Women Solidarity & Biking: Venus de Miles 2015

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Riding through one of the greatest cities to ever stand – downtown Denver, Colorado. DenverSpeax, 2014.

In order to stay motivated and active, I have signed up for my first Coloradan, non-alleycat bike ride! The Venus de Miles is taking place in Boulder, Colorado, this summer on August 29th, 2015. It’s an all-female ride, created to support women and create sisterhood. Venus de Miles is actually Colorado’s first all-women’s road ride! What an amazing way to come together with other, extraordinary women in the bike community.  Continue reading

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How To… Store Bikes for Efficiency

We live in a one-bedroom apartment in Cap Hill. It’s definitely not the smallest, but really… how huge do 1 bedroom apartments get?

We have 4 bicycles and 1 frame currently, thanks to our two newest editions from State Bicycle Co’s Black Friday “Mystery Bike Sale”. Steve and I each paid $300, provided our size requirements, and had two random bikes shipped to us. Merry Christmas to US. 

Our savior has been this bad boy:

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Racor Pro PLB-2R Two-Bike Gravity Freestanding Bike Stand ($49.95 US + shipping). Check it out on Amazon.com by clicking on the photo. Photo Credit: Amazon.com, 2014

Keep in mind that it’s rated for 2 bicycles, however we have stacked 4 on it and all is well. We have the heaviest bikes on the bottom, the blue bike (“Devil in a Blue Dress”) weighing in at just under 30 pounds. Total weight on the rack right now, 4 bikes total, is about 100 lbs; maybe slightly over.

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Space is key in a one-bedroom. This rack makes that possible with 4 bikes! Photo Credit: Steve Mercer, 2014.

There are tons of racks that can actually mount flesh against the wall, however these are usually single bike mounts and typically cost more than the Racor Pro pictured above. Cool thing about the single, hand-crafted bike mounts is that they’re definitely more stylish, and can be made from recycled materials. We like how some of them have little mini shelving units for your gear, again catering to people who need that efficiency factor.

We found this cool item on Etsy, made by a Colorado company:

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Handcrafted Wall Mounted Bike Rack, made form recycled materials by RackandCycle ($119 US + shipping). Check them out on Etsy by clicking the pic. Photo Credit: RackandCycle, 2014.

We usually hang our helmets and gear on the handles of the bike, or store in our bike bags in the closet or beneath the bikes.

Outside can get pretty sketchy for us downtown, so we prefer the indoors where our bicycles can be kept safe and sound. How do you usually store your bikes? Any companies you love grabbing gear from? Share your awesomeness with us.

If you’re into bikes, check out our site for more bike events, gear, and activities.

Babes in Bikeland 8 – Denver She Devils Take Minneapolis

Saturday, September 13th, marked the day of the 8th annual Babes in Bikeland event, bringing over 400 women / transgender / femme bike riders together to roam the streets of Minneapolis.

Take care to note that this was a 20+ mile bike race, the distance depending on the efficiency of your mapped route. With both a manifest of destinations and a time limit provided, how you finished (or mapped your route) was up to you! This is no small feat for even those familiar with the territory of St. Paul and Minneapolis, Minnesota. So, you may ask, what made so many individuals want to participate in this annual race? What makes this race so special?

The answer to that definitely presented itself before the day of the race. Continue reading

All About BIKES! Month on DenverSpeax

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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.

 

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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: 

 

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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).

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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.

ARTCRANK Denver 2014: Making art accessible

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.

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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!

 

 

What’s good in Denver? Follow us on Twitter.

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

 

DenverSpeax – A Reminder

 

 

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The power of reminder can be very interesting and thought-provoking, to the point of near meditation:

A song comes on the radio, and you’re instantly placed into a time previous of extreme joy, or maybe content, or possibly sadness.

You head west out of Denver to visit the Rockies, and you’re reminded of your first trip to Loveland Pass, or your first drive through the Eisenhower Tunnel.

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View from Arapahoe Basin – Click on the photo to see more beautiful pictures in this area.

These places serve as reminder for us as to why we moved here, and why we started DenverSpeax. It’s important to reflect, and have our reflection over the past (almost) year rejuvenate our spirits and provoke motivation. I thought it would be good to pass this along to you all who have supported us.
The Story:
When we moved here, we had a few friends from back home, but they were fairly new as well. It was difficult to find places to go or see because we didn’t know what we were looking for, per se – try using Yelp to find a restaurant when you’re in the mood for a certain atmosphere, or when you’re trying to make friends – is there a filter for those? Although we believe Yelp is a great application and very helpful, sometimes a star-rating just doesn’t cut it. Sure, there’s another great site called TripAdvisor – we use it when we are traveling…but we weren’t traveling any longer. We weren’t looking for advertised Bed & Breakfasts and their ratings – we were looking to call a place home.

 

The best way to learn and begin to understand a community is by fully emerging yourself. This is what we’ve learned in our various travels domestically and internationally, as well as with this move to Denver. Out of boredom, and lack of known resources within the Denver community & beyond, DenverSpeax was born.

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City Park hosts City Park Jazz for many Sundays each summer. Click on the picture to read more!

We roam around Denver and the surrounding areas looking for what’s good in the community. The good comes in all shapes, sizes, and experiences. We support small, local businesses when we eat out, and prefer to stay local with our purchases as well. Luckily, there are so many festivals, parks, food and beverage, volunteering, and natural beauty here that we’ll never run out of things to write about.

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Walking around on the 16th Street mall can be a ton of fun. Click on the picture to check out more!

