Month: August 2014

Denverspeax Top 5: The US Pro Challenge Experience

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This past Sunday, the US Pro Challenge provided a front-row seat to those in Denver. The streets we ride everyday suddenly became very important routes while cowbells and cheers echoed throughout the streets.

Living in Cap Hill, multiple chunks of this epic race were only BLOCKS away, and easily accessible for spectators. From a Denverspeax perspective, here are the Top 5 Reasons that the US Pro Challenge rocks (outside of the race itself, of course):

 

#1: Sponsored Bike Corrals
Thanks, Denver Bicycle Cafe! There’s nothing like being able to walk around the US Pro Challenge knowing that your bike is safe and sound.

DBC Bike Coral

For more on the Denver Bike Cafe, click on the picture! Photo Credit: Kirsten Ebey, Aug 2014.

 

 

#2: Food Trucks and Big Screens
Kudos to the Crock Spot for dishing up deliciousness in Civic Center alongside other Denver Food Trucks. Our “Build Your Own” dish we opted for below included the following:

  • 1/2 Fluffy cous cous
  • 1/2 Thai Jasmine fried rice
  • Shredded Chicken
  • Chimichuri Sauce
  • Add veggies

Crock Spot is most definitely social media stalk-worthy, voted #1 by 5280 Magazine in 2013.

Smashburger provided the hugest screen we’ve ever seen for race coverage. This was invaluable as it was nearly impossible to get back to the Center once you joined in spectating on the streets of the actual routes.

Big screens, soft grass to sit down on, and delicious food? Fantastic!

food and bigscreen

Mmmm…. delicious! Filling, but not stuffing – Crock Spot is where it’s at! Click on this picture to visit their website and check out the menu. Photo Credit: Kirsten Ebey, Aug 2014

 

 

#3. Awesome Vendors with Awesome Schwag!
Pictured below, Primal provides the best cycling apparel in town, making any team look like a million bucks. Make sure you check out their custom work as well by visiting their site. Thanks for the cool draw-string bags, guys!

Other vendors, like Clif Bar and Sierra Nevada, also made their presence known by filling every square inch of sidewalk surrounding  Civic Center Park.

vendor primal

Click on the picture to check out all the goodness that Primal Wear has to offer! Photo Credit: Kirsten Ebey, Aug 2014

 

#4. Hanging with Friends
The US Pro Challenge is a celebration in Denver, and who better to celebrate with than your buds?! At an event like this, it isn’t difficult to run into many people you know and love.

friends

Awesome time hanging with friends at the US Pro Challenge. Photo Credit: Kirsten Ebey, Aug 2014

 

 

#5. Viewing Colorado’s Capitol building in the background the whoooole time
What’s cooler than seeing that beautiful, shiny, golden top wave at you all day while you enjoy one of the best bike races in the world?

capitol building

What a beautiful day in the Capitol! Photo Credit: Kirsten Ebey, Aug 2014.

Not much, my friends. Not much.

Next year, we’ve decided that we need to have a party pre-US Pro Challenge. Maybe set up right on the route! Luckily, next year, we’ll have all of the cowbells we collected from this year to help cheer on all of the riders!

Share your favorite Pro Challenge memories below – what were your Top 5 favorite things? 

 

 

Denverspeax’s Response to the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

/ DenverSpeax

The PR and Marketing team for the ALS Association have to be jumping for joy; and why the hell not? They’ve raised nearly $80 million US off of the viral Ice Bucket Challenge campaign.

Kids are begging their parents to nominate them. It’s the “in” thing right now.

Who knew spreading the news about charity would be the “in” thing at school? Hey, way to go, ALS team! We feel you surpassed the goal of any of your wildest dreams.

 

In response to multiple nominations from amazing people that we love (I Get Down Clothing & Apparel being one of them!), we have decided NOT to pour clean water over our heads as many households throughout the world suffer from water poverty. Again, this is our stance, and doesn’t need to be yours. However, we have donated to the ALS Foundation, and decided to start a new challenge… Continue reading →

All About BIKES! Month on DenverSpeax

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brother-and-kirsten

Denverspeax archive: Kirsten’s first bike race. Photo Credit: July 2013.

 

Yes, we know that May is supposed to be super-duper, special Bike Month, but here at DenverSpeax, we want to make the next month dedicated to ALL THINGS BIKING. We can’t wait around until May 2015.

