Mayor Nutter, Congressman Brady, and Congressman Fattah joined the Bicycle Coalition and approximately 50 bicycle commuters this morning on the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Bicyclists began congregating in a light drizzle around 8:00 am, but the drizzle soon let up. While waiting for the VIPs to arrive, Bicycle Coalition staff mingled with the crowd and Alex Doty entertained the riders with irrepressible charm and bicycle statistics.
Mayor Nutter, Congressmen Brady and Fattah, and their support staff arrived around 8:40. Advanced Sports International donated several Fuji bicycles for the day, while Congressman Fattah rode his own. Mayor Nutter thanked everyone for coming out, and shortly thereafter the peloton made its way down Ben Franklin Parkway to Thomas Paine Plaza in front of the Municipal Services Building (across from City Hall). The ride was smooth and many pedestrians and motorists waved to the Mayor as he cruised past.
In the plaza, Mayor Nutter offered remarks about Philadelphia's ascendant status as a bicycling city, citing statistics from
Mode Shift in his speech. Chaka Fattah and Bob Brady also spoke, with Congressman Brady noting that he could get used to this whole bicycling thing, provided it always came with a bottle of water and a police escort.
All in all, Philadelphia represented itself well on National Bike to Work Day. Today also kicks off the Bicycle Coalition's
Commuter Challenge, which encourages people to bike or walk to work all summer by forming teams and logging their commutes online. Thanks to everyone who came out for a ride with Mayor Nutter this morning, and we hope to see you commuting by bike all summer long!
More photos from the day are available on the Bicycle Coalition's Flickr page
here.
1 comments:
I am glad the VIPs take part in this. A lot of adults who have not ridden since they were kids completely forget how much fun riding a bike is.
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