In conjunction with Colorado Day 2014, Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper will join Aspen Mayor Steve Skadron on Friday for a WE-cycle bike ride in Aspen, as the two promote bike sharing across the state.

All Colorado bike-share systems — Aspen WE-cycle, Denver B-cycle and Boulder B-cycle — are free Friday as long as riders keep their trips under 30 minutes. Hickenlooper, who is participating Saturday in a Democratic Governors Association discussion at Greenwald Pavilion, said in a statement: "As one of the nation's most bike-friendly states, and in support of our effort to be the healthiest, Colorado is proud to be the first state to offer a free bike-sharing day to all residents."

In its second year in Aspen, WE-cycle has exceeded the amount of total rides from 2013 in half the time, according to founder Mirte Mallory, who said the 100-bike, 14-station system is nearing 11,000 total rides.

Mallory said this year Aspen has avoided an estimated 16,000 pounds of carbon emissions, burned 1 million calories and pedaled 24,000 miles. Like last year, she said season-pass holders have completed more than half the rides, which shows that the program is being used for its primary purpose of transit rather than recreational use.

Mallory said Hickenlooper is showing a true commitment to bike-friendliness and making Colorado into a bike-tourist destination.

"I think there's also a true unifier between all of our communities as being this progressive — Denver, Boulder and Aspen — (state) committed to multimodal transportation, committed to reducing our carbon emissions and committed to healthier, more livable communities," Mallory said.

While Hickenlooper tabbed Aug. 1 as Colorado Bike Share Day, the Aspen City Council on Monday declared the same date as WE-cycle Day.

AAA Colorado, Bicycle Colorado, PeopleForBikes and Anthem Branding are all partners in the state promotion.

As part of the McCloskey Speaker Series, Hickenlooper will appear Saturday with Gov. Mark Dayton, of Minnesota; Gov. Maggie Hassan, of New Hampshire; Gov. Jay Nixon, of Missouri; Gov. Peter Shumlin, of Vermont; and Gov. Martin O'Malley, of Maryland.

herk@aspentimes.com