Some 500 bikes will be available this summer at 30 to 40 stations around Denver. The Denver B-Cycle program got initial funding from a $1 million donation from the Denver 2008 Convention Host Committee. “We are confident Denver B-Cycle will prove equally popular while improving our fitness levels and our environment,” said Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper. “Our 358 miles of bike routes and trails combined with our 300 days of sunshine make Denver the perfect city in which to launch this citywide bike sharing system.”

Read more in the Denver Post.

See also Bike Denver B-Cycle launch event invitation.

See also — Denver transportation to focus on people, not cars: “A fundamental premise of the STP is that Denver must continue its growing trend towards relying on many modes of transportation, including walking, biking and using public transit in order to meet the transportation demands of the future.”

While I’m focusing on bicycling in Colorado:

• Go Boulder is the city of Boulder transportation department resource site, where they proudly say, “In some places, people talk about the importance of using transportation options. Here, we walk the talk. Or bike it. Or bus it.”
• Colorado Springs Cycling Club.
• Bicycle Colorado is Colorado’s statewide bike advocacy group. They’re doing wonderful work with Safe Routes to School programs throughout the state. Bicycle Colorado reminds cyclists that you can dial *CSP from your cell phone to report road rage to the Colorado State Police.
• Bike Fort Collins is the bike advocacy group in Fort Collins. The city of Fort Collins is pushing to go Platinum as a Bicycle Friendly Community.
• I cut my teeth on bicycle advocacy with Bicycle Longmont. Good people there!

Welcome to Colorado’s only indoor velodrome.

The facility, called Boulder Indoor Cycling, was created to give riders the chance to train on a wooden track in a controlled environment.

Read more and watch the video. Via. See also Boulder Indoor Cycling, which has an open house today from noon to 6 PM.

The long awaited Boulder Colorado Velodrome plans a grand opening party and open house on Sunday, November 30th, 2008. This new velodrome is located in a former warehouse building at 3550 Frontier Avenue, near where Pearl Street crosses Foothills Highway (Hwy 157).

Via Ultra Rob.

While we’re in Boulder, let’s also visit Community Cycles, a group of bicycle enthusiasts whose mission is to educate and advocate for the safe use of bicycles as an affordable, viable and sustainable means of transportation and personal enjoyment. The Boulder Daily Comrade just posted a nice Community Spotlight on them. Community Cycles is located conveniently on the Goose Creek bike path and (literally) just across the tracks from the Boulder Velodrome.

Elsewhere, I’ve been busy posting stuff to Commute By Bike…

• Recycle those old election campaign signs into Fenders and flaps.
• Be careful in the rain.
• Kryptonite’s monstrous new lock.
• Keep your bike gear running in the rain.

Have a wonderful weekend, all.

Tim DeFrisco is a photographer in Denver who apparently specializes in sports and “lifestyle” photography, including bike stuff, though he also has some killer portraits on his website.

His latest project has been a series of Denver bike messenger photos that will be displayed at Interbike during the Urban Legend Fashion and Art Show on Thursday evening, beginning at 5:00PM in the Venetian Ballroom G.

See more of Tom DeSilva’s work at his blog and his website.

Via Gwadzilla.

One interesting factoid I didn’t know about — several sharrows were apparently placed specifically in anticipation and for bike riders visiting Denver for the DNC!

According to Denver Police, the REI flagship store near downtown Denver, Colorado is a haven for violent terrorist protesters who plan to camp out and disrupt the Democratic National Convention next week.

In a recently disclosed “Special Bulletin,” the Denver Police Department are asking all area police, sheriff, fire and ambulance personnel to be on the lookout for items that can be used by terrorists. The items listed on their special bulletin include: Bicycles (they can block streets and sidewalks and stop emergency response vehicles), Bike helmets (because this is what terrorists wear, according to Denver police), Maps, and Camping information, especially when they’re stored inside old buildings.

I’ve done my part to protect the American Way by informing the Denver Police of a very large stockpile of these items at old Denver Tramway building at 1416 Platte Street near downtown.

Seriously, what’s especially offensive is the idea that bikes and bike helmets might seem “out of place” to police officers in downtown Denver. This bulletin is just the permission cops like Michael Cordova need to harass cyclists who just want to get around. I don’t see any kind of motor vehicle on the list of suspicious items distributed by Denver police, yet cars and trucks are more capable at blocking sidewalks and streets and blockading emergency response than any group of cyclists. Cyclists can be physically lifted and removed.

In 2002, it was found that Denver Police kept records that labeled local citizens as “criminal extremists” in spite of a lack of any criminal record. This intelligence gathering started in 1953; the Denver Spy Files had information on over 3000 individuals and 200 organizations. The ACLU filed suit in 2002 and settled with Denver in 2003. Though Denver was supposed to have changed its spy gathering policies with the 2003 settlement, this document seems to indicate the same old stuff from them.