Races, registration services, paths make it easier to ride
For some Boulderites, biking isn’t a fashion statement, it’s a lifestyle.
With nearly forty biking Olympians, and countless passionate bikers who live here, biking is not something Boulderites take lightly.
With many mountain trails, and over three hundred days of sunshine per year, Boulder is a geographical Mecca for bikers – and the city is intent on keeping it that way.
A new bike path was recently finished over the summer, on 28th and Folsom, and plans for more are in the works.
Bike enthusiast William Whitte is impressed with the Boulder’s respect for it’s bicycle culture. Whitte works for Boulder’s, Full Cycle bike shop, on the Hill.
“I love the fact that Boulder plows the bike paths before the streets in the winter,” Whitte said.
CU also emphasizes the importance of biking to students. Unlike the Denver campus, biking is encouraged both on and off campus. In fact, CU provides a Bike Station, located outside of the UMC, in order to promote student biking.
Tracy Lynn Calvin, is CU’s transportation outreach coordinator.
“On average we register 1,710 bikes each year,” Calvin said. “But our numbers have increased quite a bit in the last year to 2,450 registrations.”
Once a student has registered a bike, they are welcome to free and unlimited tune-ups as well as advice from the handy bike experts at the CU station. Also, the Bike Station offers rental bikes, which are free for CU students.
“From a student survey done in March 2006, it was found that approximately 63 percent of the student population has a bike available to them to commute,” Calvin said. “On average the undergraduate student population here at CU is about 22,800 so 63 percent of that is 14,364.”
Outside the university, Boulder has many events that support the biking community. There are at least four professional bicycle teams in Boulder; Al’s Barbershop located on The Hill sponsors one.
“The four pro teams in Boulder are both road and mountain teams,” Full Cycle sales manager Chuck Gartrell said.
Bike races and events occur in and around Boulder throughout the year. The weekly Cruiser Ride that takes place on Thursday nights is just one example.
Participators in the Cruiser Ride, A mixture of bike enthusiasts, Boulder locals and CU students, all meet with decorated cruiser bikes, and costumes, depending on the weekly theme, and then bike in a parade-like line throughout the city.
“Every race you go to is beginning level, making it so everyone can join in and just have fun,” Gartell said.
Contact Campus Press Staff Writer Emily Sturges at
emily.sturges@colorado.edu
