The organizers of the E-Rock cycling festival have always made
cycling safety one of its top priorities.
This year, however, it added help celebrating safety from the
state capital.
The Subaru Elephant Rock Cycling Festival welcomed several key
legislative players of the 3-Feet to Pass bicycle safety law to its
festivities June 7 at the Douglas County Fairgrounds in Castle
Rock, including state Sen. Greg Brophy (R - Elbert), who sponsored
the bill, state Rep. Michael Merrifield (D - El Paso) and Gov. Bill
Ritter himself.
The 3-Feet to Pass law, SB 148 signed by Ritter on May 11,
requires motorists to give bicyclists at least three feet of space
when vehicles try to pass them. To help give cyclists the required
three feet, motorists are allowed to cross a double-yellow line to
pass safely. The law also states cyclists are allowed to ride two
abreast if no traffic is present. Riders should move to single
file, so they do not block traffic.
In addition, bicyclists have the choice of riding to the far
right or far left on a one-way street; however, they are still
required to ride in the same direction as traffic. Bicycle Colorado
encourages riders to stay as far right as is safe, but it doesn’t
mean cyclists have to ride in the gutter. The organization suggests
riding in the right half of the lane often is the safest and most
visible spot. The law goes into effect Aug. 5.
This being the fourth piece of bicycle safety legislature to
move through the legislature, Andrew Shoemaker, president of
Bicycle Colorado, said the state was recently ranked No. 1 in terms
of creating legislation for bicycle safety by the League of
American Bicyclists.
Ritter, who rode in E-Rock’s 62-mile course this year, said
bicycle safety legislature becomes a necessity as the sport
continues to grow in Colorado.
“As we do that, we have a responsibility to cyclists to make
sure motorists share the road,” Ritter said.
As a cyclist himself, Ritter said he’s seen a couple of
instances when motorists did not observe safe distances from a
cyclist. Even the governor remembered one occasion he
experienced.
“I’ve been brushed before. Well, not brushed, but an instance
where [a motorist] came way too close,” Ritter said. “It wasn’t
even a situation where it was necessary. The motorist was just
being careless and thoughtless. … We have to do what we can to
protect cyclists.”
Ritter said the May 11 signing of SB 148 in Manitou Springs was
the most colorful signing he’d seen since most of the participants
wore cycling jerseys.
Brophy explained that the new law simply gives cyclists the
right to do what in most cases would be instinctive for their own
safety but may have been deemed illegal in the past.
“We hope that you never have to use this law as a cyclist,”
Brophy said. “The Bike Safety Law gives cyclists the right to exist
out there with cars.”
One reason for the increase of cycling in Colorado has been due
to people finding an alternative to driving and mass
transportation, Ritter said.
Ritter, Brophy, Merrifield and on-hand cyclists at the Elephant
Rock festivities east of the Douglas County Events Center signed a
grass-roots banner with the 3-Feet to Pass logo from Bicycle
Colorado.
More than 7,000 riders rode 200 miles on seven courses at this
year’s annual E-Rock events. Ritter said not only are events like
Elephant Rock important to Colorado’s tourism and the area’s
economy, but they encompass the Colorado experience.
“It maximizes what’s special about Colorado, what makes Colorado
great,” the governor said.
Among the state leaders on hand, another visitor to the E-Rock
festivities made this year’s event special in the form of a
25-year-old African elephant on loan from the Colorado Renaissance
Festival. Visitors of the festival were given the opportunity to
feed the animal and take pictures. Renaissance festival staff was
on hand to help promote the upcoming season.
e-rock
“As we do that, we have a responsibility to cyclists to make
sure motorists share the road.”
Governor Bill Ritter
