National leading transportation consulting firm Fehr & Peers is stepping up to man a kiosk by involving all of their employees in the volunteer effort surrounding the Denver B-cycle launch slated for April 22, 23, 24 and 26. Denver B-cycle is poised to become the largest city-wide bike sharing program in the USA, and it’ll launch right here in Denver, Colorado!

Learn about the Denver B-cycle launch and volunteer effort here. Groups and organizations wishing to volunteer together should contact piep(at)bikedenver.org before April 6.  Groups DO NOT need to fill out an individual application to volunteer.

Fehr & Peers specializes in providing multi-modal transportation planning and traffic engineering services.  They believe that bicycles are an important component to mobility and transportation., and their work includes efforts with the City on bicycle related projects such as Denver Moves, City Park Rehabilitation and Washington Park rehabilitation.  The firm has been recognized by Bike Denver as one of the first Bicycle Friendly Businesses in Denver and by the EPA as a Best Workplace for Commuters.

Fehr & Peers Principal Jeremy Klop says: “B-Cycle fits in perfectly with our Mission to help people and communities on the move. We are really excited to be part of the historic Denver B-cycle launch!”  Fehr and Peers will adopt the 1550 Glenarm location on Thurday, April 22, and Friday April 23rd.  See the map of all the Denver B-cycle kiosks here.

See the Fehr & Peers team at work in this  photo from their Platte River Bike Path and Trail Cleanup effort in October, 2009.  That’s trash picker-uppers that they’re wielding.  No fooling around! Fehr & Peers is stepping up to make Denver a better place to ride a bike and enjoy your community. They are excited to help introduce bike-sharing because it provides an  easy, convenient and affordable way to get around town.

More about Denver B-cycle: denver.bcycle.com

More about Fehr & Peers: http://www.fehrandpeers.com/bicyclepedestrian.php

You can help make Denver’s streets more bicycle friendly by becoming a BikeDenver member: Join BikeDenver! : Join BikeDenver!

Want to hear our zippy new radio PSAs? Click here. Click here.

I scream. You scream. Clif Bar and BikeDenver are pleased to announce their selection of Little Man Ice Cream as the March Bicycle Friendly Business of the Month.

Little Man Ice Cream has long been a popular stop for bicyclists headed through the Highlands (they are at 2620 16th Street).  They were a guided ride destination for the Freewheelin’ bike share project offered at the Democratic National Convention in August, 2008.  They’ve got bike parking, and they are adding more this spring!  And, Little Man just stepped up to offer free cone coupons for participants in the Denver Bike Congress. The business has provided almost 140,000 awesome scoops to the public since July, 2008. They’ve been a Bicycle Friendly Business since October, 2009.  Nominate a workplace as a Bicycle Friendly Business here.

The Denver Bike Congress, hosted by BikeDenver, is a continuation of the City’s Denver Bike Initiative, formed to advance the cause of bike-sharing in Denver.  The Congress is open to groups and individuals, and any member of the general public, interested in the broad vision of encouraging and promoting bicycling in Denver and making Denver a better place to ride to bike.  Meetings are bi-monthly on the 2nd Wednesday of every other month at the City and County Building in the Parr-Widener Room from 11:30am to 1:00pm.  The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, May 12th.

BikeDenver’s Bicycle Friendly Business (BFB) of the Month Awards help highlight organizations that are making standout contributions and offering great success stories from among BikeDenver’s Bicycle Friendly Business (BFB) Program members. The BFB program, with 100 honorees to-date, recognizes businesses, organizations and workplaces that are leading the way to make bicycling an easy and accepted form of transportation in Denver.

Since partnering in July of 2009 to launch the monthly awards program, Clif Bar and BikeDenver have recognized Watercourse Restaurant, Historic Denver’s Story Trek, Downtown Denver Business Improvement District, Jones Lang LaSalle, Human Powered Transit Authority, Denver Pavilions, the Alliance for a Sustainable Colorado, and Salvagetti Bicycle Workshop.

Little Man Ice Cream believes that all business exists to make a difference. At Little Man,  they believe in making a difference in the community, to their employees, and in the broader global community. www.littlemanicecream.com

Clif Bar & Company started on a bike ride. Founder Gary took a bite of another energy bar and thought he could make a better bar. Today, Clif Bar is a leading maker of all-natural and organic energy and nutrition foods and drinks. www.clifbar.com

BikeDenver is Denver’s bicycle advocacy organization. BikeDenver promotes and encourages bicycling in Denver and works to make Denver a better place to ride your bike. Why? Because it’s healthy for you, and healthy for Denver. www.bikedenver.org

See BikeDenver’s PSA’s and learn about the great reasons to ride in Denver: “Priceless” “Why I Ride”

Sign up now for The Park Hill Bike Depot’s “Nuts & Bolts” bike maintenance classes offered Thursdays in April! For more information on The Park Hill Bike Depot click here.

