You should bike to work more often. Really -- get some exercise. Get your car off the street. Heck, maybe you'll love the fresh air so much you'll sell the car. If you cycle in on today's Bike to Work Day, you might even get a free breakfast along the way.
RideArrangers, part of the Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG), has been sponsoring this annual event since 1995. Register to ride, read about prizes, download maps and get that free breakfast coupon at their Web site, www.ridearrangers.org/biketoworkday.
Last year, 9,100 folks signed up to pedal, either on their own or as members of 850 participating companies. That translated into about 168,000 collective miles biked, which spared Denver's rush-hour atmosphere about eight tons of pollution and saved 440,000 vehicle miles traveled. All of which sounds noble and good, until you consider the fact that roughly 800,000 cars choke Denver's roads daily from 5 to 6 p.m., during the evening commute. What are a few thousand bike riders compared to that assault on the nerves, senses and lungs?
But the idea behind Bike to Work Day isn't to suddenly blow the skies clean by converting hundreds of thousands of car commuters into gear-grinding hammerheads in skintight bike shorts. "We're just trying to get people to think of different ways of getting to work, either by bike or light rail or ride sharing, just one day a week," says Shelly Glanden of DRCOG. "We want them to see the options," she says.
And while they're at it, they can see some scenery, too. -- Hart Van Denburg
Bees Do It
Botanic Gardens offers fertile walk
SAT, 6/21
"Mommy, where do babies come from?" Those who are looking for an easy answer to that question -- one that has terrified parents for centuries -- should head straight to the Denver Botanic Gardens' new Birds & Bees Walk, an interactive garden that explains pollination and its importance to the environment.
"The plants were specifically picked to show how pollination works," says the Gardens' Hope Casselman. "There are touch cards and displays placed throughout the walk to make it very educational."
Planted with species -- poppies, foxgloves, dogwoods and more -- known for attracting bees, butterflies and hummingbirds, the Birds & Bees Walk is bound to be a hotbed of fertilization when it officially opens at 11 a.m. today with an appearance by special guest Angela Overy, author of Sex in the Garden.
"It's really a bright, beautiful and vibrant garden," promises Casselman.
Located at 1005 York Street, the DBG is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Fridays and 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturdays through Tuesdays; admission price ranges from $4 to $6.50. Visit www.botanicgardens.org or call 720-865-3500 for more information. -- Julie Dunn
