Continuing a series of guest posts, Chris Ward shares his experience of cycling in Denver, from his perspective as a club cyclist and everyday bicycle commuter. What lessons can Belfast and Northern Ireland learn from one of the most bicycle-friendly cities in the United States?
![By Matt Wright (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-2.5 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5)], via Wikimedia Commons](http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3A2006-07-14-Denver_Skyline_Midnight.jpg "By Matt Wright (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-2.5 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5)], via Wikimedia Commons")
As a city that sees over 300 days of sunshine every year (58 in Belfast) and less than 17 inches of rain (34 in Belfast) Denver, Colorado is particularly suited as a bicycling city. Due to its location at the foot of the Rocky Mountains and the all-year-round clement weather, Colorado is inundated with cyclists (both pro and amateur) wanting to test themselves on the infamous climbs. With Colorado already situated at over a mile high in altitude, this adds an extra dynamic to the challenge.