Click here for video of the first annual Rocky Mountain Bike Polo Open held on Saturday July 18.

The First Annual Rocky Mountain Bike Polo Open in Denver had a great turnout! The 13 team double elimination tournament included teams from Fort Collins, Denver, Colorado Springs, Como, Phoenix, Austin TX, and Joker from LA. BikeDenver was the local bicycle advocacy sponsor. Standings for first place through 13th place:

1st Place: PBP (Phoenix) MiniMike, The Mailman, NOD – Undefeated until the finals.
2nd: Bad Decisions (COMO) Charlie, Matt, Chris – Won first game of two game finals.
3rd: Truffle Shuffle (Fort Collins/Denver) Max, Will, Josh
4th: Retroactive Abortion (COMO) Drew, Pete, Joker
5th: Broken Spokes (Austin, TX) Mike, Miguel, One other great guy
6th: Spayed and Neutered (Denver) Jordan, Zach, Austin, Greg
7th: COMO Girls (COMO) Coleen, Megan, Julia, Maggie
8th: Cleaners (CO Springs) Adam S, Nick, George
9th: Dirty Laundry (CO Springs) Tori, Liza, Jamie
10th: PegLeg (Denver) Adam, Rahja, Dus
11th: TNT (COMO) Tim, Tim, Nick
12th: Dog Dick (Denver) Court, Sam, Pat
13th: Hot Shaft (CO Springs) Collin, Adam N, Chris

Photos will be up on the CogNation Flickr page at
www.flickr.com/cognation

this article written by Onenationundercog.com

See you next year!

RSVP by July 25th for Denver Urban Gardens 5th Annual Bicycle Garden Tour, a tour of five community gardens in South Denver. The 8-mile loop will showcase a wide range of gardens from DUG’s oldest to largest to newest! Meet a diverse group of community gardeners and share gardening tips and knowledge. The tour leaves from Rosedale Gardens on Saturday, August 1st at 8:30am. Enjoy a potluck lunch after the tour at Rosedale Community Gardens at 11:30am. Click here to contact DUG and register.

(Courtesy Bicycle Colorado) County commissioners in Jefferson County announced that they are asking for statewide legislation that would let counties ban bicyclists from county roads of their choice, according to an article in the July 7 Columbine Courier. To view the article, click here.

If such legislation were to pass, county roads anywhere in the state could be closed to bicyclists, including critical cycling routes like Deer Creek Canyon in Jefferson County, Swan Mountain Road in Summit County, Horsetooth Reservoir in Larimer County, and many, many more. More key roads that could be closed:

Aspen
Castle Creek
Maroon Creek

Boulder
Left Hand Canyon
St. Vrain Canyon
Carter Lake

Carbondale
Cattle Creek Road
Missouri Heights
Crystal River Road
Dry Park Road

Colorado Springs
Rampart Range Road
Old Stage Road
Gold Camp Road
Rollercoaster Road
Black Forest Road & Mark Sheffel Road

Denver
Deer Creek Canyon
Lookout Mountain

Durango
County Road 250/County Road 203 Loop
Elmore Store Loop
Texas Creek

Fort Collins
Horsetooth Reservoir

Glenwood Springs
Peach Valley Road
Grass Valley Road

Grand Junction
Fruit Loop/East Orchard Mesa

Summit County
Swan Mountain Road

Winter Park
County roads to access Fraser and Winter Park mountain bike trails

The New Belgium Urban Assault Ride (UAR), was created to show cyclists that it is possible and enjoyable to safely maneuver cities, like Denver and Fort Collins, by bike. The founder of UAR, Josh Kravetz, joined Susie Wargin for the latest 6:20 Sidebar to talk about the return of UAR to Colorado. To view the interview, click here.

The UAR will be in Fort Collins on July 19th and Denver on July 26th. This quirky event introduces cyclists to the viability of urban cycling and the benefits of using a bike for transportation in addition to recreation and fitness.

Here’s how it works: the funky bike scavenger hunt sends two-person teams riding to checkpoints around town to complete crazy obstacle courses at each stop. In Denver, checkpoints include Elitch Gardens, Wheat Ridge Cyclery, Rio Grande Mexican Restaurant and other locations. Obstacles may include the human wheel barrow, the keg walk, bike jousting, or the paper boy relay, but since they change at each venue, cyclists never know what to expect until they reach the checkpoint.

