Considering high gas prices, obesity levels and vehicle emissions, cycling advocates have never had a better time to create a groundswell of support for their sport.

And California Bike Commute Week is coming up May 15-19, bringing out an estimated 100,000 cyclists statewide to take part in the human-powered transportation. The event coincides with National Bike to Work Week, National Bike Month and the American Lung Association's Clean Air Month.

The South Shore is starting to gain ground as a place for two wheels. The newly formed Lake Tahoe Bicycle Coalition led by Ty Polastri has made strides in the last four months to make South Shore safer and easier. It has five people on the board and about 20 members. Dues are $25.

The avid South Shore rider received a recent pledge from the city for $2,500 to print out 40,000 bike maps and place in shops so visitors and residents may negotiate their way around town. And last Friday, Polastri organized a bike conference at Caesars Tahoe that brought out an alphabet soup of local agencies to share thoughts with Andy Clark, executive director of the League of American Bicyclists.

An estimated 125 people showed up to hear Clark talk about the value of the region becoming a bike-friendly community with 60 other cities. The cities are evaluated based on adequate law enforcement, engineering, infrastructure, education and promotion. Polastri would like to concentrate on the latter.

"We're dependent on tourism, but we've been so 'ski-centric.' I'd like us to be more 'bi-centric.' Biking is known to be cross training for skiers. More important, (cycling) plays right into Pathway 2007 (efforts)," Polastri said of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency's regional plan. The TRPA has created a special component of its transportation plan for human power.

As for the infrastructure, Polastri admitted there's room for improvement. He said there aren't enough signs and paths are laid out improperly.

"Those are easy fixes, though," he said.

Another South Shore cyclist, Jeff Miner, wants the infrastructure to go a little further in becoming a bike-friendly place.

Miner suggests adding more bike paths, and he supports one proposal to turn two vehicular lanes on Lake Tahoe Boulevard between the city and Sawmill Road into bike lanes. The route is considered dangerous to cyclists venturing west with speeding traffic.

"I think the two lanes (on one side) make you feel like you can go 65 mph," he said.

Miner, who was active in TRAC - Tahoe Region Advocates of Cycling - before it folded into the coalition, would also push for bicycling stickers on the back of road signs that would tell riders unaware of the rules of the road to stay on the right side of the road. He likes the idea of a report card that grades the city if it applies for the League's bike-friendly designation.

"We need to get the city to change its methods by issuing it a report card," he said.