It's bike week, and National Bike Month

It's Bay State Bike Week, part of National Bike Month, and communities from Boston to Needham, Newton and Sherborn are organizing events this week and throughout the summer.

In Newton, the second annual Newton Bike Rally and Ride takes place May 17. Learn more at the Newton Streets and Sidewalks site. Local commuters can also take advantage of a police escorted ride on Friday into Boston as part of an end of the week festival on Friday

"This includes police-escorted rides into Boston from many locations (the closest convoys to Needham begin in Newton and West Roxbury,'' reports Tad Staley, on his Needham Bikes blog. "When you arrive there's a free breakfast , bike expo and music on City Hall Plaza in Boston from 7 AM – 10 AM. Riders will apparently also receive a complementary gift bag and water bottle.

As for regionwide events, MassBike, among other groups, is promoting a 250,000 mile pledge -- challenging Bay State bikers to ride that much to raise awareness about cycling.

"To participate, sign up at www.baystatebikeweek.org and tell us how many miles you (and/or your whole company) will bike that week,'' Mass Bike says.

There's also a commuter challenge: "There will also be a friendly competition among Massachusetts companies. Matched against like-sized businesses, companies can compete for prizes (including a NEW bike) and bragging rights.''

Elsewhere, check out Bike Fridays, an escorted ride from the suburbs to Boston on selected Fridays now that the weather is warmer. Here is a Google map of the convoys from Newton and other communities.

Elsewhere in the suburbs, John Higley of Sherborn reports that Holliston's Upper Charles River Rail Trail meeting is Tuesday night, 8 PM at the Holliston Town Hall.

Higley also plans to launch a Sherborn Bike Committee this week in support of commuters and
recreational riders.

In Natick, they've scheduled a Town Forest and Pizza bike ride at 4:30 PM Saturday, May 16th. See more here.

Boston Bikes has a map up on its site, too. It's right here though it takes a while to load.

UPDATE: Paula Bossone of North Shore Cyclists says that her organization runs evening rides each night of the week along with Saturday and Sunday rides. In addition, we have our annual Blazing Saddles Century ride which will be held on August 22. More information can be found at our web site www.nscyc.org.

In other biking news, across Greater Boston, 25 cities and towns have installed more than 800 racks, enough to hold more than 2,500 bikes, according to the Metropolitan Area Planning Council. Another 25 communities are installing racks. But the agency has spent only about $150,000 of the $900,000 it was allocated in federal money, and wants more communities to hop on. Read more here.