It’s Bike to Work Week next week (November 1 to 7!), and to help raise awareness, a Share the Road Challenge was held this morning!

For the challenge, six organizations raced from their offices to the downtown Vancouver library by bike, car and transit. And the bike was the fastest mode for four of the six teams!

For example, Giant Bicycles took their whole office from North Vancouver for the challenge: the cyclists won, taking 23 minutes, and car and transit riders weren’t too far behind, at 27 and 33 minutes each.

The Vancouver Area Cycling Coalition, who organizes Bike to Work Week, sent a team from Richmond, and their cyclist tied with their car driver at 30 minutes. Not too bad!

Anyway, to try out your own bike to work challenge, participate in Bike to Work Week next week!

Sign up a team from your school or work for the week, and you can win prizes for participation and distance travelled. (There’s bike gear, gift certificates, and free bikes on offer!)

And watch for commuter stations around the Lower Mainland, with free coffee, snacks, and more prizes, plus mechanics to tune up your bike if needed. (Here’s a look at the TransLink commuter station in Metrotower II from 2008.)

I’ve cycled in Bike to Work Week before, and here’s some handy posts to help you prep for the 2010 edition:

• Bike to Work Week: prepping for the bike ride
• The bicycle diaries: five things I learned on day one of Bike to Work Week
• Bike to Work Week: an interview with bike mechanic Mike Grant

If you’re just getting started, check out a VACC bike workshop, and try mapping your route on UBC’s handy cycling route planner, which I profiled in 2009. Look out for a few more handy Bike to Work week posts next week as well!