By Jonathan Hiser
The Christie Hall bike auction cleaned house on Oct. 3, turning eight abandoned, unregistered bikes into much-needed money for the hall's charity.
The auction drew a crowd of roughly 20 students from both on and off campus, raising a total of $304 by the end of the night.
The money brings Christie residents closer to their goal of single-handedly financing the construction of a residence hall in Bangladesh.
"I don't mind paying extra, if it'll go to charity," said sophomore Larson Wyatt, who bought an Iron Horse M2-100 for $60.
Final bids ranged widely, from $4 to $80. Some bikes featured additional equipment, like water bottles and side packs, whereas others came with flat tires or disassembled gears.
"This one is what I like to call a fixer-upper," said Christie Hall Director and auctioneer Major Treadway, pointing to a bike that had its nuts and bolts in a plastic bag.
Treadway said that overcrowding in the bike storage room prompted the auction. Each residence hall has some form of bike storage, intended for students who prefer to keep their bikes indoors, but not necessarily in their rooms.
Christie's storage room's capacity is 24 bikes. When Treadway saw nine unused bikes, he saw dollar signs. Because the bikes were unregistered, their owners could not be identified. Students were notified by e-mail on Aug. 30 to register their bikes, more than a month before the auction.
"Rather than throw them away, I decided to give students the opportunity to buy them and raise money for charity," Treadway said.
One of the nine bikes was eventually claimed. Treadway said the bike was registered, but the owner forgot to apply the registration tag to the bike.
Residence Life Director Michael Walsh said all residence halls have similar bike auctions at the beginning of each year.
Although unregistered bikes comprise the majority of those sold, registered bikes can be auctioned if they are deemed abandoned.
Walsh said that the closest Residence Life has come to selling an owned bike was when one student claimed his bike an hour before it was set to be auctioned off.
"Every residence hall has to make room at the beginning of each year," Walsh said. "Otherwise, they wouldn't have any room for storage."
Students may rent bikes from Howard Hall if they don't want to purchase one, but freshman Natalie Deleon said she bought a bike at the auction to avoid that choice altogether.
"I'm tired of renting the bikes from Howard Hall," said Deleon, who said her RA tipped her off about the auction. Shelton said she likes the look of the road bike she bought for $70, simply called West Coast.
"I'll use it to go to and from classes," Deleon said.
Students are encouraged to register their bikes for free by completing a form at Public Safety. Once registered and marked by an accompanying registration sticker, the bike can be traced by police within the Portland area, should it be stolen.
Colleges are a target-rich environment for bike thefts, according to Public Safety Sgt. Michael Kranyak.
"If you were ever a victim of bike theft, at least you have a better chance of getting it back," Kranyak said.
Students can also register their bikes through the National Bike Registration for $10. This registration is good for 10 years.
The National Bike Registration further increases the likelihood of recovering a stolen bike because the system tracks bikes nationwide.
