library.
The program is led by Student Senate Sustainability Commissioner Skyler Tomecki.
As Sustainability Commissioner, Tomecki oversees all environmen-tal and sustainability initiatives at IWU, including the green to-go boxes available in the dining hall and Student Senate’s Earth Week programming.
“The program is a great way for students to become more integrated in the local community,” Tomecki said.
Tomecki added that the bikes can be a great way for IWU students to navigate the Bloomington-Normal area.
Whether you want to go to your favorite restaurant in Uptown, a shop on Bloomington’s Main Street, or you’re just looking for an excuse to get outside in the spring weather, checking out a bike is a great option.
The Constitution Trail, which runs along an old train track through Bloomington-Normal, is one of the area’s most popular walking and biking paths.
A trail map is located outside of the Hansen Student Center, next to their bike racks so you can plan your next ride.
If you just want to take a ride but want different scenery, the neighborhoods around IWU have plenty of different routes for you to take.
“My freshman year, my friend had brought her bike so I checked one out and we went together,”
Tomecki said, “We went from the library down Fell, kind of south on the trail.”
Since the program’s start in 2013, the amount of loans has grown. Student Senate got more bikes for the 2023-2024 academic year, expanding from four to eight.
In 2022, the bikes were loaned out about 97 times, and that number grew to 114 with the addition of the new bikes. In 2024, loans grew to 153.
Most of the loans come from the warmer spring months, so with warmer temperatures the program is expecting even more use for the 2025-2026 year.
Bikes can be checked out at the front desk of Ames with your IWU ID. Visit iwu.edu/bikes/ for more information.
