The Kinder Institute for Urban Research: “Who bikes?  – Figures from the U.S. Census Bureau show that across the nation and in major cities across the sprawling, car-dependent Sun Belt, the largest share of people who bike are in lower-income brackets. “It’s not just that bike advocates aren’t representing invisible cyclists,” Lugo said. “It’s that they aren’t representing the bulk of cyclists. Most of the people who bike aren’t being captured by the people who do bicycle advocacy.” To be clear, describing the cyclist community with Census data isn’t ideal, but what’s available paints a clear picture: most cyclists are poor. It’s true nationally, and it’s true in specific U.S. cities. The Census Bureau divides its data on how people get to work by income groups. However, cyclists are included in a catchall category that – somewhat bizarrely – also includes people who use taxis or motorcycles to get to work (notably, bicycle advocates have long advocated for their own category). Moreover, a hypothetical commuter who bikes to a bus stop then takes transit to work may or may not be considered a cyclist, further muddying the waters. In other words, the data is far from perfect. Nonetheless, the numbers show that the group that includes bicycle commuters is hardly the upwardly mobile cadre of hipsters it’s often made out to be. Nationally and in cities across Sun Belt, the bulk of those who bike to work – based on our best available data – are low-income people. Nationwide, 49 percent of people in the cycling category earn less than $25,000 per year. In Houston, the figure is closer to 42 percent…”