Bike Tours of Golden with Josh! #

I nerd out hard about urban mobility infrastructure, and the built urban form. I can see it most clearly from a bike, and it’s easiest to explain from a bike as well.

So, I’m conducting “academic infrastructure-related bike tours of Golden”.

It mostly likes like “riding around Golden with friends”.

I’ve been doing bike tours of Golden with friends. These are not “normal” bike tours, however you define them.

• We don’t need mountain bikes
• we’ll probably drink a beer or coffee at some point
• You’ll hear about some obscure books
• I’ll point out a lot of stuff that is beautiful and interesting

I do the “tours” because I enjoy biking around Golden, and this page is to help me have an excuse to do more of them.

I like to highlight some aspects of Golden that most people miss. It brings me great joy, and I like to share that joy with others.

Here’s a heatmap of my biking around Golden. Feel free to visit the page, and zoom in/out the map.

This mass of lines marks the places I’ve ridden my two feet, my bike, or my 125 cc scooter around, and if we go on a bike ride, we’ll ride some of these places.

Click here (or tap the upcoming picture) to visit the app. It’s a free heroku application, so it takes a few seconds to start up. Come back and keep reading when done.

Here’s some recent trips if tracked in Strava:¹

What participants have said: #

Wow. I would never have noticed all of this.

Also would great fun to do another bike tour. You should start charging for your tours.

I’m ruined, Josh. After wandering around Golden with you, I’ve started to see it (and other cities) with a whole new perspective, and I cannot un-see it.

Here’s a few sample rides of what the bike tour might look like:

Going forward, I’ll make sure to record the actual bike tours, and I’ll include pictures from the tour.

View this ride

View this ride

View this ride

View this ride

I’ll get actual photos from the rides added at some point. I tend to not have my phone out too much when biking around, as you might imagine.

Schedule A Private Bike Tour of Golden #

Book a tour, and I’ll give you information about the next few bike tours I’m planning!

You’ll either join an existing scheduled tour and a group (and probably meet some interesting people) or it might be just the two of us. (Want to go on a 10p bike tour of Golden when it’s 22 degrees? There’s not too many people into that kind of thing.)

Make a payment, and I’ll email you to coordinate a good time, working around our respective schedules and weather and such. (It’s 6 degrees with 6” of snow outside as I type these words. 🥶). On the flip side, sometimes the weather’s really nice, and there’s a big group about to go on a bike ride. Come join!

Book a private bike tour ($10)

The Private Tour + Drinks #

The first principle of selling anything is to give people options. I love to grab a ☕️, 🍻, or 🍷 before, during, or after a bike around Golden. But if I buy coffee for 30 people, that adds up.

Book this option, and I’ll make sure the tour includes a stop by at least one of Golden’s many coffee shops and breweries. The drinks are on me. 😉

Book a private bike tour with drinks and/or snacks!($30)

Frequently Asked Questions #

How long will the tour be? #

Depends on your preferences. At least three miles, less than ten. Budget an hour if we’re just biking, or two hours if biking + drinks. Golden has great options for drinks and food, and I’d love to show you some of them!

When will the tour be? #

This also depends on your preferences. There’s something magical about biking around Golden at night, and I’ve done it many times, so we’re not even constrained by normal daylight hours. Could be a weekend afternoon, or a week-day afternoon, or a weekday evening. Or a morning.

Do I need my own bike #

If you have one, bring it! (and a helmet, and ideally a light or two for your bike, especially if we’re riding around at night.)

I have two extra bikes, both rescues from a dumpster, and I’m getting them into good repair. I will gladly let you ride the bike I usually ride around, which is the nicest bike I’ve ever owned, but it was a $150 find on Craigslist, so if you’re a “bike person”, you won’t be impressed.

Where will we meet? #

Somewhere in Golden. We’ll finish somewhere in Golden, too. Maybe we’ll meet at my house, or we’ll meet downtown, or at the Creek.

What if I have to reschedule? #

If it snows, or it gets super cold, or your schedule changes, we can easily reschedule. I live in Golden and bike around it all the time (during the day and at night). It’s rather difficult to inconvenience me, and rescheduling a bike tour isn’t inconvenient at all.

What happens when I pay? #

I’ll send you an email, we’ll figure out a good time, a place to meet, and we’ll bike around for an hour or so. It’ll be a bike tour unlike anything you’ve ever had. 😁

I have a question you’ve not answered. How do I ask it? #

Shoot me an email (joshthompson@hey.com) or send a Twitter DM: @josh_works