More than 1,300 participate in Bike to Work Day

By Meredith Cohn, The Baltimore Sun

It was sunny and warm Friday morning, a perfect day to ride to work. And that's what some 1,320 people did on the 13th annual Bike to Work Day, a national event that encourages everyone to share the road.

Regional participation has been growing, with just over 1,000 registered last year and 800 the year before.

And some of the veterans who met at City Hall in the morning for a rally said that they've noticed that change is creeping through Baltimore. More people seem to be ditching four wheels for two, drivers are a bit less hostile and there are more bike lanes used by more people.

"I appreciate the city making an effort," said Keith Shuey, who lives near Arbutus and rides downtown to his job at the Baltimore Visitor Center every workday. "We're still way behind other cities in terms of awareness and consideration. But you just have to go for it."

Shuey said he's faced harassment from drivers, though he says he always follows the rules of the road. Two years ago he said he was even shot in the elbow, as he pointed to the scar. But "I won't let it stop me," he said.
...
Nan Tuckett said she was encouraged to start biking six years ago when she met her future husband, William Marker, who bikes from Pigtown to his job at the state office buildings north of downtown every day — about a mile and a half.

She said she runs errands to the grocery, drugstore and library on her bike and is getting more confident all the time. She especially likes the new bus-bike lane on Pratt Street, which she takes to get to the Whole Foods in Harbor East.

"I heard about the bike lane and at first I couldn't see the advantage," she said. "Now, I fly past cars stuck in traffic."

http://www.baltimoresun.com/features/green/bs-gr-bike-to-work-day-20100521,0,3812701,full.story