Eric Bard, a 53-year-old geophysicist, smiled from ear to ear at a Bike to Work Day breakfast station at Civic Center between Denver’s City and County Building and the Colorado Capitol on Wednesday morning.
“I love the extreme mobility of being on a bike. Riding a bike in downtown Denver is like having wings,” Bard said. “I bike every day.”
He was one of thousands of commuters who left their cars at home and two-wheeled it to work Wednesday morning.
Members of Scout Troop 324 of Westminster used the event to earn their bicycling merit badges, completing a 27-mile jaunt into Denver.
Chuck Sherman, a retired mechanical engineer, convinced scoutmaster Brian “Bear” Beyer to let the boys take bike paths into town.
“We can do 150 miles on Denver bike trails and hardly ever see a car,” Sherman said.
Wednesday morning was perfect for it, clear and cool.
Steven Beyer, 18, the scoutmaster’s son, was soaked in sweat from riding in from the suburbs. He had fun, even though he doesn’t bicycle much.
“Yeah, it was a good workout,” Beyer said.
Last year, organizers estimated the event drew 35,000 cyclists, many of whom dropped by more than 100 breakfast stations around the metro area.
Wendy Wiedenbeck, a community-relations specialist at EnCana Corp. who lives in Highlands Ranch, drove to the Denver Tech Center and then biked 14 miles into downtown.
She said her husband gave her the “commuter” bike.
The League of American Bicyclists has sponsored National Bike Month and Bike to Work Day since 1956. Colorado’s Bike to Work Day is always held on the fourth Wednesday of June.
James Tyson, who calls himself a novice, biked to work, despite the fact that he had done it only once before — three years ago.
“I think it is a terrific idea,” Tyson said.
Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com
