The number of people riding bikes in the city has grown by 58 percent since 2008, record growth fueled in part by huge increases in riders tooling about in cold weather, officials said.
The Department of Transportation counted an average of 16,038 cyclists at six busy locations throughout the city, including at the Manhattan, Brooklyn and 59th Street Bridges.
That’s up from 15,465 in 2011 and 10,135 in 2008.
Off-season cycling — riding in January, February, and March — grew by 86 percent since 2008, according to the annual Cycling in the City update released by the DOT.
“Biking isn’t just warm-weather recreation, it’s four-season transportation,” said DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan.
“More and more New Yorkers are building bikes into their everyday routines because it’s affordable and efficient every day of the year.”
In the five years that the number of cyclists counted has grown, the city has added 255 miles of bike lanes, bringing the current total up to 573.
Those bike lanes are also being used more frequently.
The number of people who travel by bike along First Avenue has grown by 86 percent since the city installed bike lanes in the route in 2011, according to the city.