Next week is Bike to Work Week. Hopefully, we will see some bicycle commuters on our streets trying a different way of getting around town.

Bicyclists need to follow all the rules of the road, stopping at all stop signs and traffic signals. They should ride with the traffic. Riding toward opposing traffic allows them to see oncoming cars but makes them invisible to cars at side streets.

Riding on sidewalks is illegal unless they are marked as bike paths. Cyclists should watch for and give room for opening car doors. They must not ride past cars that have passed them in traffic. That causes drivers frustration at having to pass them again and again between intersections.

Drivers need to share the road with bicyclists. The person on the bike may be a teacher, student, doctor, someone's parent, someone's child. Leaving three feet of clearance between one's car and the bicyclist is suggested as the minimum safe passing distance.

A particularly common habit among drivers is to roll into or through intersections when turning right. They should look to the right before driving through the crosswalk. Pedestrians or bicycles on a marked side path may be there.

Last week, along Century Avenue, I was nearly hit by three right-turning cars that all ran the red light, and I had two cars pull into the crosswalk at stop signs before stopping. Drivers should remember that traffic is just more than other cars.

A little patience on the streets will go a long way. There is no prize for getting to work 10, 20 or 30 seconds faster because of not waiting to pass a bicycle safely.

There is talk on the Internet about a day next week when drivers are encouraged not to buy gasoline. A likely outcome of this will be that people who need gas will fill up the day before or the day after. If half of us would ride our bicycle to work only one day each week, gas consumption would decrease dramatically. Isn’t that a better message?

Commuting by bike is not for everyone, but for some it is a good option.