By Jennifer Biyinzika
Bike Fort Collins is hosting two breakfast booths this year for commuters who participate in Bike to Work Day. Simply ride your bike past them on your way to work or any other place on June 22 between 6:30 and 9:30 and you’ll be rewarded with free food.
The booths will be located on Oak St. Plaza and the corner of Remington Avenue and Lake Street.
At the Remington booth, bikes are counted. Last year, 1,502 riders went by the station.
Granted, you are allowed to double back and be counted twice. Bike Fort Collins said the goal this year is to count two thousand bikes.
Free breakfast isn’t the only perk, though. Fort Collins has teamed up with many of its local businesses for an entire cycling-inspired month. The theme this year is “Shifting Gears”.
O’Dell Brewery is hosting an after-party on Bike to Work Day complete with free beer for anyone who shows up on two wheels. Come between the hours of 5pm and 8pm for the jam.
Then on the 25th, the Lyric will be home to the Bicycle Prom, a bash featuring DJ Specific Heat and a production called DMX Bandits. This party does require tickets that can be purchased at Bike Fort Collins’ website, but it promises that “no disco ball shall be spared.”
While most states celebrate Bike Month in May, Colorful Colorado chose a greener time. Bicycle Colorado said it’s for the better weather, which stands to reason since May is Colorado’s wettest month.
From 2000 to 2019 the number of commuters pedaling to work has risen 61 percent in the USA. With the rise of gas prices, many are looking for a way to save.
As great as those cost savings may be, Jonathan Maus from Bike Portland has proposed an even more cost effective solution: Grab a bike. He said, “political and social conditions are ripe to turn our biking gloom into another biking boom.”
He also said biggest barrier to that boom is city infrastructure and whether people feel safe moving about town.
Good thing League of American Bicyclists awarded Platinum status to Fort Collins for being a bicycle friendly community. Two hundred miles of bike lanes cover the city. What are you waiting for? Grab your bike!