It’s that time of year again, and you know that we can’t get it all done without you!  So check out our eclectic mix of June events and loan us a few hours of your time.  You know the results are worth it!  Together, we’re making Denver a better place to ride your bike!

See the Volunteer/Events page (above) and check out all the fun 2011 events and activities.  Get signed up now to help out with these Colorado Bike Month (yes, bike month is June in Colorado) events. No experience is necessary, and the chance to give back and network with other fun people you like you is…. wait for it…. Priceless!

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June 11-12: The Denver Century Ride and Rocky Mountain Bicycle Festival – Sign Up to help out parking bikes and talking bikes at the BikeDenver booth!  

Read more about the Denver Century Ride here.

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June 21: The Summer Solstice Ride – Sign up to be a Ride Guide! 

Read more about the Solstice Ride here.

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June 22: The Cactus Bike From Work Bash -  Sign Up to help out parking bikes, checking ID’s and selling merchandise! 

Read more about the Cactus Bike From Work Bash here.

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….Okay, we recognize that this next one’s in July, but it is close to June and it’s right around the corner!

July 2, 3, 4: The Cherry Creek Arts Festival -   Sign Up to help park bikes (and get free food coupons!)

Read more about the Cherry Creek Arts Festival here.

What happens when four great non-profits focused on improving our quality of life get together? A bike ride, a picnic, and an opportunity to learn more about giving back to YOUR community!

It’s free. And it’s a no-brainer. Join BikeDenver, Denver Botanic Gardens, the Denver Zoo and Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado (VOC) for a Summer Park-to-Park bicycle ride from City Park, through the Denver Botanic Gardens, to the Dos Chappell Bathhouse at Washington Park to celebrate green volunteering and the summer solstice on Tuesday, June 21st.

See the Ride Map:  Summer Solstice Ride Map

Join us for a fun summer social event and meet other “green” residents and volunteers!

Ride Start Waves: 5:45pm, 6:00pm, 6:15pm

Ride Start Location: Denver Zoo Gate Three (see map)

Bring your own bike and helmet (highly recommended).

A Special Experience!

You’ll be treated to live animal demonstations and get a free admission ticket to the Denver Zoo at the start of the ride, then, you’ll have the unique opportunity to ride your bike through the Denver Botanic Gardens (in the front entrance and out the back gate to Cheesman Park!).   The ride pace will be casual. Ride guides will remind you to ride on the designated roadway or bike route and  obey all traffic laws. When we ride through the Botanic Gardens we will be riding single file.

Post-ride picnic for the first 400 registrants! *** SOLD OUT***

Avery Brewing Co., Illegal Pete’s and Clif Bar are kicking in some great food and brew for this event!  If you are one of first 400 people to register you will be treated to a free Illegal Pete’s burrito and a tasty brew from Avery Brewing Company.  Limited quantities are available and are reserved for the 1st 400 people who register.  Your ride registration receipt will serve as your food/beverage coupon.  Bring your receipt with you as proof of registration.  There will be a mobile vendor on site for those who forget to register, or in case you are extra-hungry!

The post-ride picnic will be  held  at Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado’s headquarters at the Dos Chappell Bathhouse by the North end of Smith lake in Washington Park.  Participants will have the opportunity to learn more about “green” volunteer opportunities with BikeDenver, VOC, the Denver Zoo and Denver Botanic Gardens.

GET REGISTERED.  Help us out this year by registering, or unfortunately there’ll be  ”no soup for you”.  Operators are standing by:  ***THE PICNIC IS SOLD OUT!*** Try registering a little earlier next year.

