Hamilton College Gilded Bicycle Guild

There is a new free bike service – actually a Guild – which has been created by students so everyone can share and use 20 golden bikes to move about campus at Hamilton. Very cool!

The Gilded Bicycle Guild consists of a fleet of 20 used bikes, mostly classic 50’s-era one- and three- speeds. With funding from the Student Assembly, bikes were purchased from Welch’s Bike Shop in Utica for $40 dollars each and are now property of Hamilton College.

In late October a group of students got together to spray paint the bikes gold on what LaFiandra called “a really fun day.” After being painted, the bikes were all named by the students. LaFiandra wanted the names to “reflect the people who got the bikes here and the obscure and fun things behind the Guild.” The names cover a broad range and are derived from five languages including Chinese, French and Italian. They include “Bucephalus,” Alexander the Great’s horse, Horton, Buttons, Checkers, and more. According to LaFiandra, “the names reflect the sweetness of the Gilded Bicycle Guild.”

Although there are no specific rules for the Gilded Bicycle Guild, the system runs on the community taking responsibility and being respectful of the bikes. LaFiandra wants it to be understood that “they are your bikes but they are also everyone else’s bikes.” According to LaFiandra, the bicycles are “fair game” and “are there for you to take them where you want.” If you see a bike you can hop on and pedal to wherever you need to go. This also means that if you ride a bike to the library it might not be there when you come out. [Hamilton College]

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