What’s your experience biking in Denver?

For me, it can be difficult to find the right words to describe the joys of biking around the Mile High City and rolling onto an undiscovered trail in our beautiful Colorado.

It has reconnected me to a feeling of freedom from my childhood that has done wonders for my mental and physical health. While life On Two Wheels has changed my life for the better, it has also come with lots of challenges and opportunities to learn.

Several years ago, I gave up my car to see if I could become a daily bike commuter in Denver, racking up thousands of miles of lessons learned and joining the thousands of others who do the same.

And from sailing through the city on the easy days to trudging through the crazy snow days – I still find myself doing silly things and feel a responsibility to grow as a rider and shine a light on the issues and dangers other folks on two wheels experience in Denver and across Colorado.

Every single day when I roll into Denver7 News, I reflect on the close calls with drivers and other cyclists and wonder if other riders are experiencing the same.

News coverage needs more voices from people who experience Denver infrastructure on two wheels and that’s where you come in. As more and more people hop onto bikes – especially with the rise of e-bikes – Denver7 wants to hear your experiences rolling around our communities that were built for vehicles.

• What are your pain points?
• Where do you have the most close calls?
• What issues do you see the most while riding in Denver?
• In terms of trails, bike lanes and infrastructure: What is Denver getting right and wrong?
• What can we do to make biking more inclusive?
• Who in the biking community needs a shout out?
• How has cycling changed your life?
• For drivers: What interactions with cyclists stress you out?

I want to highlight your experiences biking in Denver and share the challenges when biking is not just for fun, but a primary form of transportation. There are two ways to share your story.
You can call Denver7’s On Two Wheels voicemail hotline at 303-832-0207 and tell me what’s grinding your gears or share a positive angle to biking.Please leave your name and contact info, along with your message.

You can also email us at on2wheels@denver7.com.

Denver7

On Two Wheels aims to dive deeper into the unique hazards when biking in Denver and across Colorado, but to also share the good things and lift up the amazing people who take up cycling to get stronger and feel better about their mental health.

I will also be up front about my own mistakes and attempts to try and keep calm on my own two wheels when things get a little crazy out there on the trails.

As we Denver7 launches On Two Wheels, I hope you check out this half-hour program below that introduces you to seasoned Denver riders who share their honest experiences on our trails and roads, so we can all get to where we’re going in one piece.

Watch the special report in the video player:

Biking dangers in Denver: Close call stories ‘On Two Wheels’

After more than five months, a city-commissioned investigation into the use of comp time by top Denver Fire Department commanders is “nearing its conclusion,” according to a spokesperson for Denver Mayor Mike Johnston.  

The investigation began April 19, according to a city contract, and called for an outside investigator to review and report on the use of flex or comp time by DFD command staff. A CBS News Colorado investigation found Chief Desmond Fulton awarding himself hundreds of hours of comp time in the last three years for everything from attending firefighter funerals and retirement ceremonies to having dinner at fire houses and attending community events.

A review of Fulton’s work records from 2021, 2022 and 2023 showed he repeatedly racked up comp time or flex time by attending events that others viewed as being part of his job. He could then use that comp time to cover his vacations, and cash in unused vacation days at the end of each year, which he did. Denver’s municipal code appears to explicitly forbid the fire department’s executive staff from accruing comp time. The city code reads, “Division chiefs, deputy chief and the chief of the fire department who work overtime after the end of a regular shift shall not be compensated.”

Fulton has maintained he did nothing wrong and simply followed longstanding department practices. He said he supported the outside investigation. Fulton declined to be interviewed by CBS News Colorado.

In May, a spokesperson for Denver’s Manager of Safety said, “We anticipate a quick and thorough investigation … it is likely that the investigation will be completed within a few months.”

But after more than five months, the delay in releasing a report or findings has fueled social media speculation about what might be going on.

Kelly Jacobs, a spokesperson for Denver’s Manager of Safety, said Friday, “The investigation and report are not yet completed.”

She went on to say the “investigation is nearing its conclusion and will share more information as the investigation and report are finalized.”

Jordan Fuja, a spokesperson for Johnston, issued a similar statement expressing a desire “for this investigation to be thorough and complete. … It is my understanding,” said Fuja, “that the investigation and report are not yet complete, though it is nearing its conclusion, and we’ll be sure to share more once it’s finished.”

Neither Fuja nor Jacobs offered a timeline of when the investigation and report might be completed and released.

A baseball phenomenon is coming to Coors Field next summer.

The Savannah Bananas will play in LoDo on Aug. 9 and 10, bringing their zany, entertaining style of play to Denver for the first time as part of a summer tour to 18 MLB stadiums and three football stadiums.

Banana Ball is an unconventional style of baseball focused on fun and excitement that originated at Grayson Stadium in Savannah, Georgia, in 2020. The atypical approach has exploded in popularity in the four years since, and has since added new teams to their fold in the Party Animals, the Firefighters and the Texas Tailgaters.

The most famous rule of Banana Ball is that if a fan catches a foul ball, it’s an out. Other unique spins on the traditional game include rules on no stepping out of the box during an at-bat, no bunting, and batters can steal first base.

There are no walks or mound visits in the fast-paced game, and The Golden Batter Rule also allows each team to send any hitter in the lineup to bat in any spot, allowing a premier hitter to come up in a key situation even if he’s not due up in the order.

Each game has a two-hour time limit, and every inning except the last one is worth one point, with that point going to the team that scored the most runs in the frame. Dancing, trick plays, hilarious celebrations and more funny wrinkles are also part of the show, which was played at six MLB stadiums this year.

Sellouts are expected at every venue in 2025, and games are also expected to feature former major league players. There is a lottery to enter to get tickets, which puts fans into a random drawing that takes place two months before the game at each respective venue. The lottery closes on Nov. 1.

Originally Published: October 4, 2024 at 9:03 a.m.