The fact that many people in Portland, Oregon ride bikes is no surprise. And while many of those bikers are typically more serious bike enthusiast, the city is seeing an unexpected shift that has more and more "regular Joes and Janes" biking as well.
"Embracing cycling in one of the nation's most bike-friendly cities may seem like a cliche. But this year, the city appears to have become so friendly that average Joes and Janes are saddling up in record numbers to ride side-by-side with the spandex crowd."
"Moreover, many Portlanders now buy bikes to commute, run errands and even move entire households pulling attached trailers full of belongings to new homes. They don't want a bike to race in the Tour de France. They'd rather have Portland's hot seller: an easy-to-use, all-in-one hybrid for commuting, recreation and exercise."
"Consider: Volunteers last year counted more than 12,000 daily bicycle trips across downtown's four bike-friendly bridges -- Hawthorne, Broadway, Steel and Burnside. That's a bell-ringing 8 percent more than 2005. Bicycles now account for one out of every 10 vehicles crossing those bridges."
FULL STORY: Bikes: We like fun, but we really like functional
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