Bike to Work

Comox Valley Bike to Work week 2011 poster 

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Bike Commuting Tips

If you are new to bike commuting, here are a few tips to help you prepare and make it an enjoyable experience.

• Plan your route and ride it ahead of time. If you know a regular commuter, ask them for advice, they may know shortcuts or which roads to take to avoid traffic (and hills!).
• Check your bike is in good working condition in advance, make sure the tires are fully inflated (maximum tire pressure is usually shown on the sidewall), the chain is lubricated and your brakes are working well. Carry a spare tube and a pump, ideally you’ll know how to change a flat, but if you don’t, you’ll have what you need when asking for help.
• Find your helmet and make sure it fits securely and comfortably. If you don’t have one, visit your local bike store and get one, it’s the law!
• Be visible - wear bright clothing and don’t forget to check the batteries in your lights if you have them.
• It is a good idea to take a change of clothes, perhaps you could leave them at work, so you don’t have to carry them with you, hopefully it will be a dry, warm week, but you never can be sure.
• Figure out where you’ll leave your bike whilst you are at work. Bring a bike lock or find a secure place to store it during the day.
• Give yourself some extra time to stop by a Celebration Station on your way to work, enjoy a snack and meet other bike commuters… 

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How to register for Bike to Work Week

The system is designed for team leaders to register their team members, however you can be a team of one!

Don’t forget that by registering you could win this bike!!!

The steps for registering and reporting results are:

• 1. Click on the Register a team button, then pick "Comox Valley" from the list of locations.
• 2. You then create an account for yourself as team leader (remember you can be a team of one).
• 3. Once this is done you can then follow the directions to register your team by clicking on "enter results".
• 4. You will get a confirmation email.
• 5. Enter the results for your  team at the end of the week, or each day if you prefer, by logging in and clicking the orange "Enter Results" button at the top of the screen. This is quite easy and straightforward to do and is very imporant as it helps us see how we have done by community and through the whole province and helps us with funding
• 6. Participation worksheets - in order to record your team results some people find it helpful to use a participation worksheet.  You can download one here. Some team leaders ask their team members to drop by their desk and fill out the sheet, or they ask them to email the results, or they post it on a bulletin board and participants fill it out themselves each day. The important thing is to have a method of keeping track that is simple and easy and then to record the results on the website.
• Questions? Contact us at comoxvalley@biketowork.ca if you need help and we will do our best to get back to you within one working day

Good luck and have fun!