Bicycling in Denver: A look at more than a century of bike craziness

These days, Denver seems to be pumping those pedals like never before, thanks to initiatives like the city's new B-cycle bike-sharing program. But it turns out the city has always been bike crazy, with more bikes per capita than any other city in the country around the turn of the 20th century -- and for a while had more bikes than people.

That's according to the colorful documentary Victorian Cycles: Wheels of Change, produced by local filmmaker Jim Kellett, a clip from which can be seen below.

Filled with old-timey music, period photos and black-and-white reenactments, the film gives the Ken Burns treatment to the concept of long-dead Denverites on bikes. Were all those spokes and gears some sort of tipping point for the still nascent town? We're not sure, but we are jonesing for one of those splendid-looking high wheelers. Is B-cycle going to get some of those nifty doohickeys?

Early Bicycle History in Denver from Jim Kellett on Vimeo.