The numbers don’t lie. Punta Gorda has become a biking destination, and you don’t have to look far to find the evidence.

In a March 13 article in the Sun, Team Punta Gorda, long a vigorous advocate of cycling, reported increased usage of its popular canary yellow loaner bikes to 658 riders in February, a 318 percent increase over February 2012. Most of these riders are tourists, visitors and cruisers looking for a free, fun way to tour the city.