Denver’s inaugural Bike to Work Day in 1995 saw 1,200 participants. Some 23,519 riders had registered for today’s event as of 5 p.m. Tuesday.
“We’ve seen such a spike in business participation as businesses are looking for ways to change to green,” said Sarah Carroll of the Denver Regional Council of Governments, a sponsor of the event. “Since the event first started, we’ve seen a continual, steady incline in the event.”
Carroll said 15,497 people registered for last year’s Bike to Work Day, but she estimated that more than 20,000 participated, based on breakfast-station surveys that found about 30 percent did not register.
The Business Challenge is one of the bigger components of Bike to Work Day. This year, 1,048 businesses are registered, up from 718 last year.
Boulder County employees were regional overall winners last year, and with 551 of their 1,900 workers registered to participate as of Tuesday afternoon, they led the pack again this year.
Think safety in the saddle
Joshua Brock of the REI store in Boulder offers safety tips for bicycle commuters:
Before you bike it, drive it: Check out bike lanes and paths for easiest routes.
See and be seen: Wear reflective or bright-colored clothing, and attach front and rear blinking lights.
Protect your head: Wear a properly sized helmet. Follow the rules of the road: Signal before turning, and obey traffic signals; ride single file instead of two or three abreast.
Right of way: Take command of a lane when going straight through an intersection where the bike lane gives way to a right turn.
Listen up: Don’t wear headphones, and give audible warnings when passing pedestrians and other cyclists.
Share the road: Be patient and courteous.
