The Denver Green Festival tapped BikeDenver’s Bicycle Fashion Show as a top 3 attraction - over 30 carbon-neutral models will be on the catwalk on Saturday, May 2 at 3pm in Room 207 of the Denver Convention Center!

BikeDenver says:  Come to Room 207 to check out our hot, urban (carbon-neutral) models.. from crazy cruisers, to custom bikes like The Big Dummy, the Pennyfarthing, a Silver Rickshaw with white fur seatcovers to the new Trek B-Cycle bike!  We’ve got bikes dating to the 1860′s, the indominable Dutch Cargo Bike, Denver Parks & Recreation branded bikes, Norwegian commuters, Trike Bikes, Folding Bikes, and a host of great social and commuting bikes from Peugot to Gary Fisher and Bianchi.  Our youngest rider-escorts are four years old!  Brody from Alice 105.9 will MC the program.

Good news today that SB-148 continues to move through the legislative process.  The Denver Post is reporting that the bill was amended (again) in committee, passed in the House, and is now set for a second vote in the Senate..  http://www.denverpost.com/sports/ci_12241408

SB-148 History: http://www.leg.state.co.us/Clics/CLICS2009A/csl.nsf/BillFoldersSenate?openFrameset

The Park Hill Family Bike Ride Committee announced the schedule of 2009 Rides, as well as details of the kickoff “Birthday Party Ride” for The Bike Depot, starting and ending at the Perk Hill Cafe.

The 2009 Family Bike Rides are free events, set for the third Saturdays of April through October, except for a Sunday in July sponsored by Kate’s at 35th Avenue Restaurant. Each 5 mile ride will begin at 10 a.m. at the sponsor’s neighborhood businesses, returning at approximately 11:30 a.m. to the sponsor’s address for raffle drawing and other prizes.

For more information, contact the GPHC at (303) 388-0918 or the Park Hill Bike Depot at (303) 393-1963.

Download a Microsoft Word Document with details and a full schedule.

April 30 at 2 p.m. EDT REGISTER NOW

Transportation for America Webinar Series: Health, Safety, and Active Living

Our transportation system puts our health and safety in jeopardy by contributing to sedentary behaviors, hazardous pollution levels, health care access challenges, and preventable injuries and deaths. Now more than ever, we need federal leadership to help make the critical link between health, safety, and transportation policies and create communities that promote active living, reduce pollution levels, increase accessibility, and ensure safety for all transportation users.

To explore these connections and discuss national efforts to create healthier and safer communities, Transportation for America will present an interactive webinar on April 30 at 2 p.m. EDT. Register now!

A companion policy brief on health and transportation will also be released on this date, available online following the webinar with our other policy briefs.

A panel of experts on health, safety, active living, and older Americans will lead our discussion, including Dr. Georges Benjamin, Executive Director of the American Public Health Association, Jackie Gillan, Vice President of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, Debra Alvarez, Senior Legislative Representative in AARP’s Government Relations Department, and Barbara McCann, Executive Director of the National Complete Streets Coalition. The session will be moderated by Robert Cervero, Professor of City and Regional Planning at the University of California, Berkeley and a member of the National Advisory Committee of Active Living Research, a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Registration is free and open to the public – visit www.t4america.org/webinars to register today, and be sure to sign up for our other webinars being held over the coming months.

I thought it would be important for us to have a copy of the Colorado statutes applicable to riding a bicycle on the roadway. So here they are:

Colorado Bicycle Statutes (2001)

42-4-1412. Operation of bicycles and other human-powered vehicles.

(1) Every person riding a bicycle shall have all of the rights and duties applicable to the driver of any other vehicle under this article, except as to special regulations in this article and except as to those provisions which by their nature can have no application. Said riders shall comply with the rules set forth in this section and section 42-4-221, and, when using streets and highways within incorporated cities and towns, shall be subject to local ordinances regulating the operation of bicycles as provided in section 42-4-111.

(2) It is the intent of the general assembly that nothing contained in House Bill No. 1246, enacted at the second regular session of the fifty-sixth general assembly, shall in any way be construed to modify or increase the duty of the department of transportation or any political subdivision to sign or maintain highways or sidewalks or to affect or increase the liability of the state of Colorado or any political subdivision under the “Colorado Governmental Immunity Act”, article 10 of title 24, C.R.S.

(3) No bicycle shall be used to carry more persons at one time than the number for which it is designed or equipped.

(4) No person riding upon any bicycle shall attach the same or himself or herself to any motor vehicle upon a roadway.

(5) Any person riding a bicycle shall ride in the right-hand lane. When being overtaken by another vehicle, such person shall ride as close to the right-hand side as practicable. Where a paved shoulder suitable for bicycle riding is present, persons operating bicycles shall ride on the paved shoulder. These provisions shall apply, except under any of the following situations:

(a) When overtaking and passing another bicycle or vehicle proceeding in the same direction;
(b) When preparing for a left turn at an intersection or into a private road or driveway;
(c) When reasonably necessary to avoid hazardous conditions, including, but not limited to, fixed or moving objects, parked or moving vehicles, pedestrians, animals, or surface hazards.

(6) (a) Persons operating bicycles on roadways shall ride single file; except that riding no more than two abreast is permitted in the following circumstances:

(I) When there is no motor vehicle traffic approaching from the rear within a distance of three hundred feet and the sight distance on the roadway at the time and place and under the conditions then existing is a minimum of three hundred feet to the front and to the rear of the bicyclists; or
(II) When riding on paths or parts of roadways set aside for the exclusive use of bicycles.

