Cities across Colorado will be hosting winter Bike to Work celebrations on Friday — incentivizing people to ditch their cars and take two wheels to their jobs and celebrate bike commuting.
Nisha Mokshagundam told Denverite in an interview that this year’s event is “the spoke-iest Bike to Work Day ever.”
“It's really a celebration and a recognition of all of our dedicated winter commuters who want to ride their bikes to take a car off the road,” said Mokshagundam, program manager for the Denver Regional Council of Governments’ Way to Go program.
In most years, this annual event has been a snowy mess. This warm winter, though, it might be raining instead.
Mokshagundam encouraged people to bundle up in layers — including a waterproof jacket and perhaps pants — and be ready for whatever Colorado brings. She also recommended people wear gloves and something to cover their ears.
Different directions:
Benjamin Shpurker, who volunteers with the Denver Bike Lobby and served as the city’s “Bike Mayor” last year, said he plans to take a half-day off work tomorrow to enjoy the festivities.
“It's one of my favorite days of the year because you just get to see so many people who regularly bike to work, but also people who come out just for the day to bike to work and share stories and enjoy getting a little bit of exercise,” he said.
Shpurker recommended that first-time commuters not take their usual driving routes. Avoid big streets like Federal Boulevard or Colfax Avenue. Instead, he recommended people chart out their routes with the Bike Streets app that local advocates have put together to share the city’s most stress-free routes.
The perks:
If you’re willing to brave the weather, there are huge rewards for participating in Bike to Work Day: free coffee, burritos, snacks and swag. Later in the day, some stations will have hot dogs and some breweries will offer discounts.
The key is to start early, long before your work hopefully begins, and pedal around snagging all the treats from more than 100 stations sponsored by cities, RTD, restaurants, banks, bike shops and more across the metro.
If you live elsewhere in Colorado, there’s a good chance your community’s commuters will also be celebrating the festivities.
If you pledge to ride, like 2,441 people already have at the time I wrote this, you’ll be entered into a $100 gift card raffle.
Did you participate? Let us know how it went at [email protected].
