If your bike has been buried under a pile of snow for the past couple months, or locked away in a closet, it’s time to take it out. Warm weather is here, and so are a couple important bike-related events:

On Thursday, March 18, DDOT will unveil plans for new bike infrastructure in the greater downtown area. To accommodate increased bicycling and prepare for the expansion of the Smart Bike program, DDOT is proposing new bike lanes on Pennsylvania Avenue, NW; I Street, NW; L Street, NW; 15th Street, NW and 9th Street, NW. Planners hope to apply designs used in other cities such as New York and Montreal.

Attend the public meeting on Thursday, March 18 at 6 pm at the Heritage Center of the U.S. Navy Memorial, 701 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW to get the details.

Bike to Work Day will take place on May 21, 2010. This year’s event will be bigger and better than ever, with 31 pit stops (that’s 5 more than last year) offering free food, beverages and prizes to cyclists, such as bike commuting accessories. Free t-shirts will be handed out to the first 8,500 registrants who show up at the pit stop they registered for. D.C. pit stops will include Buzzard Point, Freedom Plaza and Nationals Park, and there are many more in Maryland and Virginia. (See this Google map of the pit stops.)

Participants can also join “commuter convoys,” groups of riders led by experienced cyclists. Learn about your best route to work (you don’t even have to wait for Bike to Work Day for this – check out the “cue sheets” on the website) or just enjoy this opportunity to socialize with other bicyclists.

For new bikers still testing their wheels, take advantage of the Washington Area Bicyclist Association’s free Confident City Cycling Classes prior to the event.

To register, find your closest pit stop, or download the Bike to Work Day poster for your office, check out the Bike to Work Day website.

And if you’re getting pumped, watch this slideshow of images from last year’s event.