With outdoor temperatures the next few days likely to be colder than a grocer's freezer, it hardly seems like bicycling weather.

Yet despite the harsh climate at certain times of the year, the number of people who pedal their way to work in Minneapolis ranks second in the nation, trailing only Portland, Ore. among the 50 largest cities in the United States.

That's according to the U.S. Census Bureau, which found that 2.5 percent of commuters in Minneapolis reported that they rode their bikes to work in 2006, the latest year for which figures are available. The national average is .4 percent.

To arrive at its conclusions, the Census Bureau sends out 250,000 questionnaires each month to randomly selected households. One of the questions on the survey asks how the person filling out the questionnaire "how did this person get to work last week?"

Based on returned surveys, the bureau was able to rank the top 50 U.S. cities.

When it comes to walking to work, Minneapolis came in eighth with 7 percent of workers hoofing it. And more people in Minneapolis opted to take mass transit, with 13.2 percent taking a train or bus in 2006, up from 12.5 percent in 2005, the Census Bureau said. Minneapolis placed 11th in that category.

Bicyclists and walkers might soon have even more options and routes to choose from. The Non-Motorized Transportation Pilot Project recently awarded the city $7 million in federal money for projects in Minneapolis and some suburbs. Only four communities received the grant. The city plans to use some of the money to build more bikeways.