On Wednesday's annual Bike to Work Day, the South Platte River Trail was full of long-time cyclists, bike commuters and more casual riders.
"It's a little bit faster than driving downtown, I don't have to pay for parking and it's also good for the environment," said commuter Megan Hosea.
Another commuter, Madeleine Balchan, said she used to drive to work, but she noticed that she would arrive at the office angry. So she started biking.
"When I bike I come happy, so it's like getting a dopamine kick versus road rage," she said. "I pay more for rent to live downtown so that I can bike to most things that I do in my life."
Balchan said she has seen the bike infrastructure improve in the six years she has lived in the city. But she also took a hard fall on ice a few winters ago, struggled with post-concussion symptoms for a few months and rides with more caution these days. So we asked her and other cyclists biking to work, what tips do new bike commuters need to know to start biking to work safely?
Give your bike a tune-up.
Like cars, bikes need regular maintenance to keep them safe. Josh Millward, REI regional manager, set up a pop-up bike maintenance tent on bike to work day to help riders with tune-ups.
Millward's key pieces of advice are easy: before hitting the road, check your tire pressure and chain. If you can push into the tires easily, they need some air. And if your chain looks "gunky and black and full of grime" it could use a clean.
Make sure you have the right gear.
Millward suggests always riding with a repair kit, which includes tubes, a small hand pump and other gear to fix a flat. He added that everyone should ride with lights and a helmet (the brighter the color, the better).
"You should definitely always look at your helmet," he said. "If you're noticing cracks or any wear on the inside where the foam is, that is a good sign that your helmet is deteriorating, you should definitely replace [it]," he said. "They say you should replace your helmet every couple of years or if you've had either a fall or the helmet dropped from more than three feet."
Balchan suggests either bringing a change of clothes, or picking out work clothes that can double as cycling gear.
"I now, when buying work clothes, think 'Can I bike in this?' And if I can't, then I am not buying it," she said.
Test out your route in advance.
Aishwarya Krishnamoorthy is the director of communications with the advocacy group Bicycle Colorado. She suggests trying out routes to work on a weekend before riding to work for the first time, and picking trails and quieter, local streets when possible.
"Sometimes what I will do is I'll go to Google Maps on satellite view, and that'll give me a good sense of whether this is a small neighborhood street that like people won't drive very fast on, or if it's a big one way, like 17th or 18th downtown, which I wouldn't recommend biking on unless you feel very brave," she said. "There are protected bike lanes on some of those big one-ways which can be really helpful."
Krishnamoorthy added that staying safe is the responsibility of cars, not just cyclists.
"Our blind spots when we're in a car can be pretty big because we have the metal frame around us, so really making sure you look over your shoulder before you make a turn," she said. "Make sure that if you're turning left, you're looking and seeing for oncoming traffic and keeping an eye out for bicyclists who might be coming in that direction, and giving people space if you're going to pass them."
Editor's note: This article has been updated to correct the spelling of Madeline Balcan's name.
