bmclaughlin807 that's a great photoset love it.

Anyway I live in the Congress Park neighborhood of Denver just east of downtown. I commute to work most days (9 miles,) and do most of my errands around town by bike. I have Downtown, Cherry Creek shopping area, restaurants on Colfax and uptown (17th ave,) and South Broadway all within 3 miles - and getting to Colorado Blvd (Super Target, Best Buy, and other big box stores,) is a breeze from my house. I just returned from Gart Sports on Broadway, my bank and mailbox store in Cherry Creek, and stopped at the insanely crowded Whole Foods for some dinner - all on my bike - with a brief rainstorm on an otherwise great sunny but windy day.

Last weekend my other half and I dressed up and went to see an orchestra by bike, and the next morning had brunch at the Mercury Cafe by bike - and Sunday night I was at a bar on South Broadway til midnight and rode home without any worries of raging drunken motorists.

Denver also has some excellent bike routes - which aren't just along trails and MUPs, but routed along actual wide gridded streets which make it excellent for commuters and practical day to day cycling.

Outside of the city towards the exurbs, -i.e. Highlands Ranch and southeast Aurora might as well be the same as Houston. Except for some great recreational trails its the same superarterials and tract homes you find everywhere else - which don't make it a fun place for commuting or utility cycling. BUT adjacent to the sprawl you find cities like Boulder, Golden, and Fort Collins have local governments with a forward eye towards cycling.

Denver isn't Amsterdam, but I feel safe, comfortable, and accepted riding in the areas I do - which include most parts of the city except the extreme suburbs and exurbs. Its rare that I get an angry "get out of the road" honk - in fact the only time I get honked at is if its my fault for doing something stupid.

My link to my commute is below if you want to see whats its like biking home from a business park in the southeast area (tech center,) to my home in an older neighborhood.