December 3, 2005 – Calling all bicyclists! Your help is needed to overturn the State Patrol’s recent decision to ban popular bike rides in Colorado. The Colorado State Patrol has just added a policy banning the biggest bicycle events in Colorado. Their new policy limits bicycle and triathlon events to 2,500 riders. The limit can be lowered at any time putting every event at risk including bicycle tours, races, charity rides, group rides and triathlons.

The State Patrol says that they are using this ban to “ensure safety.” But, according to Bicycle Colorado, a random cap does not address safety of bicyclists. Safety is based on good event planning, educated bicyclists, traffic management plans, safe roads, and law-abiding motorists. A well-run event can be safe for 10,000 bicyclists and a poorly-run event can be unsafe for 100 riders.

The 2,500 cap is subjective and may be changed at any time by the State Patrol. If tomorrow they decide that 500 is a “safer” number, amazing rides are at risk like Elephant Rock, Triple Bypass, Ride the Rockies, MS 150, Iron Horse Classic, Courage Classic, Bicycle Tour of Colorado, Tour de Cure, Mount Evans Hill Climb, and on and on.

Colorado’s largest bicycle event, The Elephant Rock, reports having only one car-bike crash in nineteen years. This fact strongly questions bicyclist safety as the reason for this ban. Is this the bicycle-friendly Colorado you want?

So what can you do? Log on to www.bicyclecolorado.org/to/petition and sign up.

Then forward this story to other bicyclists. You can also send an email or fax or call State Patrol Chief Mark Trostel asking him to reverse this policy and include bicyclists in discussions regarding bike events.

For more details, visit www.BicycleColorado.org.