Bike to Work Week is an annual event held within various communities across the Province. We are currently day two into Vancouver’s Bike to Work Week , and Victoria’s will follow next week. A number of events are held during the week long event, including commuter challenges, workshops, and the setup of "celebration stations" along popular bike routes. The Buzz According to Buzz has a really good post on events in and around the Vancouver-area.

A "celebration station" along North Vancouver’s Main Street Tuesday morning.

The purpose of these events is to promote cycling as a way of commuting to and from work. In the spirit of Bike to Work Week, Trainharder offers its own top ten tips for better bicycle commuting.

1. Know your route – cycling the same route that you would normally drive isn’t always the best option. You will want to consider the topography of the land (hills) and how safe the route is. Here are some links to bike maps for Vancouver , Burnaby and Surrey .
2. Give yourself extra time – you’ll need extra time to clean yourself up once you get to work, and to eat and drink something.
3. Pack your stuff the night before – this just makes things easier in the morning.
4. Prepare for rain – get fenders, wear booties, have a good water-resident jacket, wear warm gloves. Riding in the rain isn’t that bad, you just need to prepare for it.
5. Wear eye protection – for bugs, dust, debris kicked up by cars, cold wind, etc.
6. Make sure your bike fits you – handlebars, saddle, wheels, gears, and brakes can all be adjusted, but the frame has to fit from the start. To find the right frame size, straddle the bike: on a road bike there should be one to two inches of clearance between your groin and the top tube. On a mountain bike, the clearance should be two to three inches or even more.
7. Don’t carry things on your back – it’ll get sweaty and ache. Instead make your bike do the work, put your stuff into panniers.
8. Keep your cool – there are a lot of bad, inconsiderate drivers out there and eventually you’re going to meet one. Loosing your cool makes things worse. The driver will hate cyclists even more and you will have a dark cloud hanging over your head.
9. Have a good helmet -the most important piece of safety equipment. Research suggests that wearing a helmet reduces the risk of a head injury by up to 60 per cent. And it’s required by law. A helmet needs to feel comfortable, fit correctly and be suited to your style of riding.
10. And finally safety, safety, safety – make eye contact with drivers, make yourself seen, be patient and follow the rules of the road.

Please feel free to share your tips .