In Finland you can bike whenever and wherever you want – between cities, to work, to study, and to just enjoy. There are many biking opportunities. Of course biking also depends on the weather but many Finns do bike all year round, even in winter when there is a lot of snow. The average distance to our university from student houses is between one to three kilometers. The best way to reach the university is by bike. Walking takes too long – from 20 to 40 minutes but biking is fast. Sidewalks are wide enough for bikers and pedestrians and the only challenge is that there are many slopes, so you have to go up and down many times (and what’s cool about that is that you can use them to train yourself).
As a matter of a fact every building in Finland has a space for bikes in front of them. Student apartments also have both an external building for storing bikes and an open bike parking. However, there is one problem for all bike owners: there is always someone who wants to steal a bike. Many new and good bikes are being stolen, but even old bikes are being stolen in the university campus. It’s better to keep an expensive bike somewhere inside and keep bikes locked. There are Facebook groups for stolen bikes but I don’t know how effective they really are.
Bike repair point in the university campus. LOAS is the only organization that provides student apartments in Lappeenranta. This is a tool station, free for everyone to repair a bike fast.
Soon the university campus will be full of bikes after the summer holidays!