(b) Persons riding two abreast shall ride within a single lane.

(7) A person operating a bicycle shall keep at least one hand on the handlebars at all times.

(8)

(a) A person riding a bicycle intending to turn left shall follow a course described in sections 42-4-901 (1), 42-4-903, and 42-4-1007 or may make a left turn in the manner prescribed in paragraph (b) of this subsection (8).
(b) A person riding a bicycle intending to turn left shall approach the turn as closely as practicable to the right-hand curb or edge of the roadway. After proceeding across the intersecting roadway to the far corner of the curb or intersection of the roadway edges, the bicyclist shall stop, as much as practicable, out of the way of traffic. After stopping, the bicyclist shall yield to any traffic proceeding in either direction along the roadway that the bicyclist had been using. After yielding and complying with any official traffic control device or police officer regulating traffic on the highway along which the bicyclist intends to proceed, the bicyclist may proceed in the new direction.
(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs (a) and (b) of this subsection (8), the transportation commission and local authorities in their respective jurisdictions may cause official traffic control devices to be placed on roadways and thereby require and direct that a specific course be traveled.

(9) (a) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection (9), every person riding a bicycle shall signal the intention to turn or stop in accordance with the provisions of section 42-4-903.

(b) A signal of intention to turn right or left when required shall be given continuously during not less than the last one hundred feet traveled by the bicycle before turning and shall be given while the bicycle is stopped waiting to turn. A signal by hand and arm need not be given continuously if the hand is needed in the control or operation of the bicycle.

(10) (a) A person riding a bicycle upon and along a sidewalk or across a roadway upon and along a crosswalk shall yield the right-of-way to any pedestrian and shall give an audible signal before overtaking and passing such pedestrian.

(b) A person shall not ride a bicycle upon and along a sidewalk or across a roadway upon and along a crosswalk where such use of bicycles is prohibited by official traffic control devices or local ordinances.
(c) A person riding or walking a bicycle upon and along a sidewalk or across a roadway upon and along a crosswalk shall have all the rights and duties applicable to a pedestrian under the same circumstances.
(d) A person riding a bicycle upon and along a sidewalk shall dismount before entering any roadway and, when crossing any such roadway, shall observe all the rules and regulations applicable to pedestrians.

(11) (a) A person may park a bicycle on a sidewalk unless prohibited or restricted by an official traffic control device or local ordinance.

(b) A bicycle parked on a sidewalk shall not impede the normal and reasonable movement of pedestrian or other traffic.
(c) A bicycle may be parked on the road at any angle to the curb or edge of the road at any location where parking is allowed.
(d) A bicycle may be parked on the road abreast of another bicycle or bicycles near the side of the road or any location where parking is allowed in such a manner as does not impede the normal and reasonable movement of traffic.
(e) In all other respects, bicycles parked anywhere on a highway shall conform to the provisions of part 12 of this article regulating the parking of vehicles.

(12) (a) Any person who violates any provision of this section commits a class 2 misdemeanor traffic offense; except that section 42-2-127 shall not apply.

(b) Any person riding a bicycle who violates any provision of this article other than this section which is applicable to such a vehicle and for which a penalty is specified shall be subject to the same specified penalty as any other vehicle; except that section 42-2-127 shall not apply.

BikeDenver and B-Cycle are part of a new window display at the Denver Pavilions.  Can you find us?  We’re opposite Maggiano’s on the ground level (below the Hard Rock Cafe). 

Alex Brown, a teacher at Morey Middle School in Capital Hill, approached BikeDenver regarding a basic bicycle class. This week long series of out of classroom curriculum, called Morey Intersessions, includes hiking, biking and frisbee. Alex, Andrea Thibedeau and I agreed to come up with a course that would cover safe riding, helmets and flat repair. Andrea is a recent graduate from our League Certified Instructor course and volunteered to help. She did more than that; she developed the curriculum, printed the handouts and taught the road safety course. She quickly chalked out a large city streetscape on the school lot with an intersection, road hazards and various road signs. She had the students walk this course, learning to use lanes properly, signal for turns and be aware of potential hazard zones. Alex demonstrated the ABC quick check with his bike to ensure that it was safe to ride. The three key points are; Air for properly inflated tires, Brakes for proper functioning and the Crank/Chain drive train to make sure everything is working properly. I covered helmet fit and selection followed by flat repairs. We had 6 eggs to drop to demonstrate bike helmets effectiveness. We dropped 3 with protection, 3 without. We tried dropping the first one taped in a Styrofoam cup. The second one had a masking tape suspension system inside the cup. The last one we taped into the cardboard egg carton. All three broke! Even though we were unsuccessful in saving the eggs, the students enjoyed the experiment. The group tried on the different helmets and seemed to enjoy the full face helmets from a friend that races BMX. After covering helmet specifics, we removed tires and tubes, checked for foreign objects, repaired and then reinstalled the tires. Many of the students already knew how to change a flat and helped others.

Thanks to Alex for reaching out and getting his students involved in bicycling. Alex is committed to commuting to school as frequently as possible. With this intersession, the students now have the basic knowledge to begin cycling safely. Thanks also to Eric Bunch. He’s BikeDenver’s intern dedicated to our education program. He provided a great deal of support and relevant training material for this class.