Colorado’s Bike to Work Day is this Wednesday, June 27, and
metro Denver residents are showing their excitement. Registration levels are nearly seven percent ahead of 2011 at
the same point before the event and with participation anticipated in the tens
of thousands, that translates to a lot of cyclists. The Denver Regional Council of Governments’ (DRCOG)
RideArrangers program coordinates the event for the nine-county region, and
hopes to see about 25,000 riders hitting streets and trails on June 27. The
Denver region is consistently ranked as one of the healthiest and most
bike-friendly metro areas of the country, and registration numbers for this
event make it the second largest event of its kind.
“Coloradans love their
bikes,” notes DRCOG Executive Director Jennifer Schaufele “and we’re happy to
remind people that riding isn’t just a fun sporting activity, but a healthy way
to get around. Bikes are
transportation, first and foremost, and a great choice for a lot of trips you
might otherwise make by car.”
Bike
to Work Day is a fun, annual event that encourages people who normally drive
alone to work to discover that bicycling can be viable on a regular basis. Using two wheels instead of four helps
individuals work time for exercise into their day, makes them more productive
at the office and decreases stress; it also helps reduce traffic congestion and
air pollution. Registration is free at biketowork2012.org,
which also offers a list of resources for route planning, maps of breakfast
stations in the Denver and Boulder areas, t-shirt ordering and more. Individual
registrants are entered into a random prize drawing; companies who organize
teams around the event participate in a friendly “Business Challenge” against
other organizations of a similar size in return for bragging rights and prizes
of their own.
