This Friday is Bike to Work Day, and while it’s certainly a day to celebrate the two-wheeled among us, it’s also a day to take time to appreciate the great strides forward that Pittsburgh has made toward becoming a bike-friendly city.

Marc Burgess, who has been biking to work in Pittsburgh for the past four years, says that he’s seen positive changes since he first started riding. “They didn’t have a bike lane the first year that I biked to work, and I’m definitely seeing more people taking advantage of it,” he said. Burgess commutes from his home in Bloomfield to the Wood Street Gallery downtown. “Over the years, the number of people biking has increased tremendously I don’t know if it’s because the popularity of biking has grown, or if people are moving to Pittsburgh from other cities where they were used to biking to work.”

According to Bike Pittsburgh, the number of people in the area taking advantage of two-wheeled transportation has definitely increased. “We currently have 1,200 members of Bike Pittsburgh, and over each of the last two years, we’ve seen 40 percent growth,” explained Program Manager Lou Fineberg. “This year, my sense is that we will see the biggest turnout we’ve ever had for Bike to Work Day.”

National Bike to Work Day is a signature event of Great Outdoors Week, which is taking place in Pittsburgh from May 14 through May 23. A celebration of the outdoors, this 10-day period highlights the many outdoor amenities available in southwestern Pennsylvania.

To help new riders learn the ins and outs of cycling to work, Bike Pittsburgh created a guide on its website, Bike Commuting 101. Resources include how to plan a route how to prepare a bike for the journey safety issues what to take on the ride ways to reach out to other bikers and more.

Another reason for the increased interest in biking can be credited to Bike Pittsburgh’s Car Free Fridays, which focus on a different neighborhood each month. Car Free Fridays promote active transportation—bicycling, walking, ride sharing and transit—to area residents as a way to burn calories, reduce toxic emissions and save money.

“One of the most important aspects of Car Free Friday is the range of collaborators we have from all sections of Pittsburgh,” said Fineberg. “There are over 50 government agencies, nonprofits and commercial businesses who actively support the project through sponsorships and in-kind donations. We’ve never had this level of support before.”

In June, Bike Pittsburgh will be launching a Car Free Calculator on its website in conjunction with Mullen and Highmark Blue Cross/Blue Shield. “On the Car Free Calculator, individuals can create a profile where they log their recreational miles and the miles that they’ve offset by not driving. The calculator determines how many calories a person has burned, the carbon dioxide emissions that have been kept out of the atmosphere as a result, and how much money that person has saved,” said Fineberg.

“Riders can not only keep their own individual records, but can combine them with those of others so that we can see how we’re doing as a region,” he added. “It’s pretty exciting to see the impact that we have.”

While Pittsburghers face many challenges in biking to work, including inclement weather, irresponsible drivers and the ever-present potholes, one thing they won’t have to worry about is being lonely on the ride.

For more information, visit Bike Pittsburgh at www.bike-pgh.org.