BikeDenver will host a Traffic Skills 101 bike commuting class at Bicycle Village Aurora (2802 S. Havana) 6-9pm Friday April 9 and 9am-3pm Saturday April 10. The class is open to the public and we are accepting registrants now.

Course Description: Traffic Skills 101 is a League of American Bicyclists (LAB) class that teaches cyclists the proven techniques they need to ride safely and legally in traffic or on the trail. The class covers bicycle safety checks, fixing a flat, on-bike skills and crash avoidance techniques and includes a student manual. This fast-paced, nine-hour, insured certification course presents the tools you need via a half-classroom, and half on-bike experience to give you a full understanding and confidence in vehicular cycling.

The course will be taught by League Cycling Instructors (LCIs). LCIs are League of American Bicyclists (LAB) certified experts in bicycle education and safety. Traffic Skills 101 is a prerequisite for LAB Instructor classes. To learn more about the LAB Instructor Program, click here.

BikeDenver trainers certified 29 Traffic Skills 101 participants and 10 new LCI’s in 2009.

The course fee of $75 covers your manual and instructor fees.

Participants will need to bring their own bicycle (equipped with front light and rear reflector) and a helmet and be prepared to ride in cold weather.

Sessions will be held in the evening from 6-9pm on Friday, April 9, and continue from 9am-3pm on Saturday, April 10.

Refreshments will be provided. Please pack your own light lunch.

Bike parking is available outside the building.

Class size is limited to 15 to ensure a 5:1 Instructor ratio.

See the LAB website for additional detail on the Traffic Skills 101 class here.

Register by March 26 to secure your place by contacting Piep van Heuven: piep(at)bikedenver.org.

Meet Lead Instructor Rick Price: Rick holds a Ph.D. in Geography from the University of Oregon and has been leading bicycle tours in Europe since 1972. He sold his company, ExperiencePlus! Bicycle Tours, to his daughters in 2008 and finally had time last spring to complete his League Cycling Instructor certification. Since then he has facilitated two LCI training seminars in Fort Collins and taught four Traffic Skills 101 classes. Rick is a founder of Bike Fort Collins, the Fort Collins Bike Library, and sits on the board of the Fort Collins Bike Co-op where he is the Safe Cycling Coordinator. Rick is pictured here on a rest break during a ride from St. Petersburg, Russia to Istanbul, Turkey.

Are you ready for the ultimate test in endurance? Welcome to the Denver Century Ride – Colorado’s first urban ride which starts (and ends) in the heart of the city.
Kicking off at INVESCO Field at Mile High Stadium in Denver, riders of all ages and experience levels will enjoy a brand new, one of a kind ride. Whether it’s a kick start to your training season or simply the perfect way to spend Father’s Day with your friends and family, The Denver Century Ride offers three routes to choose from:
• Fun 22-Mile Family Ride
• Exhilarating 62-Mile Metric Century Route
• Challenging 100-Mile Century Route which rises 4,050 feet and includes a signature climb up Lookout Mountain

Each ride starts and ends at INVESCO Field and covers a nice blend of urban, suburban, foothills and mountain terrain on roads and trail systems throughout the Denver Metro area for all levels of cycling enthusiasts to enjoy. Plus, the finish line includes an old-fashioned Father’s Day picnic and an exciting Expo & Finish Line Festival featuring the latest products and services for the active lifestyle.

A portion of the registration fee for the bicycle ride will be sent to various non-profit organizations, including Denver’s Road Home, Rocky Mountain Children’s Law Center, The Davis Phinney Foundation and BikeDenver.

Join us this Father’s Day – June 20, 2010 – for the first Denver Century Ride.

Click here < to register today.

We thought that might get your attention!  Ride the Rockies has generously donated an entry plus one guarenteed (paid) entry to their anniversary ride for our silent auction at the Vest Fest West Event this Saturday.  If the lottery was not kind to you, you may want to bid on one RTR entry (value $360). It comes with an additional (paid) entry.

Learn about Vest Fest here.

Ride with us to Vest Fest here.

Other silent auction items include bikes from Trek and Jamis, bike tunes from The Denver Spoke and Salvagetti, bike jerseys from Bicycle Colorado and DazBog Coffee, Trek Travel vests, and host of other fun items!

Get ready for warmer weather and join BikeDenver’s Vernal Equinox ride this Saturday, March 20!  It’s a fun, social bike ride that’ll celebrate the onset of spring.  The ride will leave City Park’s Thatcher Fountain at 2:15pm, and arrive at Jackson’s downtown at approx. 3pm. To participate, please arrive at Thatcher Fountain by 2pm to sign in. 

