Tyler Valtin is on a roll. The thirtysomething middle-school math teacher estimates that he has traveled 1,600 miles (the distance from Aspen to Atlanta) via WE-cycle since the nonprofit bikeshare service launched locally in 2013. WE-cycle’s free-under-30-minute rides get Valtin around, helping him do his part to reduce traffic congestion, improve air quality, stay active, and save time and money.

“You’re out in nature, feeling the weather, and that’s part of the adventure,” says Valtin, proudly car-free for nearly 15 years. He uses WE-cycle several times daily, to get to work or the grocery store, or to catch a Roaring Fork Transit Authority (RFTA) bus to meet friends downvalley. “It requires a little more thought process than mindlessly getting in your car, being in your little box from point A to point B,” he says. “I tell everyone I know how amazing WE-cycle is: more fun, greener, and cheaper.”

WE-cycle—the first bikeshare in North America outside of a metro area and the earliest to go fare-free (in 2018)—now spans the Midvalley (Basalt, Willits, and El Jebel, March through November), Snowmass Village (May through October, like Aspen), and Carbondale (year-round).

The network comprises 100 stations with 580 bikes, 56 percent of them blue e-bikes, which were introduced in 2020. In 2021, Carbondale’s Skyhook Solar partnered with the nonprofit to pioneer a solar-powered, e-charging pilot program, which since has been replicated at other bikeshares around the country. By January 2025, WE-cycle’s 12,000-plus unique riders had collectively pedaled 254,770 miles over 261,063 rides—that’s roughly the distance from our planet to the moon, or if you think globally, circumnavigating Earth more than 10 times.

“WE-cycle has momentum because we, the community, choose to hop on a bike,” says cofounder and Executive Director Mirte Mallory, an Aspen native and a former chair of the Pitkin County Planning and Zoning Commission. “Our goal is to connect people in the Roaring Fork Valley to and from the bus [or] to their destination—the first- and last-mile connector to regional service.”

Funding from three dozen public and private partners, such as RFTA and Aspen Skiing Company, supports this key piece of the local transportation puzzle. 
The network’s busiest route—one mile between Club Commons workforce housing and Town Park Station in Snowmass—is just far enough that walking is prohibitive. Meeting that need, WE-cycle stokes independence and equity. “Not everyone in our community has a bike,” Mallory says, “or a bike where we need them at the right times.”

Valtin does own a bike. But often he doesn’t want to deal with it. WE-cycle allows him to “be the change that I want to see in the world,” no strings attached.

“People say the traffic is so bad.... Yeah, because everybody is driving!” he reasons. “Get out of your car. You can’t be in a bad mood on a bicycle.”     

How to WE-cycle

WE-cycle is not a rental program. It’s an on-demand bikeshare, with 580 bikes distributed between 100 kiosks from Aspen to Carbondale. The first 30 minutes of every ride are free; late fees encourage short rides. 

Using a smartphone, create an account at we-cycle.org (WE-cycle can also be accessed in the Transit interactive public transportation app; keycards are available too). Select a station on the map to see, at a glance, how many pedal bikes and e-bikes are available. Once at the dock, enter a five-digit unlock code (or insert your keycard), wait for the green light, lift the seat to remove the bike, and off you go. At your destination station, push the bike into an empty dock. A green light stops the clock and you’re free to leave!