Mental muscle is just as important as bike skills as teams choose their own course to checkpoints around the city and solve riddles along the way. The first team to the finish line takes home a pair of limited edition cruiser bikes.

This pedal-powered urban adventure is for riders seven and older. Tandems and tag-alongs are welcome.

The Denver Urban Assault Ride is a green event designed to show riders that a bike is a great way to get around town. The Urban Assault Ride’s “green focus” extends beyond bike advocacy. The production powers the event with a solar generator, a bio-diesel truck delivers the gear to each city, and almost all event waste is composted or recycled.

Urban Assault Ride partners exclusively with companies that promote sustainable business practices and bike advocacy. Local partners include Elitch Gardens, Wheat Ridge Cyclery, and Rio Grande Mexican Restaurant. National partners include Specialized Bikes, Keen Footwear, Clif Bar, Blue Sky Natural Beverages, Swobo, Timbuk 2, Rudy Project and other local sustainability-focused partners.

Find out more at www.urbanassaultride.com.

(Copyright KUSA*TV, All Rights Reserved)

Support the cause! If 100,000 people follow 42Ride, 42BELOW will donate 42k to the Alliance for Biking and Walking

According to Justin Frumkes, mile high kiwi correspondent:
“We have 42 riders biking from NY to LA this summer, and 21 of them are stopping in Denver on Sunday July 26, 2009. We have just recently added a local ride to help support not only the 21 riders, but also to generate buzz about the Alliance for Biking and Walking. If we can get 100,000 followers on twitter.com/welikebike42, we will donate $42,000 to the Alliance.

We are recruiting as many people as possible to join us on Sunday, July 26 at 12pm/noon to bike out 21 miles to greet the incoming riders and escort them 21 miles back to BETA Nightclub, where we will host a Sunday Funday event. Each rider who signs up, upon registration, will receive a custom 42BELOW Biking Jersey, T-Shirt, Cap and wristband for a complimentary 42BELOW cocktail. We are not looking for financial contribution, but merely as many people who want to ride on our 42-mile loop for our incoming riders.

“

(From YourHub, July 9) DENVER PUBLIC WORKS ANNOUNCES CITY PLANNER POSITION DEDICATED TO BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN TRANSPORTATION PLANNING

Full time Senior City Planner Emily Kreisa to focus on Denver’s bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure including immediate stimulus funding for bicycle facilities

Public Works Manager Bill Vidal is excited to announce the addition of Ms. Emily Kreisa to the Public Works Policy and Planning Department as the City’s first Senior City Planner focusing on bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure. Kreisa joins a team of six outstanding Multimodal City Planners. The main purpose of the position is to develop long and short term plans, programs, goals and policies involving city/region wide bike and pedestrian planning initiatives. Kreisa’s first task will be to oversee the utilization of $250,000 in stimulus funds for bicycle facilities.

Guiding Denver’s commitment to multimodal transportation is the Strategic Transportation Plan (STP), a comprehensive document that addresses the current and future transportation needs of the Mile High City. A fundamental premise of the STP is that the future of Denver as a sustainable city depends upon relying on many modes of transportation, including walking, biking and using public transit in order to meet the transportation demands of the future without increasing our road footprint.

Kreisa’s mission as a multimodal planner concentrating on bicycle and pedestrian issues is largely to encourage citizens to spend less time in their cars and more time on a bike or on foot. Encouragement comes in the form of providing safe, accessible and easy to understand bicycle facilities throughout Denver. Kreisa will be critically assessing the current bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure and determining where improvements can be made. With the statewide Bicycle Safety Act going into effect on August 5, 2009 and the upcominglaunch of Denver B-cycle (citywide bike sharing program), a focus on bicycle facilities in Denver is critical.

“We cannot rely solely on the automobile as our transportation choice in the future. The projected growth of the metro area by the year 2030 will demand that we utilize alternative modes of transportation to the single occupant vehicle,” said Vidal. “With Emily’s focus set on bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, Denver Public Works will provide bikescape and pedscape that invites people to change their transportation behavior.”