About BikeDenver’s Equinox and Solstice Rides: BikeDenver’s Vernal Equinox Ride is one of 4 Equinox rides offered throughout the year to acknowledge the changing of the seasons and help get the message out to the general public that bikes are great way to get around for fun or transportation throughout the year.  BikeDenver also offers Summer Solstice, Autumnal Equinox and Winter Solstice Rides.  The rides are open to the public and led by League of American Bicyclist trained riders who plan the route. There are typically 30-60 riders on our vernal and autumnal equinox rides. The rides are a great way to learn how to ride safely in groups, meet new people and experience new bike routes in Denver. Families are welcome, we recommend a helmet, waiver signatures are required, children should be accompanied by adults.

About the Summer Solstice Ride on June 21st: Our summer solstice ride (over 90 riders last year!) is planned for Monday, June 21.  We will leave from The Denver Zoo, ride through City Park, ride through (yes, through!) the Denver Botanic Gardens, through Cheeseman park, and arrive for a casual picnic hosted by Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado at their Dos Chappell Bathhouse headquarters at the North end of Smith Lake in Washington Park. Read about last year’s ride here.

The 2010 Vernal Equinox ride will leave City Park’s Thatcher Fountain at 2:15pm and arrive at 3pm at Jackson’s downtown (1520 20th St.), in time for ride participants to enjoy Vest Fest West, a new annual event hosted by Vest Fest Events that’ll benefit BikeDenver.  Get information on Vest Fest here.

What to bring: It’s simple! Bring yourself, your bike, and your friends on wheels! If you’re planning to attend Vest Fest West, don’t forget a vest, and $25 for entry.

More about the equinox and reasons for the seasons:  March 20, 2010 marks the Vernal Equinox. Translated literally, equinox means “equal night”. Because the sun is positioned directly above the equator, day and night are equal in length all over the world during the equinoxes. A second equinox occurs each year on September 22 or 23; in 2010, it will be on September 22. This date will mark the autumnal equinox in the Northern Hemisphere and the vernal equinox in the Southern.

These brief but monumental moments owe their significance to the 23.4 degree tilt of the Earth’s axis. Because of the tilt, we receive the Sun’s rays most directly in the summer. In the winter, when we are tilted away from the Sun, the rays pass through the atmosphere at a greater slant, bringing lower temperatures. If the Earth rotated on an axis perpendicular to the plane of the Earth’s orbit around the Sun, there would be no variation in day lengths or temperatures throughout the year, and we would not have seasons.

RSVP for Vest Fest West Event Now! Here’s the link: Vest Fest West Event Facebook Page

What: Vest Fest West

When: Saturday March 20, 3pm – 8pm

Where: Jackson’s, 1520 20th Street

Why: A benefit event for BikeDenver!

Vest Fest is Saturday March 20 at Jackson’s from 3-8pm. $25 at the door includes food & open bar. $10 of your entry will directly benefit BikeDenver, so mark your calendar and bring your friends! Hearty thanks to the guys at Vest Fest Events for selecting BikeDenver as beneficiary, it’s our first big fundraiser and we can’t wait to get the bicycle community out to celebrate bikes, beer and spring! RSVP now and post this opportunity to invite your friends! 

Read the media release here.

A bit of history: The first Vest Fest originated in Chicago, where the theme centered around embracing winter & and wearing a vest (a puffy or outdoor related vest seems to be the be the vest of choice) but people also create their own vests or use any type of vest. (Creativity also scores extra points when the Vest in Show awards are handed out). Vest Fest Chicago boasted over 300 attendees this past November to benefit a local homeless shelter. After launching in Denver, Vest Fest Events plans to expand to San Francisco and Washington, D.C. in 2011.

A bit about the location: Jackson’s is providing the entire 2nd floor area for this event, including the patio beer garden, where Vest Fest afficianados may wish to prove their meddle and test the elements (with patio heaters). Of course, the weather could be 20 degrees or 60 degrees in March in Colorado.

A bit about what you get: In addition to food, libations, good company and that warm fuzzy feeling you get when you help out a non-profit, there will also be prize drawings and silent auction items (including 2 bikes!) from Patagonia, New Belgium, Trek Travel, Wynkoop Brewery, Wahoo’s, Trio’s Enoteca, The Oxford Hotel, Osprey, Jamis, Ride the Rockies, Salvagetti Bicycle Workshop and more.

A bit about entertainment: Since it will the opening weekend of the NCAA Tournament, a multitude of games will also be on. Stay tuned for news as we make entertainment additions like AWESOME Sprints on Denver Bcycle’s new Trek bikes,  Bicycle Wheel of Fortune, and a packed silent auction.

For out-of-towners: A special Vest Fest rate has been arranged at the historic Oxford Hotel. Guests seeking reservations should call 800-228-5838 or visit The Oxford Hotel.

BikeDenver is recognized as a 501(c)(3) organization. BikeDenver’s mission is to promote and encourage bicycling as an energy efficient, non-polluting, healthy, and enjoyable transportation alternative within the City and County of Denver.
http://www.bikedenver.org/

Vest Fest Events is an Illinois registered General Not For Profit (102.10). The organization hosts events that raise money and awareness for selected local non-profits/charities. For more information, visit http://vestfest.org/.