Throngs of cyclists streaming over the Brooklyn Bridge on their daily commute will be pleasantly surprised with free donuts, juice and bells for their bicycles. With over 40 miles of bike lanes and greenways, Brooklyn is notoriously the most 'bike friendly' borough. To take advantage of this, a group of cyclists will meet Persis Luke, Brooklyn's Environmental Issues Analyst at Grand Army Plaza at 7:30 am to ride to the Brooklyn Bridge where they will eat and collect their free bell and assorted safety gear.

The leisurely ride and breakfast celebrates the bicycle as a as a quiet, non-polluting, flexible and neighborhood-friendly form of transportation. About 100,000 New Yorkers use their bicycle for transportation - a large portion of those cyclists live and ride in Brooklyn.

With a few important improvements Brooklyn could be even more bike friendly. Transportation Alternatives calls for the City to:

• Create 'traffic calmed' residential neighborhoods especially around schools to improve safety for children bicycling to school.
• Install bike lanes along Kent Ave. and Flushing Ave. connecting the Brooklyn, Manhattan and Williamsburg bridges.
• Build the Brooklyn Waterfront greenway to better connect cyclists to the Brooklyn Bridge.

This event is part of the 10th annual NYC Bike Week organized by Transportation Alternatives.