Check out the organizers:

BikeDenver is Denver’s bicycle advocacy organization. Volunteers help us staff free community bike corrals at major Denver events to encourage more people to ride their bike for short trips in cities. In 2010, BikeDenver provided secure bike parking at events with a total attendance of over 1.6 million. www.bikedenver.org

Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado (VOC) is a statewide non-profit based in Denver that encourages outdoor volunteerism to steward our natural resources. Over 3,000 volunteers participate in over 50 outdoor stewardship projects each year in some of the most beautiful areas of Colorado. www.voc.org

Denver Botanic Garden volunteers help one of the largest and most visited botanical gardens in the U.S. accomplish their mission of connecting people to plants (especially the plants in the Rocky Mountain Region). www.denverbotanicgardens.org

The Denver Zoo connects people with animals and creates defining moments to inspire everyone to respect, value and care for the natural world. www.denverzoo.org

Avery Brewing Company is based in Boulder. They are dedicated to making beer from the inside out: they brew what they like to drink–with utter disregard for what the market demands– and search out fans with equally eccentric palates. www.averybrewing.com

Illegal Pete’s is a local favorite fast casual mission style restaurant. They offer a full bar with Denver’s cheapest happy hour and boast great margaritas, chips and salsa as well as amazing burritos, quesadillas, and fish tacos. Catering, too! www.illegalpetes.com

Clif Bar 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

The Champions for Children Cycling Team is riding in the Denver Century Ride on June 11 and 12 to raise awareness and funds for children growing up in foster care. The team is aiming to raise $75,000 for the children served by the Rocky Mountain Children’s Law Center, a nonprofit that protects more than a 1,000 child victims each year, many are removed from their homes and placed in foster care, group homes, residential treatment centers or with relatives.

Champions for Children cyclists are raising $10 per mile they cycle to support abused and neglected children. Families, kids and leisurely riders are riding together in the Denver Century 22 Mile Community Ride. Parents and avid cyclists are returning the next day to ride the Denver Century 62 mi. metric and 100 century rides. Visit www.childlawcenter.org, email cycling@childlawcenter.org, or call 303.692.1165 to become a Champions for Children Cyclist.

Not registered for the Denver Century Ride?  Learn about the ride and the FREE Rocky Mountain Bicycle Festival at www.denvercenturyride.com

Clif Bar and BikeDenver are pleased to announce our Bicycle-Friendly Business of the Month, Primal Wear! A part of the Denver community for 19 years, Primal makes some of the most distinctive, widely recognized cycling apparel around. Their high-performance jerseys, kits, tees, and accessories can be seen on pro cyclists, amateur racers and club members, and countless cycling event participants. And, starting June 4th, you’ll be seeing the sharp Primal jerseys pictured here on Denver Parks and Recreation’s newly formed Volunteer Bicycle Courtesy Patrol. Primal’s marketing director, Tim Baker, says, “The Courtesy Patrol was a great opportunity for us to help with BikeDenver and Denver Parks and Recreation. When we were informed that staffing for Denver parks was spread thin limiting the department’s ability to have a strong presence in high-use areas, we knew we had to design a jersey that would help out with recruitment as well as give those volunteers a badge of honor.”

In addition to outfitting the Courtesy Patrol, Primal strives to support many events and causes that help the community through cycling. They’ll be hosting a breakfast station on Bike to Work Day, and are currently in the process of adopting a section of the Cherry Creek Trail between Evans and Quebec to help maintain the trial they use every day (their office is located at 7700 Cherry Creek Drive South, right off the path). Primal will keep the trail tidy by removing litter, and hopes to offer commuters and recreational cyclists an aid station with water and limited bike maintenance. “In the surrounding area,” Baker says, “if riders need anything bike related there is nothing to support them and we thought that we could fill that void.” Primal is careful to fulfill the needs of its 27 employees, too. Every day around lunchtime, several Primal staffers can be spotted around town participating in the company’s mid-day group ride (one gets underway in the photo above). Their convenient location makes access to Denver’s trails a breeze, while plenty of bike storage and a fully stocked bike tool kit at the office all but guarantee a pleasant daily commute. No wonder Primal Wear’s people always seem to wear a smile!

