Even during the chilly winter months, one Ohio State group is trying to get cyclists on the road.
The Winter Cycle Show, hosted by Bike OSU, will provide competitions, prizes and free bike maintenance to participants Thursday evening at Knowlton Hall from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
The main goal of the show is to remind people biking can be a year-round activity that isn’t limited to warmer months, said Alex Smith, president of Bike OSU and a graduate student in city and regional planning.
“It’s an event we (have) throw(n) every year for the last three years to get people out in the winter time and just kind of keep them in the cycling mentality,” Smith said.
Another important aspect of the Winter Cycle Show is promoting the idea of a biking co-op on OSU’s campus, Smith said.
“That’s something that’s been one of our missions to get started here on campus,” Smith said.
The point of a co-op is to help people save money and teach them how to use bike-fixing tools, said Calvin Lam, a Mobile Bike Clinic coordinator and a fourth-year in biomedical science.
The Mobile Bike Clinic is a bike maintenance service Bike OSU provides, and volunteers run the co-op.
“In the co-op, we would want to go for more of a bicycle resource center. You know, a place where people could come and work on their bikes, or just kind of relax and be around other people that bike,” Smith said.
The club aims to promote the idea of a bike co-op, but the main part of the Winter Cycle Show is the bike show itself.
“You can bring your bike out, enter it in one of several categories,” Smith said. “So, we’ll have everything from custom-made tall bikes, to road bikes, to mountain bikes, to BMX bikes.”
The bikes are put on display in the Knowlton Hall main space, and people at the show can vote for individual bikes in a variety of categories, said Collin Balsley, Mobile Bike Clinic coordinator and third-year in environmental science.
There will also be bike tire changing challenges, a competition to see how quickly someone can unlock a bike lock and other bike-themed contests, Smith said.
There will be several local bike companies at the show and a co-op called Franklinton Cycle Works, whose shop is located at 897 W. Broad St.
Owners of the winning bikes at the show will receive prizes such as a new wheel set, bike pedal straps or gift cards to local bike stores. The event is free and offers free food to attendees.