Rice University’s Student Newspaper — Since 1916

Sunday, November 24, 2024 — Houston, TX

New location for Rice Bikes in RMC

By Sana Yaklur     8/28/14 7:23pm

Rice Bikes, a student-run bicycle shop founded in 2011 that services and rents out bikes, is moving most of its operations from Sid Richardson College’s basement to the Rice Memorial Center’s Hess Private Dining Room, accessible from the Brown Garden across from Rice Coffeehouse.

According to Rice Bikes General Manager Brian Barr, the organization is moving to improve visibility and accessibility.

It’s a great opportunity to further our mission of cultivating a culture of cycling on campus,” Barr, a Brown College sophomore, said. “By being in the RMC, our visibility will be much greater, and we will be much more accessible to the student body.”



According to Barr, Rice Bikes is expecting to have more business due to the greater visibility and accessibility.

“We expect to do a lot more business, especially because we have the lowest prices of any bike shop in Houston by a large margin,” Barr said. “Once people realize how convenient it is to bring your bike over to the RMC, I'm sure we will see a large increase in the number of bikes serviced.”

Barr said since the Hess PDR wasn’t housing any particular organization, they will not be displacing anyone.

“The PDR was mostly being used by graduate students to eat lunch in quiet, in addition to a few rare meetings,” Barr said.

The move was the result of months of planning by Rice Bikes and the Student Center, according to Barr.

“As an official Student Run Business, we receive support from staff in the Student Center, and they were instrumental in helping us secure the space,” Barr said. “With all of the other changes going on with the vendors in Sammy's, it was a good time to make the move.”

A new location isn’t the only change for Rice Bikes this year. According to Barr, Rice Bikes is adding new bikes for rental, as well as creating a monthly bike tour of neighborhoods in Houston.

“As of this semester, we will be adding nine new bikes to the rentable fleet to bring our total to 38 bikes,” Barr said. “Additionally, we will be adding a monthly ‘Tour de Houston’ ride on the second Friday of the month to explore a neighborhood of Houston and then go to Amy's Ice Cream at the end of the ride to celebrate.”

According to Barr, business hours will be 2 - 5 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

Barr said major bike repairs will still take place in the Sid Rich basement, since the new space is not large enough to accommodate it.



More from The Rice Thresher

NEWS 11/19/24 11:27pm
Local Foods launches in newly renovated Brochstein space

Local Foods Market opened at Brochstein Pavilion Nov. 19, replacing comfort food concept Little Kitchen HTX. The opening, previously scheduled for the end of September, also features interior renovations to Brochstein. Local Foods is open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekends.

NEWS 11/19/24 11:27pm
Scan, swipe — sorry

Students may need to swipe their Rice IDs through scanners before entering future public parties, said dean of undergraduates Bridget Gorman. This possible policy change is not finalized, but in discussion among student activities and crisis management teams.

NEWS 11/19/24 11:26pm
Energy summit talks the policy behind power

The 16th annual Rice Energy Finance Summit was held at Jones Business School Nov. 15. Speakers from the energy industry discussed topics including renewable energy, the Texas power grid and the future of energy policy under a second Trump administration.


Comments

Please note All comments are eligible for publication by The Rice Thresher.