Another blog about Denver B-Cycle

Sorry to keep blogging about the Denver B-cycle program, but I read an interesting article today...

Let me take a step back:

handlebar mounted bike ringer

I have been pleased to see the latest push for free and cheap bicycles available to locals and tourists in major cities around the world. But some people have been less pleased about the development. Just like some politicians say that "trails are a waste of money" some other politicians complain that the bike sharing programs are a waste of money and a (I'm not making this up.) United Nations plot to advance their communistic agenda.

Well, it turns out the bike share programs are a raging success. In fact, the only problem seems to be in keeping up with the growing demand for the bikes. And as far as critics who worry about problems w/ the program, it seems that the biggest problem so far is broken bells.

That's right, broken bells. I guess some people get a little too gregarious w/ their bell-ringing finger.

This is just one more piece of evidence that the new bicycle culture is here to stay.

So grab a bike and hit the trail, my friends. If you don't have a bike to grab, find a bike share program in your area.

Another blog about Denver B-Cycle

B-cycle bike rentals program adds third city

For those who want to visit the big city without a large carbon output or money output, there are many low-cost bike loan programs available.

The b-cycle  program is available in Chicago, Denver, and now Boulder, Colorado. 

With the swipe of a credit card bicyclists are able to borrow a bike for a half hour (free) to a whole day. It saves the planet, it saves money, and it saves the renter from facing all the traffic congestion on the road.

I know this isn't a new program and similar bike rental schemes (as they call it in Europe) are in place world-wide. But it got me thinking...

Wouldn't it be great to have a similar program available at rails-to-trails trailheads? I know it would have been immensely helpful on a couple of my trips to know there were bikes available, 24 hrs. a day, to be rented at one station and returned at another.

I think I'll contact the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy about this idea. I'd say it's worth a trial run.

B-cycle bike rentals program adds third city

Denver Bike Sharing is a great idea

I did another one of my Denver bike rides yesterday. It was a bit different than my other rides. As usual, I rode the RTD bus into Denver, but instead of riding my bike back to Boulder County, I headed south on my bicycle.

To make a long story short, I rode what I call the Southwest Denver Loop Trail which is a combination of the Platte River Trail, the C-470 Trail, and the Bear Creek Trail. When you combine them, you get the Southwest Denver Loop Trail.

But I'll talk more about that in a later trail blog. My subject for today's blog is the Denver Bike Sharing program. It is also called Denver B-cycle. I won't say much about it in the trailsnet blog because their bikesharing.org website has all the information.

However, I intend to ride the RTD bus into Denver again sometime soon, but this time without my bike. Once there, I plan to try out one of the loaner bikes available at the kiosk found at the RTD Market Street Station.

If you haven't tried it yet, join me in giving it a shot. If you have tried it, I'd love to hear about your experience. Share it here on the trailsnet blog.

Thanks to Kaiser Permanente for sponsoring the Denver B-Cycle program. It's a healthy, environmentally-friendly program.

Denver Bike Sharing is a great idea