BikeDenver’s March 26 Spring coffee ride got off to a blustery start! After being re-scheduled from March 19 due to the weather, 9 riders came together to brave some very gusty winds. The wind couldn’t damper the spirits of the intrepid riders who gathered for some Spring coffee and riding fun.

Riders toured South Denver neighborhoods, enjoying stops at Devil’s Food, Kaladi Coffee and Stella’s. Fueled by caffeine and snacks, riders powered through the route and were rewarded by occasional tailwinds and intermittent sun.

Here are a few photos from the event…

Group shot! (With the people who showed up on time)

A colorful bunch…

Cruising near South High

These guys haven’t had enough coffee yet…

Gathering Outside Stella’s

Thanks to all who joined the ride. BikeDenver’s next ride is currently in the works, so stayed tuned to the website for updates! All our rides will be announced on this site, and by e-mail to anyone who fills out our sign-up form…

Photographs by Tom Birks

We’re working out all the details of the upcoming Thunderhead Training, and we’d like your help with a few things. By providing some time or hospitality, you’ll be making this event possible, and advancing the cause of bicycling.

1) Party Organizer: Someone to help organize a party Saturday night

2) Homestays

3) A downtown location for our Friday night meeting

If you’re able to help with any of these needs, please use our Contact Page to volunteer.

Please see the complete details of the event below.

DriveLessDenver.com is the homepage of a unique program that challenges Denver motorists to give up their second car for one month.

They’re currently looking for 25 residents of Denver to participate. Selected individuals will get a re:think and Reward Yourself Kit with hundresds of dollars worth of incentives to lead a less automotive lifestyle.

Visit the Drive Less Denver Challenge Homepage…

BikeDenver Equinox Coffee Ride Postponed

The forecast for Sunday, March 19th shows snow and temps in the 30′s. Several individuals have said that they won’t ride in such weather, so we’re rescheduling the BikeDenver Equinox Coffee Ride.

The ride will take place on Sunday the 26th of March, one week later than originally planned. Other than that, everything is the same.

When: Sunday, March 26th, 1:00 p.m.

Where: Meet at South High School in Denver

What: Join BikeDenver as we take a leisurely tour through South Denver’s Washington Park and DU neighborhoods. We’ll make several stops for coffee at our favorite local haunts and celebrate the coming of Spring! Bring money for coffee and snacks. Helmets required. Ride updates will be posted on the website at www.bikedenver.org. Any questions, contact Tracy.

The BikeDenver Ride Guide

No one gets dropped.

Helmets are required.

Clothing is required. This is a casual ride and there is no penalty for wearing sneakers or riding with flat pedals. Wear lycra at your own risk.

We’ll follow the law. If you think you don’t know about the legal responsibilities of bicyclists you can review Colorado Cycling Laws. In particular we’ll stop for stop signs and red lights; ride no more than two abreast; and, signal for turns and slowing down. If the group is divided by a traffic signal, front riders will wait for the rear group to join them after the next green light. We’ll ride with the traffic flow, which sometimes means in the traffic flow.

Ride any bike you want as long as it’s safe. As in: make sure your brakes work. If we might be out after dark have lights. No bike snobbery will be allowed. We want all bicyclists to feel welcome.

Notes For All BikeDenver Rides

Riders will be asked to sign a waiver and wear a helmet to participate.

Check out our comprehensive Ride Guide for some more rules of the road and trail…

Contact Tracy at thalasin@yahoo.com with questions.

The IMAX at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science is showing a film this month about the Tour De France called “Wired to Win.”

The film follows two professional cyclists, Baden Cooke and Jimmy Casper through the two-thousand mile race. And as if sweet shots of cyclists ripping down mountain passes isn’t enough, the film employs the use of MRI and PET imaging technology to show how the brain functions under race conditions.

For the full details, the trailer and showtimes, visit the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.

This training is for leaders of state and local bicycle and pedestrian advocacy organizations. It’s purpose is to train leaders to organize and execute campaigns that will improve pedestrian and bicycling conditions in their communities.

Join your fellow bicycle and pedestrian advocacy leaders to learn from expert coaches and each other through Thunderhead’s proven curriculum on choosing, directing, and winning campaigns to promote complete streets, where walking and bicycling are safe and commonplace. After three days of fun and inspiring work with the country’s leading experts in advocacy, you’ll come away with the tools and confidence to be a leader in your community—one who knows not just how to advocate for improvements, but win them!

You’ll learn how to:

Choose the right issue

Set realistic but visionary goals, choose the best strategies and tactics, and stick to timelines

Map out the power structure in your community, support and leverage allies, neutralize and convert enemies!

Communicate effectively, reaching the right audience with the right message through the right media, and….

Raise money, to strengthen your organization for the next bigger victory!

In the end, you’ll have a detailed campaign blueprint that will assure a victorious campaign and set up your organization for greater victories in the future.

Registration is only $250 and includes Friday’s reception, Saturday’s breakfast, lunch, bicycle tour and party, and Sunday’s breakfast and lunch. Discounts are available for additional representatives from the same organization.

Register today at the Thunderhead Alliance.

There are an endless number of things I could say about bicycle commuting. Much like a car, the bicycle will transform your entire life… if you allow it to. My bicycle has changed where I live, what I eat, the clothes I wear and the people I hang out with. Automobiles have a similar effect on their users, I know this, because I’ve been a user of both.

Three years ago, I lived in New Jersey. My house was 22 miles from my job. I drove a 1995 Nissan Maxima that I loved dearly. I spent over 2 hours a day in that car: the 45-minute slow drive to the office, the occasional run to fast food or lunchtime nap in the passenger’s seat, and the hour-long, rush-hour crawl home (elongated by strip mall traffic).

The rest of the day, I sat in a cubicle writing ads. Some days I was there until midnight, so physical fitness really took a back seat. In the 16 months I lived that life, I spent over 700 hours in my car, just commuting. I gained 15 pounds.

Near the end of that era, when I decided I wanted to go on a cross-country bicycle tour, I started biking to work once a week. The route I devised had the minimum of stoplights, so I could really get trucking. Sometimes the one way only took 90 minutes, just twice the time required to drive.

Anyway, I quit that job and I left the Jersey sprawl. The change was greatly inspired by the bicycle. To some, restructuring your life around the bicycle kind of sounds crazy. But when you look at the way America has structured its neighborhoods, businesses and lifestyles around the automobile, well, that’s pretty friggin’ crazy too.

Today, I live 5 miles from downtown Denver. My clients are downtown, if you’re not in Denver proper, you’re not a prospective client. I have no car. I ride my bike to work, to the post office, to the bank, to the grocery store, to dinner, to the bar, to the movies. I have only a bike to do my commute, and I’ve been getting along just fine for this last year and a half.

Occasionally, I ride the bus. You get to read a book, people watch, sleep if you want, and the whole trip goes by faster than you’d ever imagine. All you have to do is give yourself the time to walk to the stop and hop on. Oh, and carry the requisite $3.00 in change for the round trip (my round trip would cost $4.10 by car according to the IRS, and that doesn’t even include parking).

There’s only really one circumstance where I have to ride in a car: skiing. It’s the most affordable way to do it. I usually carpool with friends, sometimes I borrow a car. If you borrow a car and bring it back washed with a full tank, the lender is happy to have lent it.

So, to sum up my testimonial in classic late night infomercial style, bicycling has led me to a healthier, happier, more sustainable, more affordable life. If you like letting a car run your life, you’ll love having a bicycle do it.

by Jessie Birks, BikeDenver Webmaster