 

bicycles group ink

Grabbing ice cream and riding bikes – tough life. Photo Credit: Kirsten Ebey, Summer 2014

 

And, when we say “all things biking” we really mean it.
Check out these upcoming events, and feel free to participate: 

 

blue bike

 

Thursday, August 28th, 2014 – Bike Denver‘s Cycle In Cinema
7:30 PM REI Denver Parking Lot
We will ride from Cap Hill to Denver’s REI Parking Lot to watch
Pee Wee’s Big Adventure on the Big Screen outside!
(Event is *FREE* with a Bike Denver membership)

Friday, August 29th, 2014 – Denver She Devils Babes in Bikeland Fundraiser
7:00 PM Denver Bicycle Cafe
Auction, fundraiser, raffles, and give-aways of sweet BIKE THINGS
to raise money for the Denver She Devils’ trip to Minneapolis’ Babes in Bikeland Alleycat race.
(Event is *FREE*, however donations gladly appreciated)

Saturday, September 6th, 2014 – New Belgium’s Tour de Fat 
Registration: 10:00 AM
Bike Parade: 11 – 12 PM
Party in City Park West with New Belgium: 12 – 5 PM
Costumes are strongly encouraged for the parade!
(Admission is *FREE*, registration required, all proceeds at party benefitting Bike Denver & Denver Cruisers)

Saturday, September 13th, 2014 – Babes in Bikeland Alleycat Race
Cheer on your Denver She Devils that will be riding their hearts out
on an approximately 30 mile Alleycat race in Minneapolis, MN.
(If you are interested in participating in this race with the She Devils, please get in contact with either
The Denver She Devils or Denverspeax).

denver group bicycles

Filming the video for CitySpeax. Denverspeax archive: May 2014.

As additional events pop up, we will be sure to let you all know. Rides, bike-friendly hangouts, etc – we’re excited to show you all what biking really means in Denver. 

Make sure you add us on Instagram  and Twitter (@denverspeax) and follow us on Facebook for the most updated information.

Denver She Devils – Fundraiser, Raffle, & Auction! Aug 29th

/ DenverSpeax / 1 Comment

It’s that time again! The Denver She Devils will be hitting the road for their 2nd Babes in Bikeland Race in Minneapolis, MN, taking place Saturday, September 13th, 2014.

 

she devils logo better

The Denver She Devils are Denver’s first All-Ladies Urban cycling group. Click on the logo to learn more about them! Photo Credit: Denver She Devils Facebook Page.

Not sure if you recall, but DenverSpeax did a special feature on the She Devils roughly one year ago (see article here). Since then, they have organized even MORE rides and are looking at additional community involvement as far as bike classes for women, and other special events. Stay tuned for more on those fun events later… it’s time to promote!

 

BiBlineUp7

Babes in Bikeland 7 (last year, 2013) – The Line Up! Photo courtesy of Babes in Bikeland Official Page. Click on the picture to learn more about this awesome alley cat race.

 

It costs money to enter races. It costs money to get to races. Let’s be honest, every aspect costs money! And, with being such a new group to Denver, the She Devils have to fundraise a TON in order to be able to make these things happen.

 

They need the Denver community’s support – YOUR support! 

 

invitation

Click on the flier to be brought to the She Devils’ Facebook page for more information.

 

 

This Friday, August 29th, 2014, the She Devils will hold their annual Babes in Bikeland fundraising event at Denver Bicycle Cafe. Come on down for the food, beer, and festivities including an auction, give-aways, and raffle. Just like last year, it’s sure to be a heck of a good time. All of the fun starts at 7 pm, so make sure you head down early, mingle, and grab a spot. Hope to see all of your bright, shining faces there!

 

Any questions? Contact Denver She Devils or DenverSpeax (feel free to comment below as well) to help us spread the word, join rides, and get involved.

She Devils logo

Follow the fun on Twitter.

Hey, what about Facebook?

 

 

 

 

ARTCRANK Denver 2014: Making art accessible

/ DenverSpeax

Denverspeax is in love with all things “bike”, so it’s no surprise that when we heard Artcrank was coming to Denver, we had quickly penciled it in.

Yesterday, we rode our bicycles from Capitol Hill to Ink Lounge on Fox for Artcrank Denver, a FREE admission Poster Party. There, we wandered throughout different rooms to gander at all of the unique, bike-inspired posters created by local Boulder and Denver artists.

Our favorite was a poster that totally resembled one of our own, badass Denver She Devils, Mia.

picstitch

Images of Artcrank Denver at Ink Lounge. To learn more, click on any picture to check out Artcrank. Photo Credit: Kirsten Ebey, Aug 2014

Signed and numbered copies were available of each poster, allowing admirers to take pieces home. In addition to the posters, there were other artists selling their wares and pieces, all while the Oskar Blues brewskis were flowing.

Artcrank has a mission Denverspeax can really stand behind: making art as accessible as bikes.

This is an interesting thought as more and more cities become bike safe & bike friendly as well as more and more school systems cut funds for art. As adults, when you’ve grown up and branched out from a district that didn’t, or couldn’t, focus much of its funding on the arts (whether it be musical, visual, or performance-driven), you sort of have to reinvent your thinking surrounding ideas of art. Additionally, as we get older, sometimes it can be a little difficult to keep that imaginative switch on in our brains. It takes practice, patience, and lots of throwing caution and insecurity to the wind.