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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 more than 125 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. Nominate a workplace as a Bicycle-Friendly Business here.

Since 1992, Primal Wear has been dedicated to providing cyclists with highly technical clothing that looks great and performs perfectly. Primal’s employees are cyclists, business people, and artists who have found a way to combine their talents to produce some of the most recognizable jerseys in the world. www.primalwear.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 more bicycling has great benefits for you, and for Denver! www.bikedenver.org

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

Bicycle Friendly Business of the Month Awards: 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, Salvagetti Bicycle Workshop, Little Man Ice Cream, Denver Water, Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG), Sweet Action Ice Cream, MIGHTYkarma, Quiznos, REI Denver Flagship Store, Solera Green Living, Holland & Hart, Grand Hyatt Denver, The Bike Depot, Snooze a.m. eatery, Tony’s Market, eGo CarShare, and Primal Wear.

More about BikeDenver:

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

You can help make a better place to ride a bike by becoming a BikeDenver member: Join BikeDenver!

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

Read about previous Bicycle-Friendly Business of the Month honorees:

April 2011 – eGo CarShare

March 2011 – Tony’s Market

February 2011 – Snooze a.m. eatery

January 2011 – The Bike Depot

December 2010 – Grand Hyatt Denver

November 2010 – Holland & Hart

October 2010 – Solera Green Living

September 2010 – REI Denver Flagship Store

August 2010 – Quiznos

July 2010 – MIGHTYkarma

June 2010 – Sweet Action Ice Cream

May 2010 – Denver Regional Council of Governments

April 2010 – Denver Water

March 2010 – Little Man Ice Cream

February 2010 – Salvagetti Bicycle Workshop

January 2010 – The Alliance for a Sustainable Colorado

December 2009 – Denver Pavilions

November 2009 – Human Powered Transit Authority

October 2009 – Jones Lang LaSalle

September 2009 – Downtown Denver Partnership & BID

August 2009 – Historic Denver’s Story Trek

July 2009 (Inaugural) – Watercourse Restaurant

Meet Nick Roppo, this month’s Bike Hero! Nick is a hairstylist at Babooshka, a funky little East Colfax salon where he’s been biking to work nearly every day, winter months included, since he moved to Denver two years ago. Nick says, “I choose to bike because it’s economical, a good workout, and it makes me feel a part of a great culture of bike enthusiasts.”

A bike enthusiast himself, Nick rides his road bike an average of 30-50 miles on the weekends in addition to his four-mile daily commute. “There is so much to see on a bike that you don’t see in a car,” he says. “All senses are active on a bike–sights, sounds, smells–I love it!”

Nick estimates that about 40% of Babooshka’s clientele ride or walk to their appointments at the shop. If he finds out his clients ride, he always reminds them to wear their helmets and says they always heed his advice. Apparently with Nick’s twelve years as a stylist, colorist, and wax specialist, not even a helmet can ruin his creations! Kudos, Nick, for helping make Denver a more beautiful place to ride–and for making its riders more beautiful, too!

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Bike Hero of the Month Awards highlight different people each month, and help encourage other people to bike by telling the Hero’s personal story. The goal of the Bike Hero Awards Program is to showcase the diversity of citizen-cyclists and the people who support them in Denver.

BikeDenver’s Executive Director Piep van Heuven says: “We introduced the Bike Hero awards because we want to encourage a friendly environment for and public image of bicyclists in Denver. One of the ways we can do this is to showcase the different faces of and great stories about people in our community, like Nick, who ride bikes or help others get out there and ride. Through the Bike Hero awards, BikeDenver honors bicyclists of all ages and walks of life, from the first time bicyclist to the rain or shine bicyclist!  We all know people (our neighbors, co-workers, family members or community leaders) who inspire us to reach for the handlebars instead of the car keys. Take a moment to look around you and help BikeDenver recognize the people in our community who are making a difference for Denver, one ride at a time!”

