Learn and earn at The Bike Depot, our Bicycle-Friendly Business of the Month!

Clif Bar and BikeDenver are pleased to announce January’s Bicycle-Friendly Business of the Month: The Bike Depot! Located at 2825 Fairfax Street, this innovative nonprofit bicycle collective serves Park Hill and its surrounding neighborhoods in ways that standard for-profit bike shops often can’t. So what exactly is the The Bike Depot doing differently? Mendy Evans, Development Director, explains: “As a nonprofit community bike shop, we’re distributing bikes to under-served populations in the Denver community, helping avid bikers to keep their bikes rolling, helping beginning bikers learn more about the benefits of cycling, and working with the cycling community to advocate for improved biking in Denver.” Amazingly, with only 3.5 employees and several volunteers, The Bike Depot is able to offer an impressive array of programs, classes, and services to help achieve these noble goals.

The Bike Depot’s free programs include Earn-A-Bike, which allows neighborhood folks to volunteer at the shop in exchange for skills training and a refurbished bike; Bike Rodeos, which are super-fun events that equip kids with bikes and the skills they need to ride them safely; and the Fix-Your-Bike program, which provides workbenches, tools, and mechanical know-how from volunteers and staff. The shop also holds a slew of reasonably-priced classes ranging from basic to advanced mechanics and bike building, and from beginning safety to winter riding skills and touring (see current class listings here). Other community services include small niceties such as providing a dedicated flat-fixing station, and big ones like refurbishing donated bikes and putting them in the hands of people who might otherwise go without (learn how to donate here). Plus, there’s a happy side effect from all of this: a unique opportunity for bike-lovers from all walks of life to help one another and make cycling in Denver better than ever! To find out more about The Bike Depot’s mission, programs, or how you can get involved, stop by their shop in Park Hill (map) or visit their website: www.thebikedepot.org.

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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 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.

The Bike Depot enhances Denver’s cycling scene by bringing neighbors together in a collaborative effort to make cycling more accessible, safer, and more fun for all! www.thebikedepot.org

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

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, and The Bike Depot.

More about BikeDenver:

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