DenverSpeax exists to promote positivity within the community, helping out natives and transplants alike with what to do, where to go, and how to experience all of the good that’s so aplenty here. Know someone who’s moving to Denver? Show ’em our website. Ran out of things to do and experience? Look through the site! Planning a trip to Denver and want the real feel of our diverse community? Well, we have a website for that!

Thank you for your endless support. We are devoted to continue to bring you the low down on what’s good in Denver. A few things we’re looking at tackling next:

  • Volunteering – how can we give back to the community we love so much? There are so many ways – we just need to DO IT.
  • Collaboration with other Colorado start-ups that need support with getting noticed in the community.
  • Visiting Bed & Breakfasts local to Denver so that we can provide our visitors with features on great places to stay.

How you can help: Come with us! Or, let us know…

What other features would you like to see on the website?

What is local and positive that you just can’t live without?

For more on what’s good in Denver, follow us in real-time on Facebook, Instagram (@denverspeax), or Twitter (@denverspeax).

 

 

 

 

Gociety – Get Outside with Awesome People

 

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Gociety hooks you up with people of same outdoor interests – what a great platform to motivate more Coloradans to get outside and mingle with like-minded, awesome people! Check out Gociety on Facebook by clicking on their logo above – Photo Credit: Gociety Facebook Page, April 2014

Gociety is a site we’ve been watching for a while, and for good reason; their concept is fresh and new, and provides a GREAT service to the Colorado community. With Gociety, you can meet people from all over Colorado getting outside and doing what they love!

For example, we are avid bikers and appreciate meeting new people to bike all over Denver with – Gociety is a platform that will help us out with this.

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Road biking lets us exercise and see new parts of town; on Gociety, I can meet new people that love to do the same. Click on the picture above to check out the Gociety Facebook Page. Photo Credit: DenverSpeax Archive, 2013

Creating a Gociety profile is super easy – we just made one! By visiting Gociety, you can join via Facebook profile, OR email. Fill out  info about how you get down in the great outdoors of Colorado, and BOOM! – you have a Discovery Feed outlining multiple outdoor activities in areas all over Colorado. From Cat Skiing to to Fly Fishing to multiple runs and triathlons, there is a TON to do – and what better way to find it than one, organized Discovery Feed via your personal Gociety profile. Search options on the right-hand side make it easy to limit the feed to your interests only.

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Get outside and hike Mount Evans! Photo Credit: DenverSpeax Archive, 2013

 

With an easy-to-use platform, it’s no wonder more and more Coloradans are catching on to Gociety‘s awesome idea. We can’t wait to sign up for a few events (aka, Gocieties) and meet new, awesome people that love getting outside. We’ll be sure to give you an update as well as an inside look of our experience. Stay tuned!

For the meantime, go check Gociety out on the web or on Facebook and see what they’re all about for yourself.

OneSpark 2014 – CitySpeax Project Promo Video

Thanks to all of our friends and family that have made this trip to OneSpark in Jacksonville tomorrow possible. Watch our brand expansion project’s video – CitySpeax – your city, your love.

Also, please please PLEASE vote for our project to get NOTICED and FUNDED here. “Bookmark” it, and help us rise through the ranks of popularity. Thanks again for your support!

Quick Colfax Pub Crawl: Three Lions, Sancho’s Broken Arrow, and Cheeky Monk

With the nice weather coming, we feel it’s important to create fun and safe Bicycle Pub Crawls. Yesterday, Jeff and I (Kirsten) set out to visit a few pubs on Colfax, and ended up riding 7 miles round trip while visiting. Check out the highlights of our three stops!

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Jeff representing Detroit underneath the Detroit street sign; first stop was Three Lions on Colfax. Credit: Kirsten Ebey, Mar 2014

Stop #1: The Three Lions: A World Football Pub

We’ve been hooked on this Football (or, soccer) pub since last summer when we experienced a bus trip from the place to see The Colorado Rapids.

Three Lions is all things Football, have a variety of great beers, and some killer appetizers. Bonus, their patio out front sports a few fantastic picnic tables so you can enjoy the sun and your brew simultaneously!

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Stop #2: Sancho’s Broken Arrow on Colfax. Pictured: Jeff & Kirsten (above). Credit: Kirsten Ebey, Mar 2014

Stop #2: Sancho’s Broken Arrow – A Thinking Place

Sancho’s is another place we really enjoy – who can’t with all of the Grateful Dead parafanalia, pool tables, and ridiculous specials. 2 for $3 Coors Light drafts yesterday? Don’t mind if we do! We also made a friend from Wisconsin who had stopped in before going to finish up some errands. There are always friendly people at Sancho’s with interesting stories to tell. Stop in and say hi.

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Jeff introduced me to Kwak at The Cheeky Monk! Pictured: Jeff, Credit: Kirsten Ebey, Mar 2014

Stop #3: The Cheeky Monk Belgian Beer Cafe

Yesterday was my first time at the Cheeky Monk. Jeff introduced me to a Belgian Strong Pale Ale, Pauwel Kwak. A heavily fruity beer, there was a brief banana after-taste – something new! Try it out – it gets great ratings, and is served all fancy-like. In addition to the Kwak, we also had some tasty frites (fries) served with a garlic aioli as well as delicious pretzel bites served with a spicy mustard. Specific appetizers were half off while we visited – check out the Cheeky Monk online to see when they host happy hour and other specials.

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Delicious garlic frites with a garlic aioli on the side. Credit: Kirsten Ebey, Mar 2014

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Pretzel bites – delicious! Credit: Kirsten Ebey, Mar 2014

There you have it – a mini pub crawl on Colfax Ave with 3 great locations. We look forward to planning more of these epic excursions to explore more brews and good eats around the city.

Where should we go next? Let us know in the comments below, or on our Facebook page!