London commuters opting to pedal to work
A Londoner crosses Waterloo Bridge in the capital, where bike sales are booming.
For years, Jon Wright considered commuting the 10 miles to work by bicycle. But it wasn't until the terrorist bombings on London's subway and bus system July 7 that he finally decided to make the leap.
"It should have really taken less than the threat of being blown up to make me jump on a bike, but I'm now recommending it to everyone I see, much to their annoyance," says Wright, 32, a hotel manager. He says he has lost 7 pounds and saved $185 a month in public transportation costs.
It's not quite Amsterdam or Copenhagen, where commuting by bike is the norm, but London is quickly becoming a major cycling city. Much of the shift is a direct result of the bombings, which killed 52 people.
On cycling websites, London's new cyclists such as Wright refer to themselves as "bomb dodgers."