Share the Road.
This year Colorado inaugurated a Share the Road license plate, which was developed to raise awareness about bicycle safety and raise funds for Bicycle Colorado, an advocacy group for cyclists. Predominantly blue, white and gray, the plate depicts a cyclist descending a winding, two-lane road below snow-capped mountains.
To obtain one, motorists must go through Bicycle Colorado and make a $25 donation. Bicycle Colorado will provide a certificate to take to a county clerk’s office. There is a one-time $50 charge at the clerk’s office for the new plate. Motorists also may have to pay prorated fees against their normal annual vehicle registration.
For more information, check the Bicycle Colorado website (http://bicyclecolo.org).
Bicycle Colorado
. The mission of Bicycle Colorado is to encourage and promote bicycling, increase safety, improve riding conditions on and off the roads and provide a voice for Colorado cyclists. An individual membership costs $30. Formed in 1992, Bicycle Colorado has 6,000 members.
“The biggest strength that bicyclists have is working together,” executive director Dan Grunig said. “When we’re together as a coalition, speaking with one voice, that’s when we have the ability to work on legislation, that’s when the Department of Transportation will listen to us, that’s when the State Patrol will listen to us.”
Advice on riding safely.
Bicycle Colorado offers the following tips to improve safety.
Know how to ride your bike. Know how to start, stop, shift, clip into your pedals and keep your bicycle well maintained.
Know and follow the rules of road. Stop at stop signs, signal your turns, obey traffic signs and equip your bike with lights if you ride in the dark.
Know how to position yourself so other road users don’t make a mistake. Sometimes that means getting out in a lane more so you are more visible, or not riding in right-turn lanes if you are going straight.
“You are a vehicle on the road, and if you act like a vehicle on the road, you will get the respect of other vehicles,” Grunig said. “It feels counterintuitive to be out there sometimes in that lane — you feel exposed — but actually sometimes it’s the best place to be because cars see you.” John Meyer, The Denver Post
