Sleeping late, not spending money, looking good and saving the world with as little effort as possible are all things that rank high on most students' priority lists.

Amazingly it's possible to do all of those things at the same time -- but you're going to need wheels, specifically a bicycle.

You do have other options, but they all have limiting factors, and should be undertaken with care. Rollerblades and razor scooters require a strong tolerance for harassment, and are best paired with jean shorts.

For the sake of ankles everywhere, skateboards should only be used by the experienced. They're slow up hill and scary downhill, anyway.

Biking is where it's at, and luckily Boulder is one of the best places to be. Last week, the League of American Bicyclists rated Boulder as platinum on the bike friendly scale, making it one of only three cities to reach that status.

Because we have a plethora of bike path and bike shops, as well as a cycle-friendly public-transportation system, it's impossible to ignore the prevalence of cyclists.

It's fast, easy, good for your body and good for the world. It's no wonder that flashy cruisers, tricked out fixies and old beater mountain bikes are crowding racks all over town.

Biking is cool again in a way it hasn't been since the sixth grade. And now it has perks you didn't even think about back then, like minimizing you beer gut and your carbon footprint at the same time. For free.

Gas is expensive, climate change is happening and the more oil and gas we consume the worse off we are in both of those respects. It makes social and economic sense to get on your bike.

So what if you don't have a bike?

No problem. Because Boulder, and the University of Colorado campus, have such a dedicated bike community we have a lot of really cool unique resources.

The CU Bicycle Program has several really excellent options. Students, faculty and staff can rent free Buff Bikes, single-speed cruiser bikes, for up to two days.

The CU bike club also offers semester-long bike rentals, but if you're jonesing for a bike of your own, there are a few routes you can take.

If you are a registered CU student, and a member of Elevations Credit Union, you can get an interest-free bike loan of up to $500. That is more than enough to get you rolling.

If banks make you nervous, or you're not a full-time CU student, check out nonprofit Community Cycles, at www.communitycycles.com. Through their Earn-A-Bike Program, you can do community service in their shop. Your time is your payment, and after 15 hours, you can build a bike for free.

If neither of those sound good, there is always craigslist.org, the world's best procrastination tool. If you look hard enough and do your research, you can find a decent bike for less than a few tanks of gas. It's worth the time and effort.

Once you have the bike, the hard part is done. Register it on campus, so that you can get free service and help. Then get on it.

Commence saving the environment and feeling good about it.

Heather Hansman is communications coordinator for the CU Environmental Center.