People are hopping aboard their two wheels in greater numbers according to numbers from Metro Vancouver.

In the five years leading up to 2004, the number of daily cycling trips increased by 18 per cent to 106,000.

That compares with a six-per-cent increase in general population.

According to TransLink, those trips are all for commuting or utilitarian purposes - rather than recreational - and most of the increase is based in Vancouver.

But people being drawn to pedal power should be aware of the injury risk, says the Community Against Preventable Injuries, a consortium of B.C. companies and agencies.

After hockey, in Canada, cycling is the second-most common cause of sports injuries.

In 2007, in B.C. alone, more than 1,000 people needed hospitalization as a result of cycling injuries. The Community Against Preventable Injuries, offers some tips and information on how people can cycle safely.

• Most bicycle injuries do not involve motor vehicles. Most are falls, collisions with stationary objects, and collisions with other bikes or pedestrians resulting from the bicyclist losing control.

• Helmets can reduce the risk of head injury by 88 per cent if worn appropriately.

• Those who survive unprotected head injuries may suffer epilepsy, intellectual and memory impairment and personality changes.

• Head injuries are the most common cause of death, disability and serious injury.

• Most injuries occur less than five blocks from home, in familiar surroundings.

• Most injuries suffered by bicyclists are fractures, dislocations and other non-life- threatening injuries, but head injuries are typically the most dangerous.

Some riding tips:

• Obey traffic rules and traffic control signs, use hand signals.

• Keep to the right, ride single file.

• Shoulder check: look all ways, then shoulder check.

• Turn with care: look and listen all ways before proceeding.

• Beware of parked cars: plan for doors to open.

• Beware of hazards: look all ways before entering traffic and cross at right angles to the tracks at railway crossings.

• Watch for pedestrians: people and animals are unpredictable.

• Be visible: day or night and avoid riding at night or when drunk.

Cycling intoxicated without a helmet has changed forever one “invincible” youth.

The Community Against Preventable Injuries uses personal stories to deliver its message. This one depicts one cycling accident:

Last year, Daniel McCash was a young guy living life to the fullest with his friends.

On a cool evening, Daniel went out drinking with his friends. Bicycles were their mode of transportation. Daniel made two bad decisions that night: drinking and then proceeding to ride his bike without a helmet.

Despite having too much to drink, and not having a helmet, Daniel and his friends jumped on their bikes and tried to speed home. Around 4 a.m., racing downhill, Daniel swerved around a roundabout, with no hands on his handlebars. He hopped up on the right-hand side of the curb and tumbled over the handlebars, smashing his bare head into a street light post.

When Daniel’s friends came to the rescue, the noticed something was wrong and immediately called 9-1-1.

Daniel was bleeding heavily from his nose, the blood was dark red and he was not fully conscious. He was able to squeeze his friends’ hand, but he could not speak or communicate any other way.

He had suffered a head injury, and had broken both his jaw and his shoulder.

Daniel’s life is vastly different now. He has to live with his parents in New Westminster, a far distance from his friendly social life in Vancouver. The head injury resulted in a memory problem, so he is now considered ‘disabled’ by the government. This also affects his ability to work. He is taking a strong daily dosage of Dilantin because he is at risk for seizures, meaning that if he drinks alcohol he will wake up in the emergency room.

He’s now thinking about conveying his message through a program where he tells his story to high school students and says he thought he was invincible.