Are you a Pedal-Pusher?

I remember the mumbles and grumbles when the first bike lane was drawn through Bed-Stuy about three years ago down Dekalb Ave, and then a year later, down Bedford Ave.

I heard things like, “Oh my god, are they serious?” and “This bike lane is so *expletive* annoying,” and “Look! They’re making room for the gentrifiers…”

As a motorist and only occasional pedal-pusher myself, I admit, bike lanes were annoying at first. But like with any new mandate, law or provision, eventually, I got used to it, got over it and now take full advantage of the bike lanes when I need to get around on two wheels.

The Bloomberg administration has worked hard over the past five years to turn bicycling into a mainstream mode of transportation in New York City, creating more than 200 miles of bicycle lanes down major thoroughfares.

Cycling saves money otherwise spent on gas, helps the environment and improves a person’s health. In fact, there are countless more benefits to cycling, which I will not go into, because at this point, we all know how amazing cycling is.

“New York City is the bicycling capital of the United States,” boasts the city’s transportation commissioner, Janette Sadik-Khan. But some critics — most of them, cycling advocates — are now arguing that bicycling is not nearly as popular in New York as the Transportation Department has claimed.

In fact, cycling advocates fear that by inflating the perceived progress, the city will stop short in those areas where more needs to be done in the way of protecting cyclists.

Yes, the popularity of cycling has quickened in the last ten years. But as a metropolis, New York City still has a long way to go — especially when you compare it to other busy cities like Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Berlin or Hong Kong.

In Gotham City, there is still a large contingency of motorist, pedestrians and straphangers that do not cycle and, quite frankly, have no intention of becoming a cyclist, despite its overwhelming benefits.

Why is this?

So, are you a cyclist? And if not, why not? Take our poll, and tell us in the comments.