Bike to Work Day 2014 is upon us!

Denver's Bike to Work Day is tomorrow and you'll see thousands of cyclists making their way to and from work. We have 19 employees signed up including, for the first time, our CEO Phil Kalin. Phil is an avid cyclist who despite the demands of his role still finds time to get out on two wheels. Denver's Bike to Work Day is actually about a month behind the rest of the country where May is usually celebrated as Bike to Work Month. Given our weather its probably a good idea to wait until June. I was mountain biking this last weekend in the mountains and was still having to hike-a-bike through snow drifts at the higher elevations. I don't think the forecast for tomorrow includes snow but I can remember some Bike to Work events from years past where the morning ride was under clear blue skies and the ride home was spent slogging through afternoon thunderstorms and downpours. Ahh, the joys of cycling!

This year there is more than the usual amount of construction impacting a lot of the major bike routes so if you see cyclists on your favorite road it may be that they have been displaced from their normal paths. The good news is that motorists should see less traffic on the road, at least of a motorized nature. For some riders tomorrow is just another day of commuting on two wheels but there will be a fair number of cyclists who will be nursing some sore muscles by the time they get home tomorrow night. I rode in this morning and saw only a handful of other riders but I know tomorrow it will be downright crowded. The Denver Post estimates there will be in excess of 30,000 cyclists participating this year and Denver's event is second only to San Francisco which draws upward of 40,000 riders. Those 30,000 Denver cyclists represent approximately 25,000 fewer vehicles on the road.

If you have never participated, the folks that put this event on (the Denver Regional Council of Governments) do a nice job of arranging all sorts of events and rest areas across town that make it easier for cyclists not used to much saddle time to get where they are going. So if you have a bike sitting at home now is the perfect time to dust that saddle off, oil up that squeaky chain, pump up those soft tires and head on out with the rest of us. You'll have lots of company and a great time!