Getting to know Colorado bicyclists
As your statewide bicycle advocacy organization, it’s important to us at Bicycle Colorado that we represent, lead and promote the voices of all kinds of bicyclists in Colorado. That’s why, earlier this year, we put out a survey for bicyclists outside of our membership to tell us more about themselves and why they ride. People bike for a lot of reasons, and definitely not always by choice, and we want to hear from all of them so that we can better understand the different needs of different kinds of riders and their communities.
We’ve published some of the responses to our survey below, but to continue to expand our knowledge, it’s important that we keep hearing from you! We need to know what we’re missing, and we especially want to hear from bicyclists of color, women/femme/transgender/nonbinary bicyclists and bicyclists with disabilities. We would also like to hear from people who don’t bicycle but want to, about their reasons for not riding right now.
If you are comfortable and want to share, please respond to our survey here. We’d also like to know:
- What are you doing when you’re out on your bike?
- Are you riding by choice or because you don’t have another form of transportation that works for you?
- What are changes in laws and infrastructure that would make you feel safer or more likely to ride?
- What are things that you wish were different about the infrastructure or bicycling community that would make you feel more included and heard?
Tell us in the survey or by email at info@bicyclecolorado.org.
Take a look at some of the responses we received below:
Anton R.
Age Range: 18-24, Gender: Male
Rides a bicycle for: Commuting, recreation
Why Anton rides: “I prefer not owning a car since they are expensive and bad for the environment. Being able to safely get around by bike in Boulder is great!”
Andrea D.
Age Range: 25-34 Gender: Female
Rides a bicycle for: Commuting, competition, recreation
Why Andrea rides: “It empowers, liberates and challenges me. I spent most of my childhood not riding a bike, and learned to ride again at the age of 23. As I developed in my abilities, there were so many rides that included meltdowns (I’m a mountain biker, with a super athletic husband), crashes, and incredibly scary situations. In spite of the challenges, I could never imagine walking away from it. It has opened up my perspective on how the world operates around me in a way I could never get through spending more time driving a car.”
Brandon F.
Age Range: 25-34, Gender: Male
Rides a bicycle for: Commuting, recreation
Why Brandon rides: “I find joy in spending time outside, the pedals of my bike under my feet. I’ve discovered many parks, trails, shops, and places of interest I don’t think I’d have seen had I been in a car. Not only is it good exercise, biking reduces my carbon footprint and me being out and vocal about biking helps community leaders make better decisions about land use and planning.”
Charlotte B.
Age Range: 18-24, Gender: Female
Rides a bicycle for: Commuting, recreation
Why Charlotte rides: “I do not have a car, biking is my way of getting around the city and exercising at the same time.”
Susanne C.
Age Range: 55-64, Gender: Female
Rides a bicycle for: Recreation
Why Susanne rides: “It’s great exercise for one thing. Both my husband and I ride. It’s a great way for us to get out and spend time together and just not have to worry about things. It’s FREEDOM!”
Deb T.
Age Range: 55-64, Gender: Female
Rides a bicycle for: Competition, recreation
Why Deb rides: “I love the freedom and exhilaration of mountain biking. I like building my skills, the possibilities of improvement are never ending when you MTB.”
Kelsey F.
Age Range: 25-34, Gender: Female
Rides a bicycle for: Commuting, recreation
Why Kelsey rides: “My parents are very active people who rode to work nearly every day and enjoyed it for recreation. It’s just part of who I am. I do it for the exercise, environment and fun.”
Ian F.
Age Range: 25-34, Gender: Male
Rides a bicycle for: Commuting, recreation, errands
Why Ian rides: “Less stressful than driving (no traffic) and better for my mental health (makes me feel better), better for the environment, gets me exercise, more satisfying, and I believe that more people seen riding bikes encourages others to ride and also leads to more funding and policies to make the city more bikeable and walkable. Also bike is faster/more convenient than walk+transit (at least where I live in DTC), although I do use the light rail if my destination is near a station, sometimes combining it with a bicycle for one end of the trip in order to avoid a bus transfer.”
Maureen B.
Age Range: 35-44, Gender: Woman
Rides a bicycle for: Commuting, competition, recreation
Why Maureen rides: “Enjoying time outside, low-impact exercise, competitive outlet, social activity, peaceful commute, fun with my kids. I’d ride more if we had a better connection to the bike path system so I could ride more safely in the dark.”
Cheri M.
Age Range: 45-54, Gender: Female
Rides a bicycle for: Commuting, recreation
Why Cheri rides: “I like riding because I feel fast and powerful on my bike. I work for a non-profit that promotes biking so it is a part of my lifestyle. I ride 5 days a week and sometimes commute on my bike. It is a way for my husband and I to share time together and we get to see amazing things that we could not see from a car or on foot. Most of our recreation and vacation plans are centered around road riding or MTB. As I age, biking is a physical pursuit that I can stick with. I can’t really run anymore but I can always pedal, both inside and outside, year ’round.”
Dylan L.
Age Range: 25-34, Gender: Guy ish
Rides a bicycle for: Commuting, recreation, exercise, meditation
Why Dylan rides: “It gets me around town pretty quickly and it is the most cost effective choice. I also enjoy: viewing the city at a low speed, refraining from fossil fuel consumption and being basically free of carbon emissions, exercising, maintaining the simple machine that is the bike.”
Elizabeth S.
Age Range: 35-44, Gender: Female
Rides a bicycle for: Recreation
Why Elizabeth rides: “It would be great to see more coverage of athletes with health issues still trying to make the most of what their body can still do, whether that is with a condition like multiple sclerosis, sensory processing disorders (and the challenge of sound in the city while biking) or other challenges. I used to bike a lot more but now health issues keep me from riding more.”
Want to participate in our survey? Click here.
Help Bicycle Colorado continue to amplify the voices of ALL bicyclists in Colorado — donate or become a member today!
Leave A COMMENT
Keep Pace With Bicycle Colorado
Our twitter feed is unavailable right now.
