Six newly painted, refurbished bicycles are now available to the public in the Hardware City, thanks to the New Britain Museum of American Art.
For a $10 refundable deposit, residents can visit the New Britain Museum of American Art and explore a community that's surprisingly friendly to bicyclists.
"People have been thrilled," said Melanie Carr, liaison to Bike New Britain for the museum. "They have used the bikes to see the surrounding park area, downtown, and it's very beautiful around here."
Mark Hoffman, who oversaw the mechanics working on the bikes and helped lined up artists to paint them, called the initiative "a perfect fit with the museum."
"We needed a place to administer it, and they were good enough to step forward and volunteer to do that," he explained.
The art bikes will allow museum visitors to discover the city as well.
"It's a good place to live," Hoffman said. "People should appreciate it. A lot of people don't realize how good New Britain is."
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Many city streets feature bicycle markings that will should help riders find their way around safely.
"We've installed over fifty miles of bike lanes and shared roadways, "so we're really proud of it and this is another way to celebrate that," said C.J. Gandza of the city's public works department.
So is the Hardware City Bike Tour which takes place Sunday, Sept. 27. It begins and ends at the museum.
