Colorado bike to work - anyone participate
 

Surprised I didn't see a thread on this yet.

Yesterday: 4 cyclists on the road, 2 training for BTW day
Today: 12 cyclists on the road and about 80 at park refresh stop.

Any other experiences today?

I rode but did not have time to stop at the aid stations.
Summary:
The platte trail to downtown from Thornton was filled with riders. My typical norm each day is maybe 2. Today I stopped counting at 60.

The cherry creek trail looked more like an organized ride. I was very happy to hit the streets.

Just about each street in Denver to DTC had at least one cyclist on it (not counting me).

I think on my 28 mile commute into work I encountered cyclists numbering somewhere north of 200.
:)

Yeah, lots of folks today. I do the combo thing - bike and light rail. I caught the 6:07 train and while two of us got on at first, soon there were 5 bikes on a train that's only supposed to have four. Good thing the bike Nazis riding that train! (Yesterday there was an RTD Employee who's really supposed to be checking tickets but instead was only hassling bikers. She kicked one guy off for entering the car from the rear and where there were already two bikes and walking his bike to the front and another guy for not having his stupid "bike permit". Wonderful.)

At the DTC Colorado Athletic Club breakfast was pathetic (a mini-muffin and a mini cup of OJ) so I went down to Panera Bread and got a bagel and a cup of coffee. At both spots there were tons of folks with bikes.

I rescheduled an afternoon meeting so I can get off early because otherwise I'm afraid I won't get a spot on the train on the way home. I like getting a free breakfast and seeing all the bikes on the road but with RTD's rules making it as inconvenient as possible to ride the train with a bike (better than not at all though, I'll admit) Bike to Work day is kinda an inconvenience for somebody who rides every day!

Chris

Odd. I have been taking my bike on the train since the SE line opened. While I have had to have my fare inspected quite a few times no one has ever asked me for my bike permit. Perhaps the foolish behavior I have seen lately is the reason for this. Cyclists entering through the middle doors. 3 bikes at each spot.

They really should look into a different method for the bikes. Something like how some California lines do it with removal off several seats and adding hangers. There has to be a better way. If gas keeps going up this is just going to get worse. This is one of the reasons I ride all the way in lately. So dang crowded.

There were just a ton of people on the Spring Creek Trail, a very impressive turnout. The bike shed outside my office building is usually overflowing at this time of year, but I'd say there were at least 25 extra bikes scattered around. A nice turnout considering there was ZERO publicitiy from our agency or building. Not even a single poster on any bulletin board.

LOTS of cyclists out and about... I usually see 4 or 5 people... today there were at least 100...

What really surprised me was the number of women riders... the guys were outnumbered today! :eek:

(Not that I'm complaining!)

There were enough people riding bikes today that traffic was noticeably lighter and calmer... I've heard at least 5 people comment on how light the traffic was today.

Happy Bike to Work Day! Like I said, there were a bunch of bikes locked up outside our overpacked bike shed so the CSU groundskeepers decided to adjust the lawn sprinklers on that side of the building, hosing all the bikes. Thank you for your support!

First person I saw was at 5:30 am as I passed them. Mind you I live in South, South Parker, so to see 10 folks between my house and Arapahoe was really surprising. I didn't see too many more in Cherry Creek (surprising, but the other kind) and no one between there are the DTC Panera.

So, get this, I go in and ask what the special is..."cuppa coffee and a bagel." I say alright, I would be thrilled to take both, thank you. "What kinda bagel?" I want something with fruit, like a raisin bagel. "We have Dutch apple raisin?" Perfect!

She starts ringing in the free transaction, pulls her manager over, some hubbub, and then tells me I owe $0.17!

She says that some bagels are "Special" and the "special" bagels just rose in price yesterday.

I say, "That's really fuggin' convenient" but leave my grumblings to that and turn in some loose change for a crappy bagel and crappy coffee.

However, my employer did provide lunch, and I got to wear jeans instead of slacks, and supposedly I have a free t-shirt coming, so not too bad, all in all. We'll see what the afternoon is like...

As a friend put it, it's like wading through a bunch of Cat 5 bumblies on Wal-Mart bikes, weaving around the pathways huffing like they just ran the Boston Marathon ;)

Regarding the BIKE-TRAIN combo commute. Sunshine and I leased bike lockers at our nearest station to accommodate leaving the bikes there at the station. Since we are not the first station on the SW line, it is nearly impossible to get on the train with a bike these days. Miss 2 trains due to no space for bikes, and you may as well have ridden the whole way anyway. Would be about the same time wise.

For me, this will be a good option during the winter when I may not want to ride all the way downtown.

I do agree that it would be great if RTD did something to do a better job of accommodating bikes. However, the trains are so packed now that removing seats would not be a good option. Adding an extra car to each train during morning and evening rush may help. With overall volume picking up, they may have to do this anyway.

!!!

