For 50 years, Transportation Alternatives has advocated for bike infrastructure in New York City. For many years, it was a tough slog, but slow and steady progress was made. In the early 2000s, Mayor Bloomberg moved things forward. And two things happened in 2013 that moved things forward. One, the Citi Bike bike sharing system was introduced, quickly putting a lot of new bicyclists onto the roads. Two, bike-friendly Bill Deblasio was elected mayor.
As someone who grew up cycling through the bad streets of Manhattan in the 90s, New York City is a much different place now, and much better for cyclists, thanks to the efforts of Transportation Alternatives and other groups. Here’s a video of our ride celebrating their 50th anniversary – we opted for the 35 miler instead of the 50 miler.