Tricycles are seen at the Ole Miss Bike Shop at the University of Mississippi, Monday, Nov. 19, 2014. DM Photo | Zoe McDonald
The University of Mississippi is proud to announce its incorporation of tricycles as an alternative to the golf carts used by various departments. The tricycles will not only aid in mobility around campus but also aid in health and wellness. Being a non-motor bike, the tricycles will provide an outlet for exercise.
The wellness aspect of the tricycles, or trikes, is what creates significance in their incorporation. Wendy Carmean of human resources expressed the basis of the program and how it is beneficial to the Ole Miss community.
“Our hope is the bikes and trikes will offer an alternative to the golf cart for quick and timely travel for cross-campus errands,” Carmean said. “Zipping across campus on a bike rather than a golf cart is a great way to get the juices flowing. It’s a fact that we perform better and feel better when we add physical activity, even in short increments, to our schedule throughout the day.”
The idea of the tricycles emerged when RebelWell, the university’s wellness program was awarded a grant from Blue Cross Blue Shield of MS Foundation.
“One of the initiatives in the grant was to build a departmental bike program that could be used by faculty and staff to move about the campus in a timely manner,” Carmean said. “Many departments currently have access to golf carts, but we wanted another option that was more wellness oriented. We actually plan to introduce a new fleet of bikes and trikes in the next couple of months.”
The trikes will be outfitted with Ole Miss logos and special tags. The trikes are red, have large rear baskets and, before distribution to various departments, will have handle bar bells.
The tricycles are only for departmental use opposed to student use.
Andrea Jekabsons, also an employee of the human resource department, asserted that in addition to trikes, the Department of Parking and Transportation is also providing 50 two-wheeled, logo-covered bikes for student use.
The new departmental bike program is planned to kick off with a trike race at 10 a.m. Dec. 1. Five teams will race in a relay format from the University Avenue/Grove Loop intersection around the Circle and back.
