Struck by love: Freshman bike collisions lead to romance

It’s the beginning of fall quarter here at UC Santa Barbara, and the freshmen are looking for their first college romances. Many have installed Tinder and other dating apps for the first time, while others have been on the hunt for love at every party they attend.

However, there seems to be a type of meet-cute that the freshmen have come across that’s both unexpected and a little dangerous. At the start of the year, many freshmen get around campus using their bikes, but not knowing how to ride them leads to lots of accidents. They usually don’t know how to ride them and that causes many accidents.

Bike collisions are usually seen as something to avoid, but these freshmen have discovered that these “accidents” are a chance to meet people and develop romantic feelings.

First-year economics major Sally Ulrich attested to how this dynamic unfolds.

“I accidentally hit the cyclist in front of me in the bike path, and instead of getting mad at me, he asked for my phone number and other personal information. I think he’s going to take me out soon!” Ulrich said. 

Love hasn’t just happened between cyclists. Students trying to walk to their classes on time have also shared their experiences of being stricken (or struck, literally) by love.

Matthew Resler, a first-year political science major, is one such student. 

“On the first day of classes, I was running late when a bike ran me over. The pain in my leg was killing me. But when I saw the girl who did it, I thought the pain was like a sign from the god of love or something. It hurts to walk, but I think it was worth it,” Resler shared.

After hearing about these surprising romantic encounters, some first-years have made it their mission to get into a bike collision.

“When I heard the stories of people finding love through bike accidents, I knew what I had to do,” first-year computer science major Jacob Crosby said. “Every time I walk in the bike lane, I stop and hope to be crushed by my future lover. I might sound crazy, but I’m so fucking desperate. I need to be touched. I crave love. I’ve almost been hit a couple of times though, so I think this method is actually going to work!” 

With the rise of bike collision romances happening to freshmen, we should all learn from them and purposefully get into bike accidents ourselves if we want to find love. 

Mikaela St. James plans to get into a bike collision in the name of love.