As we near the end of another action-packed year here at Bicycle Colorado, I am reminded, as I often am, of how grateful I am to work with my colleagues and our volunteers every day. We wanted to reflect on some of our favorite moments, highlights and successes of 2022—below is a year-end recap from each of our teams.

Policy Team

Bicycle Colorado’s small but mighty policy team had some big wins and saw great progress this year.

The 2022 legislative session was one for the record books for our team here at Bicycle Colorado. We were excited to lead on and support the passage of seven different bills through both chambers of the legislature. Bicycle Colorado successfully championed the Colorado Safety Stop (aka House Bill 22-1028), signed into law after years of advocacy. Additionally, we were instrumental in the passing of a $12 million investment in statewide eBike rebate programming, the largest state-level funding commitment for eBikes in the nation!

Our advocacy work with elected officials and transportation leaders around the state resulted in successes including:

• Colorado’s first official “Colorado eBike Day” on September 21.
• Publication of “Recalibrating Transportation: 2030 Roadmap” report with recommendations to fund multimodal transportation which influenced shifting $900M from highway expansion projects to funding active transportation and transit.
• Implementation of the GHG Rule mandating a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from transportation by increasing bike networks, sidewalks, and transit. 
• New “3 Feet to Pass” signage on CDOT state highways.
• A reversal of the Regional Transportation District (RTD)’s outdated policy prohibiting eBikes on buses and trains.

Education Team

Our education team spent their year jump-starting several initiatives that will continue to improve rider and driver safety throughout the state, in addition to their usual education programs.

After two years in the making, our brand new education program for drivers, SHIFT Driving™, will launch in the Spring of 2023! This innovative, digital course will include interactive lessons about the rules of the road and how drivers can keep themselves safe as well as prioritize the safety of bicyclists, pedestrians and other vulnerable road users.

2022 was another successful year for our Learn to Ride program. This season, we taught 25 lessons to over 200 students, more than a quarter of whom were adults! A special thanks to SRAM for coming on board as a new program sponsor and supporting this work.

We also facilitated multiple exciting events throughout the state, including a Bike and Roll to School Day event with Creighton Middle School and a youth bike rodeo at the West Metro Fire Family Muster Day.

Finally, we were proud to collaborate with the mobile bike shop Velofix to provide free bike repair services to bicyclists living in Montbello, a Denver neighborhood that doesn’t have its own local bike shop.

Membership and Development Team

Our generous donors came through in 2022! We are thankful for each and every one of our donations, large and small, but we are especially thrilled and so grateful that the number of $1,000 donors increased by 38% this year. On top of that, we just wrapped up a record-breaking Colorado Gives Day, surpassing our goals and raising more than $120,000 in donations from over 600 donors!

Bicycle Colorado is also very grateful to have received a $50,000 grant from Team Evergreen this year. These funds will make a huge impact in boosting our bike advocacy and education in 2023.

Lastly, we amped up our Business Member program with some exciting new benefits. Learn more about our Business Membership opportunities on our website. If you are interested in having your company join as a Business Member, reach out to hilary@bicyclecolorado.org.

What’s next?

There’s so much to look forward to next year, but here’s a sneak peak of what’s to come in 2023:

• Moving People Forward 2023 is scheduled for Monday, February 6. Tickets are on sale now!
• SHIFT Driving™ will be released in Spring 2023. Stay tuned for more details!
• Beginning in January 2023, Bicycle Colorado will acquire the nonprofit Colorado Cycling, formerly known as the Bicycle Racing Association of Colorado. Check out our recent blog for details.

Our work wouldn’t be possible without you.

2022 was a truly special year for us. And while it goes without saying, none of the work we complete each and every day wouldn’t be possible without the unwavering support of our donors, advocates and bicycle lovers! While there will be plenty more “thank yous” to hand out next year, we’d like to wrap up 2022 with one final thank you to all of our supporters from the whole Bicycle Colorado team!

Hero image photo credit: Rob Toftness