COLORADO SPRINGS — Over the last 4 years, I have ridden my bicycle across the state of Colorado 4 times to support first responders. I did think - riding nearly 2,000 miles over 4 years is a lot of miles. Then last Saturday, I joined a Colorado Springs Fire Captain, on his last bicycle commute to work - marking 24 years with the fire department and 24 years of riding his bike to work. Now, I don’t think almost 2,000 miles over 4 years is anything to brag about.
Any time you see a large group of people of bicycles, something is going on.
On Saturday July 8th, Captain Doug Pape took his last bicycle commute to work for the Colorado Springs Fire Department, and nearly 50 other cyclists turned out at 6am to join him.
After arriving at work with over 40 cyclists who joined Doug on that last 12 mile ride to work he told me, “I don't think this morning could have been any more perfect. It was a splendid way for me to honor two big parts of my life. Cycling and all of my cycling friends, some that were there from long ago and who I haven't seen for a long time, and all the firefighters - some of them haven't been on a bike at in years - It was just such a cool way to honor what we do (as firefighters) and the time that I've had with my friends in the cycling world and to mix those two worlds.”
Intense dedication is something Doug has shown, in both the fire service and biking to work.
“Even some of my cycling buddies are like, ‘You rode everyday weather depending?’ And I say, ‘No, it was nearly everyday.’ There were some days I didn’t ride because I didn’t feel up to it, or I had a trade at work and had to go to other stations, but those occasions were very few.”
Doug has always had a love of cycling that goes back to his youth. He tells me, he had been on the job as a firefighter for 3 days, when he decided biking to work would be a good idea for many reasons.
“It's what I've used to deal with the chronic stress of the job. First thing in the morning it's beautiful, it's cool weather and I find it just gets you ready for the day. Then a lot of the a lot of the times (after a 24-hour shift) being able to process what you've done for 24 hours on that ride home, before I get home and then have to give out to my family, It's just good personal time for me.”
Doug has watched the cycling landscape in Colorado Springs change a lot over the last 24 years.
“The cities put a lot more infrastructure in. When I very first started off there was almost nobody else out there, I didn't see anybody on a bike. Then as time went on, the trails got better and I started seeing more and more people and now I see people all the time.”
In the peloton (a French word for a group of cyclists) on Doug’s final ride to work, was his wife Melinda. Melinda had a serious bicycle accident in 2019, and through her recovery hasn’t always been able to be on the bike with Doug as much as either of them would like.
Doug tells me, “She's been the one that supported me through being a firefighter all these years. I remember asking her, ‘Hey, is it okay if I become a firefighter?’ She said, ‘Yeah, that'd be great.’ And I said, ‘You do realize that I'm going to be gone one-third of the time. I won't come home every night.’ Last night we both kind realized as we were laying in bed that those days are now gone and I'm going to be home every night.”
Spending more time with Melinda is one of the things Doug says he is looking forward to the most, now that he’s retired. There are also some aspects of the fire service he will miss as well.
“I've been telling these guys (at Station 8) and other people I've worked with for a long time, like no offense, but I'm not going to miss you guys. What I'm going to miss the most is the calls. On July 9th, nobody is going to ask me to run a fire, or any other type of calls. That's the part of my life that I'm closing the chapter on. The ability to serve the public is the part of the job that I'm going to miss. What we do as firefighters is important, and it matters. That life of service has really taken on a greater meaning for me as I have grown older and realized more myself - what we do really matters.”
The end of 24 years of being a firefighter, and the conclusion of 4,500 rides, 37,500 miles, to 7 fire stations, on 5 different bikes, from 3 different addresses, and one backpack all coming together on that final ride.
“All the different people that have been a part of my life in different ways and that's one of the things that I've learned from the fire service. And through cycling. Is that everyone has innate value and when we go on a call and it's somebody that maybe hasn't. Made good choices in their life and we're frustrated and it's been, you know, we've been to that house multiple times before. It's just. Realizing that not only my firefighters. But also the people that we. Serve just have that innate value and and it's not a better value. We're not worth more, but that all of us are in this together, and that's what it felt. Like this morning.”
We may never be able to measure the impact Doug has had on people's lives in our community over the last 24 years as a firefighter, but perhaps what might come close to putting it into perspective are those massive miles on a bike, through all seasons, over the years. Both have certainly required commitment and dedication.
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