Mountain Biking: Rubber side down- Time for a TurnaroundWell, my friends, things are finally looking up, and good timing, too, since I’m sure you’re all sick of me bitching. Recent bike build, including wheels… fun! In what feels like a fairly short time, I’ve come from sitting around … Continue reading → […]
- This Raised My PulseHey, baby… wanna ride? I may be injured, but I’m not dead yet. I can still have racy thoughts. Here’s more info. In other news, UBI was an awesome success! I had a blast. I highly recommend it. Overhaul day…. … Continue reading → […]
- Time for a Turnaround
- Edgy Veggie
Cycle tracks to replace bike lanes?
We like bikes here in Boulder. Some of us use them to get in a great workout. Others pedal to and fro to wherever they need to be. And those who drive are typically kind enough to share the road.
We’re proud of this bike-laned land we call home. But are bike lanes good enough? Advocates of cycle tracks don’t think so.
Question: So what the hell is a cycle track?
Answer: It’s a completely separate lane for bikers protected by a curb or a concrete barrier.
The cycle track is an idea we Americans have adopted from our neighbors across the (big) pond in Europe. The cycle track makes biking super safe, but building them might mean adding a lot more cement to our beautiful city.
So what do you think? Are Boulder’s bike paths extensive enough, or do we need cycle tracks as well?
Read more about them at Grist.com in Elly Blue’s article, “Cyclists shouldn’t ‘share the road,’ they should have their own.”
Bike to work day 2010 in Boulder is June 23
Bikes on a Boulder bike rack| flickr user niehoff
It’s not too late to get into Boulder Walk and Bike to work Month: Bike to Work Day is June 23.
For those who have already pulled their bikes out of winter storage, or never put them away (or maybe you’re even a practitioner of Winter Bike to Work Day), June 23 is just another Wednesday. For everyone else it marks the day the excuses run out. Leave the car in the garage, pump up your tires and get out onto the many bike paths Boulder has to offer.
Bike to Work Day veterans, remember how great last year was?
Just past 6 a.m. on Wednesday, more than 40 Boulder businesses broke out bagels, fruit, organic breakfast bars and hot meals to serve the thousands of people who were participating in this year’s Bike to Work Day.
The annual event was expected to draw more than 35,000 across the state, with more than 6,300 registered to participate in Boulder.
Not a Bike to Work Day veteran? No worries. Whether or not you’re an experienced cyclist on Boulder’s bike paths and main roads, here’s everything needed to help make Boulder’s 34th annual Bike to Work Day the biggest one yet–and how to get as many perks as possible for your hard-earned sweat.
Get started
If you’ve never biked to work mapping the best route can seem a daunting task. Even for experienced riders there is always a need to find the best way to get where you are going. To help with the task GO Boulder has a MapQuest-style Boulder bike route mapping website specifically designed to get you where you need to go, by bike — and Google Maps now has bike path information and streetview for some bike paths in Boulder.
With your route in hand, hit Boulder’s Bike to Work Day 2010 registration.
Why bother registering for Bike to Work Day? Well, GO Boulder is counting on you. Last year 7,132 people registered for Bike to Work Day, according to the Go Boulder Boulder Bike to Work Day 2009 Wrap Up. If you are not registered, you are not being counted–although you are still reducing the number of cars on the road.
No excuses
The bad weather seems to have finally passed–hopefully there won’t be any June snowstorms. A more likely weather deterrent in June is 90 degree heat. Allay your qualms about arriving with a smell by checking out Jenn Fields’ tips on how to bike to work and not stink, including:
Don’t just keep deodorant in your desk drawer — add a washcloth for warmer rides that require the bathroom-sink mini sponge bath. Also, witch hazel sprizted on the washcloth is a helpful de-funkifier. Ladies, do your make up once you get to work. This could apply to men, too. We don’t judge.
To help you make sure your bike is in working order there will be bike repair stations set up around Boulder. A few are listed below.
Boulder Cycle Sport, 4580 Broadway
Great Harvest Bread Company, 2525 Arapahoe, service provided by Performance Bikes
Whole Foods Market, 2905 Pearl, service provided by Bicycle Village
Don’t forget breakfast
June 23 many restaurants and businesses will be offering breakfast stations for participants. Whichever area of town you are coming from, or headed toward, there is an official breakfast station near you. Below are a few places around town that will be participating. For a complete list of participating businesses check the Community Cycles Website.
Half Fast Subs, 1215 13th Street
Moe’s Bagel on Arapahoe, 3075 Arapahoe
Moe’s Broadway Bagel, 2650 Broadway
Ozo Coffee, 5340 Arapahoe
Celestial Seasonings, 4600 Sleepytime Drive
Boulder Chamber of Commerce, 2440 Pearl
Get involved
Events on Bike to Work Day don’t end when you arrive at work. The CU Environmental Center, along with Community Cycles, is hosting the 4th annual Bike Shorts Film Festival at Old Main on CU’s Boulder campus.
Community Cycles and GO Boulder work year round to help more people find ways to make bicycling more convenient and possible for more people in Boulder and Colorado. To help keep Boulder moving check out volunteer opportunities and how to donate an old bike.
Show your Bike to Work Day pride with the official Walk and Bike to Work Month T-shirt.
Now that you’re in the know, see you on the streets!
-Mikaila Altenbern
Bikeway from Boulder to Denver is part of latest plan for U.S. 36
With U.S. 36 in the background, Barbara Bowes of Boulder rides the South Boulder Creek Trail. The new plan for 36 would connect this trail into a larger network, stretching from Boulder to Denver.
For almost a decade, communities up and down the U.S. 36 corridor from Denver to Boulder have been struggling with what to do about the congested highway — which is only projected to get worse as the local population continues to grow.
Now a compromise has finally been reached, and it includes some big wins for alternative transportation… like a bike path that runs all the way from Boulder to Denver.
Now all the plan needs is some money.
A bus trip down U.S. 36 from Foothills Parkway to Denver’s Union Station would only take 24 minutes if an updated package of proposed improvements is approved, financed and built.
The upgrades to the U.S. 36 corridor — outlined in the project’s newly filed environmental impact statement — would add a “managed lane” along the median in both directions. Buses and high-occupancy vehicles could use the lane for free, and excess capacity could be sold to single drivers who are willing to pay for access. Read more
