I bought a used mountain bike on Craigslist three weeks ago and I've quickly become addicted to riding around my city—to work, church, the farmers' market and grocery store. As this article points out, there are plenty of dangers involved, but the exhilaration and delight far outweigh the close calls with car doors. Not to mention that my commute by bike/ferry is slightly shorter—and cheaper—than my commute by bus/ferry/subway.

re: recreation, technology and change, transport, travel

Christy:

In a metropolis known for its aggressive traffic, noise and fumes, cyclists crisscross New York City on two wheels while dodging cars, trucks, cabs, pedestrians—and even other bikers tearing around with no hands on the bar.

Despite the dangers, biking is New York City’s “fastest growing mode of transportation,” says City Transportation Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan, who herself bikes to work in lower Manhattan, about a mile from her Greenwich Village home.

The number of cyclists has jumped by 80 percent in the past decade—to 185,000 among the more than 8 million city denizens. City officials say they’ve worked to make the city more biker friendly. They note the hundreds of miles of marked bike paths created in recent years, safety awareness campaigns and handouts of free helmets to unprotected cyclists.