This week the highlighted site for linking the week is Indie Arsenal.  Indie Arsenal is a local group here in Denver with two different chapters for creatives to join to meet like minded individuals as well as to collaborate on projects or other items in which it may be helpful to get the thoughts of others.  The Denver group meets on the second Tuesday of the month while the Boulder group is the first Monday of the month.  In addition to the meetings and other events, there are plenty of online resources to help you out as well as a forum to share resources, ideas and ask some of those troubling questions.

There has been some interesting weather the last couple of days here in Denver as well as on the eastern plains, so sharing the Rainbow Chasers website as the linking the week site is quite timely.  A series of nine videos, the Rainbow Chasers is a spoof on the whole storm chasing as three guys decide to go out and search for rainbows as the number of rainbow sightings in the past few years has been down here in Colorado.  This was a collabrative effort between Ben Jones of Image Brew, the Honest Bros. as well as the Nix Brothers.  Be sure to check out the videos to see how their quest plays out.

With the start of the summer recreation season, and the snow starting to melt quickly at the higher elevations I thought the Outdoor Recreation Infromation Center would be a good choice for the linking the week site.  The ORIC can be a useful resource around the year but most people venture out hiking or backpacking in the summer and the website has a good list of hikes in the Colorado area.

In addition to the online information, you can talk to the ORIC staff at the Denver REI flagship store near downtown and they can also give you ideas for places to visit as well.  Most people just past by the area on the way to the cashiers, but next time you are there and are looking for some ideas for your next hike be sure to stop by and see what ideas they may throw your way.  The service is free but they may suggest you get a map for that area if you don’t have one, but that is something you should have with you anyways when getting on the trails no matter the length of the hike.

It is during this week each year I remind myself why it is important to wear a bike helmet.  I wanted to share this post with you again for this week which was also the LTW post last year.

Warmer weather is starting to appear, and how many times have you jumped on a bicycle without a helmet, whether it was for a short ride in traffic across town or many miles down a bike path. There are various reasons why you would not wear one; from it just being something else to carry when you get to your destination, it messes up your hair, you look dorky with it on and the countless other reasons. Well 22 years ago tomorrow, I didn’t have a bicycle helmet on while riding home from soccer practice and it impacted my life. I won’t go into the specifics about what happened and the injuries suffered but needless to say it has changed the thought process of using bicycle helmets for many people I know when I tell the story.

Here are some facts from the Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute regarding injuries for bicyclists:

• There are 85 million bicycle riders in the US.
• About 540,000 bicyclists visit emergency rooms with injuries every year. Of those, about 67,000 have head injuries, and 27,000 have injuries serious enough to be hospitalized.
• A very high percentage of cyclists’ brain injuries can be prevented by a helmet, estimated at anywhere from 45 to 88 per cent.
• 770 bicyclists died on US roads in 2006, down just 14 from the year before. Over 90 percent died in crashes with motor vehicles.

Now I don’t want to scare you with the statistics as a bicycle is a great way to get around but throwing a helmet on your head is another thing you should do when out riding. Helmets vary in price, but some can be purchased for around $20.

If you don’t have a helmet, I encourage you to check out the Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute website to find out more information. At the website you will find information on how to buy a helmet, how to fit a helmet, the locations where the use of a helmet is mandatory and until what age (you may be surprised at some of the restrictions) and much more.

When you are riding a bicycle always make sure a helmet is on your head, as you never know what can happen.

As the weather has been getting nicer I have been taking the opportunity to ride by bicycle up to the Denver Photography Gallery – gallery nrc instead of driving.  While it is around seven miles and on a mix of bicycle paths and city streets it reminds me of an article I saw in the newspaper earlier this year discussing the US Bicycle Route System which is this weeks linking the week site.

While riding seven miles is different than throughout the country, it is somewhat similiar.  Here in Denver there are plenty of bike routes which are published, and while I am heading to the gallery see the signs indicating I am on D-6 or D-1 heading the gallery.  On a smaller scale this is exactly what the US Bicycle Route System is planning on doing throughout the country.  Marking bicycle routes is a smart move for education to both bicyclists as well as drivers so they are both aware of predetermined routes which exist and improve safety.

You may recall a year ago I mentioned the Brain Tumor Walk in San Francisco, and this year I will once again mention the event as the Linking the Week site.  On Saturday May 2nd the event will take place at Golden Gate Park this year.  I bring up this event as I know more people than I should who have been impacted from brain tumors.  From college friends, spouses of friends and neighbors the number of people is greater than zero.

For the San Francisco walk, my friend Venu who was diagnosed with a brain tumor over eight years ago, will be walking and is also featured on the main picture on the right hand side.  You can support his efforts to raise money for brain tumor research at his fundraising page.

You may also find more information about the National Brain Tumor Foundation and the work they do and how you can support their efforts by visiting their website.

The linking the week site for this week consists of a couple of distractions for your work week.  The first site donates 10 grains of rice for every correct answer you get through the United Nations World Food Program.  After sharing this site with a friend over the weekend I was informed it made his head hurt and was a reminder of the vocabulary section of the SAT.  The second site may not hurt your head but it will help you remember those Chicago Bears quarterbacks since they won the Super Bowl and have you shaking your head with some of those names.  In addition Sporcle will test you on pretty much anything from fast food restaurants to common chat acronyms.

Hopefully these sites will give you a little break, but of course you don’t want to spend too much time on the sites.

The linking the site week for this week is something which is more personal to me as it is gallery nrc.  The website of gallery nrc is complete, the images are on the wall and now it is just time to wait for the Grand Opening on Friday April 3rd in the Tennyson Arts District. OK, there is still much to do between now and Friday but I am looking forward to the opening this week.  If you are in the Denver area, stop on by to the gallery this Friday from 6-10PM which is located at 4424 Tennyson Street.

Normally I just provide a link to the linking the week site, but this week images are also included of the gallery location…

The inside…

More from inside…

Some images from the show…

For those of you on Facebook, you can also become a fan of gallery nrc.

Running from February 21 through the 27th, Denver Restaurant Week is the linking the week site for this week.  During the week over 200 restaurants will offer a multi-course meal for $52.80 (plus tax and tip) or $26.40 for one.  Additionally some restaurants have extended this offer for an additional week, giving you the chance to check out some of the great establishments in the Denver metro.  Check out the website for all of the details and remember to act quickly on this deal, as the mile high price will quickly be gone.  Have you taken advantage of this offer yet, let us know where you have been and how it has worked for you.

In the past I have done photography for the local Denver franchise of College Hunks Hauling Junk.  Earlier this month the Denver franchise CHHJ announced a new blog which is the linking the week site for this week.  In talking to Nathaniel the owner of the local franchise, he informed me that a large amount of the items they remove are either recycled or donated to local non-profit organizations thus reducing the amount of materials making it to the landfills.  The management of waste in the upcoming years will become a huge part of our lives as more and more items are disposed due to quickly changing technology.  Check out the College Hunks Hauling Junk blog, where you can even see their new mascot and learn more about what they offer.