van
Current Location:
nashville, Tennessee
Biking in Copenhagen
February 13, 2019
Renting a Bike:
The day I was supposed to pick up my bike was an icy road day, and the first thing I saw when I walked out of the DIS opening ceremony was a Dane fall off his bike in front of hundreds of people. I almost never picked up my bike, but I'm actually glad that I did. I rented a bike a few weeks before I arrived in Copenhagen, because I thought every Dane biked and that I would need it to get to school. It cost around $175 USD for a bike and a phone holder for the whole semester from ABC Student Bikes, but DIS listed a couple of other places on their website to rent bikes. I rented my bike earlier since I thought the rental place might run out of bikes. When I went on the first available day to pick up my bike they were already pretty low on bikes, but I know a lot of people who found other companies and rented bikes after they came to school. Honestly, I live so close to a bus station that I might not have rented one if I waited until I arrived in Copenhagen. After a few weeks of getting used to the bike culture, I like biking to school and it is faster than taking the bus.
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Becoming a local:
Getting used to all of the bike norms was a bit of a struggle at the beginning. People usually bike at a normal pace on my way to school, but some people bike really slow at night. Maybe it's because they have places to be at a certain time in the morning and aren't in a hurry at night, but I am always annoyed by slow bikers, people on the phone, and people who take up the whole lane when they bike side-by-side. All in all, I like taking my bike to school when it is not snowing or raining. The timing is a lot more accurate than waiting for a bus, and the bus to school is always packed. Google Maps says it is a 12 minute bike ride from my RC to school, but it's more like 20 for me and still beats the walking + bus time. Since I could barely remember how to bike before this semester, learning to bike with one hand long to signal turns and stops without falling and causing a massive wreck was a huge learning curve.
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Tips:
Parking at DIS - V23 and N7 all have areas in the middle to park bikes, or you can park on the sidewalks in front of the buildings or near metros/buses/trains at Norreport Station
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Traveling with a Bike - You can take them on the Metro and Train, but not the bus
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