I'm going to go run errands during afternoon rush hour just to check it out! My strange schedule and lack of desire to work OT kept me from actually participating in the "commuting to work" portion, but I'll get out on my bike and be seen!

The last few years most of the new riders disappear before the ride home. I am guessing that the LRT and buses will be full and others will have their SOs pick them up.
I would not expect much for the afternoon. Especially with 90 degree temps.

weather.com says 85 in the Tech Center right now. If it's 90 Imma gonna be pissed :mad:

Oh well, less bumblies to weave around, I s'pose.

One of my co-workers was EXTREMELY proud of himself, he rode 15 whole miles! I accidentally said "Oh, that's not that bad" and I could see in his eyes his disdain for me. He doesn't realize I do 17 miles one way every day ;) I took my free sandwich and left :rolleyes:

Riiiiggggghhhhhtttt....

Have you been following RTD news lately... they're CUTTING service.

There's a TWO HOUR wait if you really want to take a bike on the G-line out of 9 mile in the morning... and that's the FIRST stop. The train is standing room only as it is... and you can barely get on to stand, and what is RTD doing? Cutting the g-line to only two trips in the morning and two in the evening.

Way to go, RTD! :bang:

Their reasoning? Well, you can get on the H-line and ride to Southmoor, then transfer to a southbound E or F line train... never mind that the H-line is just as crowded and that it TRIPLES the amount of time it takes to get to work on the light rail...

I think I'll just ride my bike.

I noticed a lot more cyclists commuting to work this morning. Usually, I only see 2 or 3, but this morning I saw around 15 or 20. Too bad it will probably be back down to 2 or 3 next week.

+1

At least when cold weather comes back it may cull the herd a tad.

Nope. I haven't been watching RTD at all. For me, it is a non-issue. I too prefer to ride the 15 miles downtown then home again after work. I must say, it does surprise me that RTD would be cutting service when ridership is on the upswing.:wtf:

One reason they're losing money because of all the eco-passes they've been selling... it was GREAT for them when companies were buying them and nobody was using them, but now that people are actually using them, RTD is whining about losing money on them. :rolleyes:

I rode in, though I do occasionally. I'm not the every-day bike commuter - I do it when I feel like it (Which usually ends up being once or twice a week).

Saw tons of roadies (some which were in full Lycra drafting each other down Quincy...ahah). Saw some older ladies out on bikes (rock on!) Lot's of people riding sidewalks and generally being confused at what to do...otherwise I was only buzzed once.

Thought about making this thread at 9am, too.

I got passed on the right by a couple of roadies while I was waiting at a stop light... light turned green and all the cars and I had to make our way past these wobbly roadies trying to clip in along a stretch with a narrow lane and no bike lane. :rolleyes:

That was the only stupidity I saw.

Most of the people I passed were weekend riders... decent bikes, lycra, the whole thing... the ones that I really enjoyed seeing out there, though, were on hybrids, comfort bikes, mountain bikes, etc... wearing regular clothes...

I had no idea today was BTW Day. I'm in the Springs and have a nighttime commute, but there was no advertising as far as I'm aware about this.

I rode in. Same as always. I stopped and got my bagel and juice.
I was wearing my T-shirt, Teva's and mt. bike shorts.

There were a lot of weekend roadies in full spandex kit as stated above. Weekend riders trying out a commute. Good on 'em.

The boss got to stop at the Cherry Creek/ I-470 stop. He got a free t-shirt. NICE!

I stopped to help 1 lost guy navigate around a construction zone at horseshoe park.

No NEW bike commuters at our office today. Just the same old crew of 5 (almost 10% of our workforce!)

New to this forum and my first post. Great to see so many people out today. I've been commuting 4 days a week to downtown on Cherry Creek trail. Usually I pass maybe 10 or so riders each morning/evening. It was nice to see so many people participate, although too crowded in some spots. I just wished people would spend a few mins reviewing the rules of the road and knowledge of bike path etiquette before hoping on their 2 wheels. I was bumped into of all people, a jogger trying to avoid a guy coming down a ramp onto the path without looking or slowing down. Either way, it was good for everyone that rode in my office and another day on the trail for me. i hope a few of those people pursue the commuting route for now on.

I passed one lady about a quarter mile from my office... her chain was squeaking BADLY... turns out she works in my building! I just ran down and oiled her chain for her... topped off her tires, too... she was riding at 20lbs pressure! :eek:

She'll have a pleasant surprise when she goes to start home. :)

So... made it home... Still LOTS of cyclists out there! Not as many as there were this morning, but easily 10x as many as normal.

Only got hit by one truck and he didn't even smash my bread... guess it was a good day. ;)

That and diesel prices are killing them. However, I am of the opinion if they stopped driving their buses like in the indy 500 their fuel efficiency would improve.

This is the first bike to work day that the afternoon surprised me. There were still plenty of cyclists. No where near the morning but still quite a few.