Bike To Work Week Kicks Off With Record Number Of Riders

[link to www.kcci.com]

Environment, Gas Prices Boost Participation

DES MOINES, Iowa -- Rising gas prices, increasing talk about global warming and a desire to get in shape was enough for Des Moines resident Terry Mitchell to buy a bicycle recently.

He then rode for the first time in 20 years.

This week, Mitchell will be joined by a record number of Iowans -- both longtime riders and hundreds new to the activity -- in Bike to Work Week activities.

They begin Saturday in Des Moines. The number of riders who registered for Bike to Work was around 500 for several years. But by Friday night it had jumped to 1,154. More than a quarter of those riders are first-time bicycle commuters.

They will pedal more than 9,000 miles and save more than 500 gallons of gas.

Angela Dalton, program director of Bike to Work in Des Moines, said that environmental concerns and gas prices are the main reasons people are flocking to bicycles.