In bike-loving Colorado city, ambulances equipped to take riders and their rides to hospital

In a testament to how much one Colorado city loves its bikes, cyclists who need to go to the hospital no longer have to leave their valuable rides behind.

Poudre (POO'-dur) Valley Hospital in Fort Collins, home of Colorado State University, has equipped all 14 of its ambulances with bike racks after encountering increasing numbers of cyclists who had bicycle accidents or medical emergencies while riding.

Spokeswoman Kelly Tracer said Friday that some people were reluctant to leave their bikes, which can cost more than some cars, locked up at the scene. Plus, ambulance workers were spending too much time going back to unlock the bikes once patients could retrieve them.

The Coloradoan (http://noconow.co/1yrpUyE ) reports that the hospital spent about $5,000 to install the racks, or $356 per ambulance.