Coming up this fall and winter, Denverspeax will really focus on the arts, and how to get involved and reignite your creative juices!

Check out the Artcrank on Facebook to learn about the cities in the UK & the US they will be visiting. Contact them for a great opportunity for your community and local artists!

 

 

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We love the pictures. All of them. Check us out on instagram: @denverspeax

 

Colorado Rockies Vs. Cincinnati Reds

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We get it – as far as losing goes, the Colorado Rockies nail it. We have 75 losses this year in the National League (the Texas Rangers have 76, if that makes anyone feel better), but that hasn’t stopped us from having a blast every time we go & root them on! 

jeff jake dana

Baseball is better watched with friends you can scream with. From left to right: Jeff, Jake, Dana. Photo Credit: Kirsten Ebey, Aug 2014.

Not only do the Rockies have a team you can feel good about cheering on (seriously… they need our claps and cheers, people), but Coors Stadium is amazing! Who else has Blue Moon Brewing at the Sandlot? Want to work on your tan and get tickets on the cheap? Rockpile. Want to mix and mingle while catching a game? Check out The RoofTop, a Rooftop/patio designed gathering area for fans to watch the game, established just this past year. 

Last Friday’s game against the Cincinnati Reds may have not been a winning game, but it had some of the best Colorado sunsets I’ve seen yet! Check it out: 

outfield sunset

Photo Credit: Kirsten Ebey, 2014. Click on the photo to check out our Twitter page for more upcoming events and happenings!

rockies sign sunset

Photo Credit: Kirsten Ebey, 2014. Click on the photo to check out our Twitter page for more upcoming events and happenings!

mountains and sunset

Photo Credit: Kirsten Ebey, 2014. Click on the photo to check out our Twitter page for more upcoming events and happenings!

baseball diamon sunset

Photo Credit: Kirsten Ebey, 2014. Click on the photo to check out our Twitter page for more upcoming events and happenings!

Get your friends and family together and head down to Coors Field after work or on the weekend. Ticket’s aren’t that pricey, and it’s a blast! End of September will mark the end of the season, so hustle up: schedule is posted here. 

To have the opportunity to catch a baseball game after work easily and inexpensively is such an awesome benefit to where we live. Don’t take it for granted – take advantage of it! 

We’ll see you there, singing, dancing, and cheering! 

For prints, please contact us at denverspeax@gmail.com

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14er #4: Mt. Democrat for Clean Water

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Last Saturday, we finished another 14er. This one was especially awesome as it completed our Colorado 54 Campaign to fund clean water solutions for families in Nicaragua.

team and sign

The DenverSpeax Team on top of Mount Democrat, Aug 2nd, 2014. Photo Credit: Steve Mercer, Aug 2014

Mount Democrat (14,148′) is considered a Class 2 (Difficult Class 2, depending on route) and links to other peaks:

Unfortunately, with 2 hours of sleep because of freezing weather (that we were ill-prepared to sleep in), we only made it to Mount Democrat. Hopefully, we can crush the other three peaks before the end of Summer 2014!

K hiking up

Kirsten hiking up Democrat – Aug 2nd, 2014. Photo Credit: Steve Mercer, Aug 2014.

 

steve and k

Steve and Kirsten holding the Democrat sign at the top! Photo Credit: Jeff Doorn, Aug 2014

 

steve

Steve checking out the view from how far we had all come. Photo Credit: Jeff Doorn, Aug 2014

 

K and Jeff

Kirsten and Jeff checking out the beautiful view from the top of Mount Democrat. Photo Credit: Steve Mercer, Aug 2014

 

We had a blast, and (collectively) ended up raising over $1k+ for families in need of clean water. We’d like to thank all of our contributors from the bottom of our hearts:

Michael Moore & Shawna Jones

I GET DOWN Clothing & Apparel

Robyn Lamson

Ashley & Jason Minard

John Cooke

Jessica Finley

Phil DiTirro

Blake Forslund

Cassy Huidobro

Allie & Dan Price

Hans Smits

Jackie & Tom Lindrup

Katie Braun

Mark Lohman

Barb & George Davis

 

Please check out The Colorado 54 as well as Second Mile Water to find out ways to help & get involved.

twitter

 

 

 

What 14ers or hikes are you looking at conquering before the end of summer? Can you recommend any? There are just SO MANY great ones here in our beautiful state. Also, you may have noticed that we “skipped” 14er #3… can you guess which one it was?? Updates coming soon on more hikes and awesome local places to visit in Denver.

Come hang out with us on Facebook and Twitter!