Boulder Cycling Trivia

  • In 1967, Boulder became the first city in the United States to tax itself for funds to be used specifically for the acquisition, management and maintenance of Open Space, which benefits hikers and mountain bikers.  A lot of money has also been spent on bike paths for bike commuters.  Very little has been spent on road bikers, one of the biggest sports in Boulder.  Expenditures for wider shoulders don’t count because they primarily benefit motorists by providing cyclists a place to get out of their way.  Remember, we have the right to be in the vehicle lane!
  • The film, Breaking Away, was filmed in Boulder and starred a young Kevin Costner.  It is about a small-town teen obsessed with the Italian cycling team.  Some believe that with its combination of naiveté and youthful exuberance, the movie is the greatest cycling-related dramatic film ever made. The film used actual race footage from the Coors Classic, featuring the nearby Morgul Bismarck course. One of the BCC routes covers part of the course. But despite the actual footage and Costner and co-star David Marshall Grant looking reasonably comfortable on their bikes, the action shots of the villain, Belov (played by John Garber), are hilarious. The heavily-bearded dude is clearly not a cyclist.  Watch this one when the streets are icy and you are sick of spinning.
  • Among 14 comparable cities, Boulder ranks no.1 in people who walk to work, work at home and drive with more than one person in the car. It ranks second among those who
  • Bicycling is so highly regarded in Boulder that sometimes the city plows the Boulder Creek bike path before they plow the streets!
  • A 1992 survey by the Centers for Disease Control found that Colorado had fewer overweight people per capita and more people who exercise than any other state.
  • A Colorado Daily poll found that seven out of ten Boulderites own bicycles. Another guidebook states that Boulder’s bicycle count is approximately 93,000 – almost equal to the total population!
  • With Coors, Anheuser-Busch and local microbreweries, this area has become the largest beer-producing triangle in the world.