No more fooling around! It’s time to sign up for the Denver Century Ride! Denver’s own ride is right around the corner – literally. The ride is based out of Invesco – and it’s just a month away on June 11 & 12. Choose from the 5 to 22 mile Family/Community Ride, the 62 Mile ride, or the 100 mile ride, and enjoy FREE parking for cars and bikes, FREE admission to the Rocky Mountain Bicycle Festival, and a great BBQ (included in your registration) at Brooklyn’s.  Channel 9 will be there, and so should you! (pictured above and modeling the VERY COOL ride jerseys left to right are Chris Mygatt, President of Coldwell Banker, Susie Wargin of 9News, and Todd Moir, Coldwell Banker Marketing Director)

Check out their great website for more details and get signed up today at www.denvercenturyride.com

Learn more about the Rocky Mountain Bicycle Festival at www.rmbfestival.com

Get ready for summer with FREE yoga classes!!

Pose to Pedal: A 6-week yoga series for anyone who rides on two wheels (commuters, racers, cruisers…heck everyone should come!).  Key focus areas will include strengthening the quads, opening the hips, and relieving lower back pain. Yoga will also help with breathing, endurance, and just lookin’ good.

When: Saturdays, 9-10 am

April 23

April 30

May 7

May 14

May 21

May 28

(Come to all or drop in one-by-one)

Where: Qi Athletic Club and Yoga Studio, 2636 Walnut Street, Denver

Why: A suggested $2-$5 donation per class will go directly to the World Bicycle Relief, a 501(c)(3) non-profit bringing simple, sustainable transportation to improve the health, education and economic situation of people in need. Our target is to raise $402, enough to purchase 3 bicycles for students and their communities! Each bicycle helps up to 20 people, because World Bicycle Relief provides comprehensive bicycle programs for healthcare, education, and economic development: www.worldbicyclerelief.org

Who: Cassiope Sydoriak is a Colorado native with a passion for cycling, art, dancing, and healthy living.  She believes that a healthy mind begins with a healthy body.  Having recently completed her 200-hour Yoga Alliance Teacher Training with Dawnelle Arthur of Qi Studios in March 2011, she designed “Pose to Pedal” as a way for cyclists (and anyone!) to stay balanced both on and off the bike.

* Limited yoga mats available, please bring your own if possible *

** Please arrive 10-15 minutes early to sign a waiver **

*** Bring a friend! ***

BikeDenver’s Community Bike Parking Program is back! In 2011, sponsors Denver Zoo, Regional Air Quality Council and Clif Bar & Company will help support efforts to provide free supervised bike parking corrals this summer and fall.  Corrals will be available over 24 days at 15 major Denver events that have an anticipated total attendance of over 1.6 million.

We’re providing a fully staffed bike corral (*) or facilitating event bike parking at these 2011 events.  For information and to sign up as a volunteer to park bikes please see our Volunteer/Events page.

2011 Community Bike Parking Schedule:

*May 22 – Eat Denver’s “The Big Eat”

June 4-5 – The People’s Fair

*June 11 & 12 – The Denver Century Ride & Rocky Mountain Bike Festival 

June 18 – Westword Music Festival

June 22 –  Bike to Work Day- Civic Center Plaza

June 22 -   Bike to Work Day- Denver Pavilions

*June 22 – Cactus Advertising’s Bike From Work Bash 

*July 2, 3 & 4 – The Cherry Creek Arts Festival

July 30-31 – Dragon Boat Festival

August 28 – USA Pro Challenge Denver Stage

September 2 to 5 – A Taste of Colorado

September 9 – Brew at the Zoo

October 22 – Veloswap

*October 30 (tbd) – Denver Broncos Orange Ride

October 30 & 31 – Boo at the Zoo

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 more bicycling has great benefits for you, and for Denver! www.bikedenver.org

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Our 2011 Community Bike Parking Season is sponsored by: