I come before you today to confess my small part in the conspiracy.
You know the one I’m talking about.
The one that the cowboy-boot running, odometer-watching Republican gubernatorial candidate detailed last year when he said that Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper’s policies to boost bike riding were part of an effort to turn the Mile High City “into a United Nations community.”
In July, I became one of the more than 2,100 people who’ve signed up for annual passes as part of Denver’s B-Cycle program.
Now, before writing me off as a pedal-pushing, Prius-driving liberal, you should know that I look at cycling downtown from a perspective of economy and efficiency.
That’s obviously a much different take than the GOP candidate who said of the B-Cycle program: “This is bigger than it looks like on the surface, and it could threaten our personal freedoms.”
From my experience, the program is more about threats from cars and, in fact, has provided freedom.
Freedom from hopping on a too- hot and too-crowded 16th Street Mall shuttle.
Freedom from driving from our offices at the intersection of Colfax and Broadway to a meeting in LoDo only to spend 10 minutes circling the block looking for a parking space.
Freedom from another $25 parking ticket when a meeting runs long.
Freedom to — I confess — run a red light every now and then.
The seeds for joining up were planted during an April visit to Washington, D.C. Walking between appointments on Capitol Hill or waiting to catch a cab outside of the National Press Club building where the ap bureau is located, I couldn’t help but notice the sheer number of folks pedaling by. I took particular notice of specially designated bike lanes on Pennsylvania Avenue.
As I spotted numerous Capitalshare bikes riding by, I made a note to sign up for the Denver program that provides for checkout and return of two-wheeled transport at stations sprinkled throughout downtown.
In July, walking back from paying another parking fine, I was reminded of the pledge I’d made in D.C.
I logged on to the B-Cycle website, tweeted the news to anyone who cared and waited for the black helicopters — or the Burger King. (The program owes a lot to design and marketing work done by Crispin Porter + Bogusky, which has offices in Boulder and used to handle the King account.)
Signing up for B-Cycle was easier than setting up an iTunes account. Checking out a bike is comparable to going to an ATM. On a smartphone, finding out where to pick up and drop off your ride is as simple as finding a Starbucks.
And riding a bike, as they say, is like riding a bike.
There is some awkwardness, however.
The unisex red bicycles are reminiscent of the cruiser Francis Buxton stole from Pee Wee Herman in 1985’s “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure.” And the basket for some reason reminds me of Sally Field in “The Flying Nun.”
On two 90-plus-degree August days, I’ve had to apologize to lunch companions for having arrived with a bit of sweat on the brow.
But the awkwardness isn’t turning people off to dining with me — or, apparently, the bike-sharing program.
Last month, B-Cycle reported reaching the 100,000-ride mark in less than five months, compared to seven months in its inaugural year.
In addition to the 2,165 annual memberships, the program sold nearly 22,000 short-term passes.
All totaled, B-Cyclers have pedaled more than 205,000 miles in Denver.
To me, that’s not a conspiracy. That’s commerce. And it’s cool.
E-mail Curtis Hubbard at chubbard@denverpost.com.
