In 2015, Governor Hickenlooper announced the Colorado Pedals Project, a four-year initiative designed to make Colorado the best place to ride a bike. The initiative combines public and private funding to make Colorado achieve this goal. This transformative initiative will fuel Colorado’s economic growth and tourism industry, move us toward a cleaner environment and advance the goal of becoming the healthiest state in the nation.

The Pedals Project and its efforts are housed within and coordinated and tracked by Bicycle Colorado.

How do we become the best place to ride?

Riding a bike is core to Colorado’s identity and part of our well-known active lifestyle. Because of that, we are redefining what it means to be the best place to ride a bike. The ranking can be measured by traditional methods such as the annual League of American Bicyclists survey. The Pedals Project is going far beyond that, leveraging Colorado’s unique assets, demonstrating innovation across state agencies and institutions, and setting new standards for others to follow. Bicycle Colorado is helping to engage and drive the bicycling conversation across a wide variety of partners, from government agencies to advocacy groups.

Economic and Health Benefits of Bicycling and Walking Study (2016)

This comprehensive study reveals the who, what, where, how and why of bicycling, walking and health in the state of Colorado. It is a first of its kind and could set a national standard for gathering and legitimizing such data. The results show that a majority of people in Colorado own a bicycle and they are getting out and using it, which makes our work at Bicycle Colorado all the more vital. Bicycling substantially supports our local businesses, attracts jobs and tourists to the state and makes communities more livable.