New York (CNN) -- When writer-actor John Leguizamo shows up to do a show in New York, fans outside the theater are surprised to see him ride up on a bicycle. "People go, 'Hey, John, I thought you'd be in a limo.'





"This is my limo, my green limo. I'm saving the planet for your kids and your grandkids," says the performer, who has starred in award-winning one-man shows on Broadway and appeared in dozens of films and TV shows.





Biking gets you places faster, reduces your carbon footprint, lowers noise, makes you fit and lowers your stress level -- unless you get impaled on the door of a suddenly opened cab or cut off by a guy from New Jersey.





Leguizamo thinks urban biking is a form of transportation that dramatically improves the environment and riders' physical and mental health.





New York City's government shares Leguizamo's enthusiasm about biking, having added 200 miles of bike lanes in the past three years. The city says it has seen a 45 percent increase in commuting by bike.





Leguizamo took CNN on a tour of his favorite biking spots and shared his thoughts about the best way to get anywhere fast in the nation's biggest city:





CNN: How long have you been biking?





Leguizamo: I started biking when I was 7 years old, and I've been biking in Manhattan ever since I got that first bike.





I grew up in Queens. Jackson Heights, East Elmhurst, Astoria, Corona, I started going to high school in Manhattan when I was 15, and I moved to Manhattan when I started going to NYU. In high school, on the weekends I would bike to Central Park over the 59th Street bridge. Very Paul Simon and Garfunkel.





At NYU, my bike was stolen. The pole I locked it to was a fake pole, and I came back and the pole was gone. I thought at first that I had chained my bike on a different block, but then I realized there was a hole in the concrete.





CNN: Why should people bike?





Leguizamo: There are a lot of great reasons. First of all, we all want to lower our carbon footprint, and this is one of the great ways, reduce pollution, reduce traffic, reduce noise pollution, improve your heart with reduced stress. When you're out there, it makes you friendlier. You get a little bike rage, but that's only when people cross you. I usually get to places with a lot of great energy and a lot more relaxed.





I just saw this old good lady, she must have been in her late 60s, and she had like an adult tricycle, and she had her guitar in the back and a loud horn, and she was smiling and biking down Fifth Avenue. It was great. And for a lot of people who can't run, biking is a lot less stress on your knees.





CNN: What are the biggest risks of biking in New York City?





Leguizamo: Kamikaze cabs, buses, tourists, people from New Jersey. A Jersey plate will always try to cut you off for sure. And you know Miami and Connecticut plates are always going to go way slow, but that's not as dangerous. And then the crazy pedestrian that comes out between two big vans that block the view, that jump out. There's more danger for them than for you, but you don't want to hurt nobody, either.





Opening the door on the street side, my God, that's the most dangerous: passengers opening up the street door instead of the curb door. That should be taught in school. That should be part of your SATs.





It's amazing too the amount of cursing you hear from drivers, bikers, cabbies. You learn to curse in every language.





CNN: How can you get started biking?





Leguizamo: Start slowly in parks until you get maximum skill, and then start taking less busy streets. Just go slow. Do
How many miles of bike lane did New York add? What are the benefits of urban biking? What does Leguizamo think? How many miles of bike lanes added? Who created the urban bike?
200 gets you places faster, reduces your carbon footprint, lowers noise, makes you fit and lowers your stress level urban biking is a form of transportation that dramatically improves the environment and riders' physical and mental health. 200 John Leguizamo
question: How many miles of bike lane did New York add?, answer: 200 | question: What are the benefits of urban biking?, answer: gets you places faster, reduces your carbon footprint, lowers noise, makes you fit and lowers your stress level | question: What does Leguizamo think?, answer: urban biking is a form of transportation that dramatically improves the environment and riders' physical and mental health. | question: How many miles of bike lanes added?, answer: 200 | question: Who created the urban bike?, answer: John Leguizamo