Kate Ryan, wtop.com

WASHINGTON – D.C. commuters are taking to the streets.

Figures from the D.C. Department of Transportation show the number of bike riders has increased since 2004 when the city had 14 miles of bike lanes. Now, D.C. has 57 miles of bike lanes.

Using counts compiled from 19 locations, DDOT says you’ll catch an average of 95 cyclists gliding by each hour, compared to 35 cyclists recorded per hour in 2004.

About 75 percent of the cyclists observed in the study wear helmets and more than half of the cyclists shift onto the sidewalks during their rides – something that is illegal to do in the Central Business District, but is encouraged when crossing bridges over the Anacostia and Potomac.

The study also discovered that men are still dominating the numbers in the two-wheel lanes. Seventy-seven percent of riders out there are guys.

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