Hop on and meet our November Bike Hero: Jeff Prillwitz!

Jeff has worked for the Regional Transportation District, more commonly known as RTD, for 21 years. Having lived in Denver for about 48 years and been a bus driver for 10 of those, this month’s Bike Hero definitely knows his way around these bustling city streets.

Since retiring from bus driving, Jeff has been putting his knowledge and experience to good use by supervising and approving prospective bus drivers for private busing companies. He is also a big advocate for incorporating bicycle awareness into the training. Some of these efforts can be seen in the weekly RTD newsletters handed out to instructors which now include a bicycle information section reminding drivers to be cautious and leave a three-foot space around bikes.

Jeff is also a big fan of biking. He loves his Pinarello bike and often jokes that “most guys have a mid-life crisis by 50 and buy a Corvette and find a pretty 25 year old girl, well my Pinarello is my Corvette but I’m still waiting on the 25 year old.” From riding, he not only gets an overall feeling of well being but also a healthier lifestyle, in fact, he’s lost 40 pounds. But biking isn’t just a solitary activity for Jeff, it’s also a great way to get together with his friends and coworkers. As a part of the RTD bike team called Champions of Transit (seen in the photo to the right), he and his teammates participate in events such as the Tour de Cure and MS 150.

BikeDenver thanks Jeff for striving to make Denver a safer place to ride and for being a true Bike Hero.

[Submitted by Courtney Burkett]

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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 Andy, 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!”