Pile o' bikes . . .

A massive pile of bicycles near the gates of the Cougar Lake Pool is headed for the scrap heap.

Some 100 junkers appeared Friday, not by magic, rather they were placed there by members of campus recreation doing spring cleaning of a storage shed near the pool. Campus rec provides bikes to be used around the campus, but the ones near the pool are simply not fit for service. All of the bikes were donated by citizens and local police departments, including the SIUE police.

"We have a supply of bicycles that we are using as public bikes," said Ann Schonlau, associate director of campus recreation. "People can ride them around campus and then just leave them for the next person when they are done. We paint them with fluorescent colors to indicate that they are public bikes and to deter theft."

Schonlau said the bikes piled near the pool gates were not repairable. They are going to be removed in the near future and recycled as scrap metal.

Some of the smaller children's bikes will be saved for contests during Welcome Week. Other kids' bikes will be used in the "Wheely Strange Relay" contest sponsored by Edwardsville's Pedal Shop in the Celebrate 2000 event Saturday at Ralph Korte Stadium.