There was a time when large swaths of the population rode bicycles to get from place to place. Even blue-collar factory workers rode to work, as evidenced by this wonderful photo of a bicycle shed at the General Electric Schenectady Works. In addition to bicycles, workers poured out of the main plant by bus, by trolley and on foot.
This photo was featured in a great article on local bicycle history from the Schenectady County Historical Society, which I highly recommend: The Heyday of Bicycles in Schenectady.
(Since things turned cold in November, there has been exactly one other bike besides mine at our building’s bike rack.)