City of Bicycle Love

By DAVID CHANG
Updated 6:11 AM EST, Tue, Oct 6, 2009

TWITTER FACEBOOK

Getty Images

Sick of the long hours stuck in traffic? Hate the crowded subways and buses? Then try another form of transportation -- bike riding.

And don’t worry about your ego -- it’s the cool thing to do in Philly right now.

Philadelphia has the highest number of bike riding commuters -- 1.6 percent -- among America’s ten largest cities, according to the 2008 American Community Survey. We also have the tenth-largest percentage of peddlers amongst U.S. cities overall and the second largest concentration on the East Coast.

The number of people who rode a bicycle to work rose from 4,778 to 9,410 between 2005 and 2008, according to the 2009 Community Survey.

Another report from the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia showed that the amount of bike riders over the Schuylkill River bridges rose from an average of 60 bikes per hour to 120 between 2005 and 2008.

So dust off your old ten-speeder and break in those new cross-town bike lanes.

And don’t use that excuse that it’s been too long. Everyone knows that once you learn how to ride a bike, you never forget.

First Published: Oct 5, 2009 6:53 PM EST

TWITTER FACEBOOK

  • 68% thrilled 21
  • 16% furious 5
  • 10% intrigued 3
  • 3% laughing 1
  • 3% bored 1
  • 0% sad 0
processing
          No comments have been posted yet.

          You have 2000 characters left

          processing
          So My City

          You are posting in (change)

          550/550 characters

          (jpg, pngs, or gifs allowed)

          (jpg, pngs, or gifs allowed)
          *Tip: You can also post moments via email or Twitter.

          processing

          View Your Moment in

          Posted by | 1 second ago

          Don't Miss

          local_beat

          Nov 20, 2009

          Washington Crossing Park Closed, Reenactment Saved

          Washington Crossing Park closes today due to lack of funds, but the beloved reenactment is saved.

          Read It

          local_beat

          Nov 20, 2009

          Scraping Bottom: Shore Shallow From Storms

          Boaters say they're scraping bottom after last week's storms caused sand build-up.

          Read It

          breaking

          Nov 19, 2009

          Cop Killer Convicted of 1st-Degree Murder

          John Lewis could be put to death for killing Philly Police Officer Chuck Cassidy.

          Read It
          Loading...
          Birthdate:
          You must be at least 13 to sign up.
          Gender:
          invalid

          By clicking the button below, I accept the terms of use and privacy policy

          Already Signed Up? Login Below.

          processing
          Here's what we're posting:

          *Only used for verification. We do not store your password.
          processing