For the eighth straight year, bicycling has proven to be the fastest way to get to work in New York City, judging from the results of the annual Great NYC Commuter Race.

The race, held this year on May 21 and organized by a bicycling advocacy group called Transportation Alternatives, started in Sunnyside and ended at Columbus Circle in Manhattan. There were three contestants: a bicyclist, a subway rider and a taxi passenger.

Rachel Myers, the cyclist, finished the race in 20 minutes and 15 seconds -- which was 15 minutes faster than Dan Hendrick, who rode the subway, and nearly half an hour faster than Willie Thompson, who took a cab.

'As soon as I saw all the traffic backed up on the Queensboro Bridge, I knew this wasn't going to be a fair fight,' Myers said. 'I actually was able to finish a cup of coffee before anyone else made it to the finish line.'

The purpose of the race is to 'highlight the time competitiveness of taking a bike,' according to Wiley Norvell, a spokesman for Transportation Alternatives.

'We picked a route that we think gives everybody a fair shot,' Norvell said, adding that this year's bike contestant traveled at a pace that is representative of the speed bicyclists usually ride on New York City streets.

'Last year our bicyclist was just a speed demon,' he said, 'and beat out the next competitor by about 25 minutes.'

Norvell said he wasn't surprised about this year's results, though.

'Traffic always intervenes to thwart the driver,' he said, 'and usually some form of subway delay or congestion ends up thwarting our subway rider as well.'

Commuting by bicycle has become increasingly popular in recent years. According to Transportation Alternatives, 185,000 cyclists take to the streets of New York each day, and the overwhelming majority are believed to be commuters. That's more than twice the number of bike commuters in 2000.

Western Queens has seen a particularly high spike in bicycle traffic, Norvell said, which is one of the reasons this year's race started in Sunnyside.

About 2,000 bicycles cross the Queensborough Bridge on a daily basis.

The results of the commuter race fit with statistics. New Yorkers have an average commute of 45 minutes, yet bicycle commutes in the city take only 30 minutes on average.

©Queens Chronicle 2009