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San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom’s famous hair was tucked away under a baseball cap and City Attorney Dennis Herrera sported shorts as city officials joined bike advocates Thursday morning to celebrate Bike to Work Day. At a news conference outside City Hall, the mayor said commuting by bicycle breeds a sense of community that is lost on those in cars. “The one thing that biking does more than anything else is it connects you to other people,” Newsom said. “You don’t get connected when you’re in two SUVs.” Newsom was dressed casually, trading in his sleek business suit and even sleeker hairdo for a plain blue long-sleeve shirt and a Giants baseball cap.

Bay Area commuters are being encouraged to trade four wheels in for two as part of Bike to Work Day on Thursday, with events scheduled throughout the region to celebrate the benefits of commuting by bicycle.

Hundreds of thousands of Bay Area bicyclists are expected to participate Thursday, according to Andrew Casteel, executive director of the Bay Area Bicycle Coalition, which is helping to organize events regionwide

Bay Area commuters are being encouraged to trade four wheels in for two as part of Bike to Work Day on Thursday, with events scheduled throughout the region to celebrate the benefits of commuting by bicycle.

Hundreds of thousands of Bay Area bicyclists are expected to participate Thursday, according to Andrew Casteel, executive director of the Bay Area Bicycle Coalition, which is helping to organize events regionwide.

What a nice day for a bike ride. Why not make it official? Hundreds of thousands of people in the Bay Area are expected to do just that today -- ditch the car keys and take to two wheels today as part of Bike to Work Day. Events are scheduled throughout the region to celebrate the benefits of commuting by bicycle.

About 3 percent of Bay Area commuters already bike to work, and that number usually spikes on Bike to Work Days. Rather than dropping back down to normal levels the next day, the number of bike commuters tends to stay high for days and weeks afterward, Andrew Casteel, executive director of the Bay Area Bicycle Coalition said.

You can plaster San Francisco with all kinds of (fitting) labels: It's a Culinary Town. It's a Gay Town. It's a Literary Town. And it's definitely a Bike Town. So Bike to Work Day is always a big deal, but this year is special. Cyclists finally saw long-awaited improvements to their commutes: Much-needed new bike lanes have been laid down. A whole swath of Market Street is devoted to cycle traffic on weekday mornings. And the city approved plans to improve the traffic flow around the cheap gas station on Fell Street that has motorists clogging up the heavily used bike lane.