DENVER – Often when biking and business end up in the same story, it’s because of a conflict.
This isn’t one of those stories.
Denver7’s On Two Wheels is always looking out for ways to help Colorado cyclists stay safer while navigating the roads and we wanted to share how one entrepreneur in the Mile High City, who is also a cyclist, decided there must be a better way to find safer routes than relying upon popular apps.
Avi Stopper’s Bike Streets app is a Denver-based solution to encourage riders to find a less stressful route between point A and point B.
Earlier this year, his team introduced a new feature on the app, called Bike Streets Destinations, which encourages bikers to roll safer to Denver businesses.
“I didn't realize how many neighborhoods were within a 15-minute biking radius from us,” said Zach Martinucci at a Bike Streets Destinations kick off event earlier this year. “I hope that lots more people will get to see how easy it is and how quick it is to find us and hopefully make us a part of their regular weekend trips as they're going between markets, coffee shops, parks and their local bakery.”
Avi Stopper’s Bike Streets team is helping make these meaningful connections between Denver cyclists and local businesses.
He hopped on his ride and we chatted more about Bike Streets Destinations.
“We're trying to find a way to work together with local businesses to boost their businesses, To boost the economy, rather than focusing on the tired old conflict of whether there's going to be a new bike lane in front of someone's business or whether a parking space might be removed,” said Stopper.
While some Denver businesses provide incentives to cyclists who use the app, Stopper added that the new feature is about so much more than finding rewards.
“When you use the Bike Streets app and you ride to one of our destination partners – which is a business that has decided that it is a bike friendly destination that wants to encourage bicycling – in many cases, they offer these small rewards – the idea is not to go bargain shopping around town, but to patronize awesome local businesses,” said Stopper.
He shared a few examples of rewards offered by Denver businesses.
“For example if you ride your bike to Rebel Bread – the first time that you ride your bike – you get a free pastry. If you ride to Huckleberry Roasters for a cup of coffee, you can get a discount on your coffee,” said Stopper. “If you ride to any number of restaurants three or four times, you can get a discount on your meal. It's just to acknowledge that these businesses want your business. If you're riding your bike, they want you to come there by bicycle.”
Through the passport feature on Bike Streets there are many other rewards to find at Denver businesses including a free beer on your first ride to Bacon Public House, A $10 gift card after you roll 4 times to Denver Central Market, among many other incentives.
Check them out on Bike Streets' website.
Related: To hear how biking has changed the lives of two Boulder cyclists, you can watch the story of Dan and Ryan who shared the life-changing impact as part of this On Two Wheels special report, in the player below.
'Cycling saved my life': How Coloradans discover biking for better mental health
'We don't think Colfax is a good place to ride a bike'
The destinations feature is an addition to the Bike Streets app, which has been available for several years, and has become a valuable tool for many cyclists in Denver who are looking for the safest route possible.
Bike Streets can be particularly helpful for new riders who are getting used to navigating Denver and might feel less inclined to hop on their bike because of the stress of navigating infrastructure on busy corridors around vehicles.
“Google and Apple tend to present bike directions as something that is not accessible for most people. Google will send you down Colfax, and we don't think Colfax is a good place to ride a bike,” said Stopper.
A message echoed by Gary Harty, a Denver transportation advocate and seasoned rider.
“Google might put you on a street that's really high stress. A fast 35-mile an hour road with a painted bike lane, which is no protection,” said Harty at the kick off event. “You put in your destination and an ear pod in, and you get voice instruction.”
“You can have it mounted on your handlebars, like I do with turn by turn voice directions. Or you can stick it in your pocket and have a headphone in or your Bluetooth speaker hooked up,” added Stopper.
'Feel happy and joyful'
While Google and Apple maps might try to navigate you to the most direct route to your destination, Stopper said Bike Streets’ mission is to help riders find less stressful routes.
“Sometimes this map is a little different for folks because it doesn't include all of the conventional bike lanes in town. It often prefers quiet neighborhood streets that might be a street over from a conventional bike lane,” said Stopper. “The reason is that we think that those streets are more reasonable alternatives for a lot of folks who just, quite candidly, feel scared of being out and riding on bike lanes – riding in bike lanes on big streets. So Bike Streets publishes the low-stress Denver bike map.”
Stopper hopes Denver cyclists can find routes that encourage them to more often get on their bikes and swap a car ride here and there.
“Sometimes they're not the most direct, and that's something that we acknowledge is part of the Bike Streets experience, is that the journey is about chill, quiet routes that will get you there, that will make you feel happy and joyful, and may not necessarily be always the most direct or obvious routes,” said Stopper.
The Bike Streets app can also answer one important safety question that can be difficult to answer when looking up businesses on Google or Apple maps.
“One of the things that bicyclists want to know – is there a decent bike rack where I can lock and leave my bike and how far away is it,” said Stopper. “The Bike Streets app and Destinations Project show not only what the bike rack looks like but the number of steps that it is from the front door.”
That’s valuable information, especially if you’ve never visited the Denver businesses you’re rolling to.
“This is definitely one of the things that makes biking to different places unique and different from driving a car. If it's a place that's quite busy – say you're going to the 16th Street Mall – you can find bike parking very easily, and that bike parking is way closer and certainly way cheaper than what it would cost you if you were to drive your car,” said Stopper.
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The Bike Streets app features 500 miles of paths, trails and other types of routes and has been “used more than a million times since 2018, according to the company’s website.
The app, with the destinations feature, is available for iPhone , Android and Google Play.
You can view more information on the Bike Streets website.
There is a free 2-week trial version after which it costs $50 per year. That investment can help Denver cyclists gain peace of mind while trying to find a safer, less stressful route all while knowing you’re supporting a Denver small business trying to connect you to other small local businesses.
“What we are doing by creating this project in Denver – for Denver – is we are solving our own problems, and we are solving problems for our friends and our family and our neighbors,” said Stopper. “With the Bike Streets app, we’re putting really good technology in their hands that has the potential to really be liberating, to enable them to live the best versions of their lives in a local setting – to discover awesome new places, go to the places they love and do that in a way that’s just incredibly joyful.”
- You can watch our full video story with Avi Stopper and learn more about the Bike Streets app in the player below:
Find less stressful bike routes in Denver, while supporting local businesses
Denver7's On Two Wheels is dedicated to raising awareness to the dangers of biking in the Mile High City. If you have something we should check out, or someone in the cycling community that deserves a shout out, shoot me a message below or leave a voicemail on our hotline at: 303-832-0207.
