For the fifth time since 2013, Fort Collins has been ranked by the League of American Bicyclists as a platinum level city for cycling, making the city one of only three communities in the entire country that achieved the highest rank for 2026.

For many bikers in Fort Collins, this ranking may come as no surprise, as the city’s dedicated cycling community and bike-friendly infrastructure have created a welcoming and accessible environment for the activity to flourish. 

“I’ve been in a lot of communities from Colorado Springs, Laramie, Alaska,” said Noble DJ, a member of the CSU triathlon team. “I think Fort Collins has been one of the most open and community-focused.”

Nate Parks, service writer at Recycled Cycles, found his start at the business thanks to a connection he had made at a Bandit Cyclocross race years ago in Denver. Since moving to Fort Collins in 2015 to work on undergrad, he has joined the Fort Collins bike scene.

“Working at the front service desk, that’s when I kind of started to realize just how much we do,” Parks said. 

Recycled Cycles provides mechanic services and sells a wide variety of bikes that can prove useful for experienced riders, beginners moving to Fort Collins or anyone who might be intimidated by the biking scene.

“Getting into bikes for a lot of people that are not into bikes can seem very daunting, or like, there’s this very cliquey feeling about it,” Parks said.

Parks’ approach seeks to take this feeling and foster something more beginner-friendly. He described Recycled Cycles as a place where community members can get their bikes repaired at a low cost and without judgement, opening the gateway to the sport at large.

“Just go find something, ride the hell out of it,” Park said. “If you love it, keep it going.” 

Parks is one of many Fort Collins residents whose livelihood, passion and focus lie in the cycling industry. Justin Mohar, the shop manager at the Fort Collins Bike Co-op, described a similar need in the city for accessibility to mechanics, parts and community.

“Our goal is to just be here for people who need it — who need a bike or need to work on their bikes,” Mohar said. 

The Bike Co-op offers free mechanic education to volunteers and supports the Earn a Bike program, in which dedicated volunteers can earn a bike in exchange for volunteer hours. Mohar said these barrier-reducing programs aim to support citywide access and often create twofold impact in the community. 

“Even if we can just, like, teach someone how to fix a flat tire then, you know, next time they get a flat, hopefully they can deal with it on their own,” Mohar said. “And I feel like that does really feel empowering.”

Parks and Mohar oversee the city’s flat tires, squeaky chains, bent spokes and grabby brakes, while others work to ensure that cyclists can put their bikes to use. One such person is Tim Wooten, the community relations and program coordinator for Bike Fort Collins, a nonprofit that collaborates with local government to support cycling.

Wooten said he primarily focuses on two specific goals in Fort Collins: acting as an interpreter for the community to the government, and ensuring that young riders are equipped to succeed as cyclists.

“It’s hard for community to talk to the actual, like, government … unless you’re going to the Tuesday meetings at City Hall,” Wooten said. “Since we are a nonprofit and we are outfacing into the community, we can receive all that information and share that with the city.”

Wooten and the Bike Fort Collins team work as part of the Safe Routes to School program, which visits roughly 5,000-6,000 students annually to promote cycling education. K-12 children enrolled in Fort Collins schools learn from Wooten the importance of bike safety and gaining the confidence to ride to school.

“We’re hoping that these kids will have a lifelong passion and love of riding their bikes and take that into adulthood with them,” Wooten said.

Currently, Bike Fort Collins is gearing up for another year of MyCycle, a program which, over the course of three days, assembles and distributes bicycles to over 300 second grade students at Title I schools.

In the wake of a successful Bike to Work Day in June and the continued success of programs like MyCycle, the Fort Collins cycling community has proven its dedication.

“Another thing I love about Fort Collins is our community,” Wooten said. “They stepped up. We were able to find all the bikes that we needed. We were able to get all the volunteers that we needed. You can’t ask for a better community.”

Reach Ella Dorpinghaus at life@collegian.com or on social media @RMCollegian.