Despite temperatures in the high 90's, and in many areas smoky air from Colorado's devastating fires, 17,900 people put a total of 303,482 miles on their bikes. Thirty percent who pledged were first-time participants - something the Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG) is quite proud of, because they strive to get more people trying out Bike to Work Day every year.
The 9News Breakfast station on the Cherry Creek bike path was hopping all morning. Several sponsors served up free goodies and services, including Walmart, Primal Wear, Clif Bar, Evol Foods, Wheatridge Cyclery, Bike Denver, Muscle Milk, Cytomax, Scratch Labs, Blue Bell, Yay!Life! and Deal Chicken.
The breakfast station, located at Speer & Logan, handed out some 600 pieces of fruit, 240 donuts, 150 muffins, and 400 frozen burritos!
Nuggets head coach George Karl even stopped by and marveled at all the cyclists. George is involved in the B Strong Ride on August 11th in Boulder. His George Karl Foundation (along with Livestong) is a beneficiary of the event.
"Just driving down here it was really fun seeing all the bikes at Starbucks and all the bikes on the streets," said Karl. "We almost had a traffic jam on the bike paths - that's great. I love it in the middle of summer when you have a beautiful day, you wake up and see all these people riding. It's just a big part of Colorado and it's just amazing. I was in Boulder a couple weeks ago and I didn't get recognized but a bike rider who won a (stage) in the Tour de Canada was being talked about and they didn't know who the (heck) I was. I kind of liked that, I thought it was pretty cool."
The League of American Bicyclists has been sponsoring National Bike Month and Bike to Work Day since 1956. Throughout most of the country, these events take place in May, but due to Colorado's unpredictable weather, the state legislature officially declared June as Colorado Bike Month, with the fourth Wednesday of the month being Bike to Work Day.
Bike to Work Day represents a grassroots effort by cities, counties, transportation planners, community organizations and others across the state to educate commuters about the benefits of using two wheels to get to work.
(KUSA-TV © 2012 Multimedia Holdings Corporation)