It has been a fantastic morning at Interbike, the largest bicycle trade event in North America!

Governor Hickenlooper was the Keynote Speaker at the Industry Breakfast, the first governor ever to speak at the bicycle industry trade show.

During the breakfast, he revealed that the state of Colorado will commit more than $100 million to bicycling over four years, saying, “Our goal is to make Colorado the best state for biking in the country which will help fuel our robust economic growth and tourism industry, move us toward a cleaner environment and advance our goal of being the healthiest state in the nation.”

The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) Commission officially confirmed this morning that $2.5 million each year will be prioritized for Safe Routes to School. Bicycle Colorado and many other Safe Routes to School partners have helped keep this program alive—benefiting students across the state since 2006.

We are working with Colorado’s bike czar, groups like Great Outdoors Colorado, the Colorado Department of Transportation, the Office of Economic Development and other state agencies to ensure that this money accomplishes the shared goals of bicycle and health advocates and state agencies.

“Bicycle Colorado is excited that more children, families and new cyclists will ride thanks to the improvements this funding will provide,” says Dan Grunig. “Improved health and a stronger economy are other perks to come from this investment in better bicycling.”

In addition to the funding for Safe Routes, this commitment will allow more Colorado residents to access bicycling and will add bike lanes and improve driver education to increase safety for those who bike.

“We want to encourage riders of all shapes, sizes and abilities and make biking as safe and accessible as possible statewide,” says Bike czar Ken Gart, “With more than 5,000 miles of biking trails throughout the state, and events like Pedal The Plains and the USA Pro Challenge, Colorado is poised to take this lead.”

We are ecstatic to share this news with you. We’ll be sharing many more details as the plan rolls out.