“Cycling in the City”

People ride bikes all the time in New York City—a lot of people. How many? According to estimates by The Department of Health (DOH), more that 500,000 are on the road within the Five Boroughs. In one year alone, between 2009 and 2010, ridership jumped 13 percent. With some 250 miles of bike lanes currently in the city and the growing popularity of programs like Citi Bike, the number of bikes will only increase in the future. But lest you think this is something new, MCNY is here to set you straight with this show covering 200 years of New Yorkers’ love affair with bicycles. Did you know that the first bike was introduced in NYC back in 1819? (Technically, it was a contraption called a velocipede, a wooden affair without pedals or gears that was powered by pushing it along with your feet, sort of like skateboard or scooter, but more like a sawhorse with wheels instead of leg). Also, did you know that the very first bike path in America opened in Brooklyn in 1894? These and other little-known facts are brought to light in this collection of 150 objects and pieces of ephemera, including vintage photos, films, prints, posters, cartoons, cycling gear, and, yes, bicycles past and present.