Community on the open road: A first-timer's review of Bike to Work Day

DENVER — As many transplants do when they first arrive in Denver, I embraced the concept of letting go of my four wheels as the only means of transportation.

In the three years I’ve been here, I have loved getting familiar with the beauty of the city through walking. From the creative architecture of each building to the assortment of people that one encounters along every route, Denver truly is a city that is best explored outside of the car. However, the white lines of the road tell a different story than the sidewalks. And that’s a story I needed to know first-hand.

Wednesday was Bike to Work Day. The annual event organized by Way to Go encourages commuters to bike to work as a way to improve their health and lower their stress.

For a city in constant motion, this day of “pedal” initiative helps to reduce traffic congestion in hopes of improving our ever-worsening air quality. Thousands of cyclists across the Denver metro area traded in the steering wheel for handlebars as they passed by nearly 300 Denver-area stations that welcomed riders with snacks and swag along their commute.

I purchased my first road bike earlier in the week, so when I heard about Bike to Work Day, I knew I had to participate. With over 9,000 riders already registered by Tuesday, this year’s event promised to be one of the biggest in its 33-year history. So, with no hesitation, I registered and was ready to set off on an adventure. What I didn’t know though, was the community I would find while biking.

If I’m being honest, the first mile was brutal. The already thin air filled my lungs a little differently. My legs cried for help with every rotation of the pedals, and the road seemed to expand the further I went. Just as I reached the top of a hill — and everything in me wanted to quit —something interesting happened. I began to feel how free I really was. There is something about being in the middle of the road with no barriers or limits to where you can go, that ignites you.

It was pure, unfiltered bliss. I began to encounter fellow riders taking in the cool breeze as we all traveled our way to a common goal. The one unifying feature I noticed the most? A smile.

One hand wave became two, and two became four, and four became eight. Everywhere the wheels went, there was a friendly face to greet along the way. As you pull up to the stations set up around the city, warm hearts and motivating words were shared. It was a community. There were no judgments against a first-time rider who can barely work the gears (me), but instead, a “hello” and “let me help you.”  I pulled up to Rocky Mountain Public Media with a sense of accomplishment, but even more importantly, I arrived with a sense of community.

That feeling of community continued when I found that others within the RMPM family also took the pledge to give up four wheels for two.

While trivial to some, this little ride to work had a profound impact on me. I don’t know that my health is any better from just one ride, and I can only hope that my not taking a car helped, even just a little. I do know, however, that the road deserves to be traveled, and my new bike is the vehicle I now choose travel it with.

Hopefully, I’ll see you in a bike lane soon.

William Peterson is a senior photojournalist at Rocky Mountain PBS. You can reach him at williampeterson@rmpbs.org.