Part of providing improved bike infrastructure will be assessing all bike routes as we perform our regularly scheduled maintenance on Denver streets. Using this programmatic approach, we’ll be able to determine if a bike route is in need of increased signage, bike lanes or sharrows (pavement markings that identify lanes shared by both cars and bicycles) in order to create a connected and easily recognized system for residents to enjoy.

Traffic volume and road width are factors that will be considered during this assessment to ensure safety. This pro-active process complements the routine refreshment ofall bicycle oriented pavement markings currently being performed. Kreisa will oversee the assessment process and track all improvements and upgrades, ensuring that all new facilities will be reflected in Denver’s new bike route map which will be available for free in December.

Kreisa will also oversee Federal Stimulus funds in the amount of $250,000 dedicated to provide bicycle mobility enhancements throughout Denver. The funds are allowing new bike lane installations at the following 11 locations:

· Mariposa Street - 8 th Avenue to Colfax Avenue
· Larimer Street - Broadway to Downing Street
· Champa Street - 19th to 24th Street
· Welton Street - Colfax Avenue to 14th Street
· Tremont Street - 16th Street to Broadway
· Stout Street - 30th Street to Downing Street
· 31st Avenue - Downing Street to Race Street
· Martin Luther King Boulevard - Elizabeth Street to Quebec Street
· Yale - Syracuse Way to Quebec Street
· 22nd Avenue - Park Avenue West to York Street
· East 12th Avenue - Clayton Street to Madison Street

Public Works will be applying new sharrows to enhance the above installations, as well as applying new sharrows to provide connectivity to, and within, downtown Denver. The special arrow markings alert cars to use caution and allow cyclists to safely travel in these designated lanes.

Kreisa joins Denver Public Works from Parsons Brinckerhoff Americas, Inc., where she was a Transportation Planner in Denver and Austin, Texas. Her accomplishments include developing pedestrian/bicycle elements for several long range transportation plans and managing the growth of the Safe Routes to School plans for 11 middle schools and 34 associated elementary schools. Kreisa also spent part of her career working at the Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center, a research institution at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.

(From RMPBS.org July 9)  Rocky Mountain PBS short videos airing this summer address the Denver Living Streets Initiative, an urban planning model that is helping to create a new wave of thriving neighborhoods in Denver.

A Living Street is a vital community place that supports mobility, human interaction, active lifestyles and prosperity through the thoughtful development of urban land near transit. The focus is on green living, community health, local economic growth, greater transportation choice and improved accessibility and connectivity for all users of the street (bikes, pedestrians and cars alike). For more information, visit denverlivingstreets.org.  Click here to see the videos.

BikeDenver is helping to bring you the Rocky Mountain Bike Polo Open - debuting Saturday July 18th in Golden, CO. Registration at 11am, games begin at Noon, Goldsprint Afterparty… priceless! There are teams traveling from New York, L.A., Vancouver, and Phoenix, to participate in the Rocky Mountain Bike Polo Tournament! Organizers say: “this is the biggest thing to happen to hardcourt bike polo in Denver, ever!”

What you need to know:
This is an Open Invitational Bike Polo Tournament that will take place at Golden roller rinks (exact location details coming soon). Teams of 3 will compete, individual players are welcome to join mixed teams on the day of tournament.

Pre-Registration $5/person $15/team and Registration Day Of Tournament $10/person or $30/team.
Pre-Register yourself or your team at www.onenationundercog.com with credit/debit/paypal.
Pre-Order T-shirts are available on CogNation website and day of tournament - $10/shirt.

Email Josh at focofixedgear@gmail.com for more info on tournament info or pre-registration.

Hosted by CogNation www.onenationundercog.com and Denver Mallet Mafia www.malletmafia.com

Sponsored By:
-BikeDenver
-CogNation
-Milwaukee Bicycle
-Urban Velo
-Solder Gal
-One Fixed
-All Custom Apparel
-Geekhouse
-Spokepunchers
-Trackstar NYC
-Yancopads
-Egrem Clothing Trend
-Velocity
-KNOG
-Awesome Sprints
-Fuze Drinks

Loads of Free Stuff!

(image copyright Josh Novak 2009 all rights reserved)