Buy a fold-up bike, ditch your car and mix transport modes - ride to the train station, jump on with your bike, then cycle the rest of the way to work.

And Ride to Work Day on Wednesday, October 12 is a good way to change your commuting habits, says keen cyclist Steven Fleming.

An architecture lecturer at the University of Newcastle, Dr Fleming commutes to and from work five days a week to maintain his fitness.

Dr Fleming is keen to encourage more people to ride to work, and says people should plan the route they want to take and stay clear of the main roads.

"Ninety-five per cent of the route I ride is off road and via [quiet] streets," he said.

Having earned respect as one of the world's leading bloggers on how bikes can change cities (go to behoovingmoving.livejournal.com), Dr Fleming says Newcastle needs better cycling infrastructure.

He says badly positioned bike lanes in "car door zones" and black spots make it difficult for people to take up cycling as part of their daily routine.

And with the state government's plans to increase cycling to five per cent by 2016, he said, a lot more funding was needed to encourage people to get on their bikes.

¦ Newcastle will host two free breakfasts for Ride to Work Day participants, at Wheeler Place from 7.30am to 9am and at the University's Callaghan campus. Go to ride2work.com.au to register.