Factory to Campus Bike-Share

"The riders had come by train from Princeton and would need all day to pedal back. The goal — to deliver the bikes to Princeton before sundown — would be no small feat. The Worksman cycles, 55-pound cruisers, had thick tires, three-speed shifters, coaster brakes and wide, spring-cushioned seats: great amenities for skirting across campus in all seasons. But for long-distance road trips? Perhaps not so much."

"'There's an idea that's shared among serious cyclers that if you're not equipped with the right gear, the right outfit, the right bike or the right helmet, you can't do it,' Mr. [Sean] Gleason [who runs U-Bikes, a Princeton program through which abandoned bicycles are refurbished and rented to students for $15 a semester] said. 'I think today, we're going to prove that so wrong. Not only are we going to do a long ride, we're going to do it on a bike no one would think about doing a long ride on.'"