MUNSTER, Ind. (AP) — After two bicycling deaths in a week, biking advocates are urging motorists to realize they're sharing the roads with a growing number of cyclists who've turned to pedal power amid record-high gas prices.

The advent of $4 per gallon gasoline has brought more than a few vintage two-wheelers out of cold storage and into bike shops for tuneups, according to Lake and Porter county bike dealers.

"We have a lot of people dragging out their older bikes and bringing them in to be serviced for that reason," said Jeffrey Levandoski, of Buck's Bicycle Shop, which has been in business in Valparaiso for more than three decades.

But the growing number of people using bikes to get around the high gas prices means increased chances of accidents caused by motorists who aren't paying attention.

In the past week, two people have died in bicycle accidents in northwestern Indiana.

Gerald Bolkema, a 53-year-old lawyer from Munster and avid cyclist, died May 24 after his bicycle was rear ended by a car. And on Saturday, 49-year-old Hector Serrano of Lake Station was killed when his bicycle was struck by a vehicle, the Lake County coroner's office said.

As the popularity of bikes for recreation and transportation grows, local bicycling advocates are urging municipal and county road officials to put more money into signs and lane markers to help remind motorists they are sharing the road with cyclists.

"When you get on the road with cars and trucks, you get the feeling you are sort of trespassing," said Joe Ubben, of Valparaiso, who cycles on narrow Porter County roads.

"Very few (roads) are marked for bikes. Even if they could whittle out a foot or two, that would make a difference," added Ubben, who urges bikers to always wear a helmet, to ride carefully and keep watch for cars.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Association reports 771 bicycle riders died and about 44,000 were injured in traffic accidents across the United States in 2006, the most recent year for which national statistics are available.

Indiana's 21 bicycle-related deaths in 2006 represent less than 3 percent of the state's total traffic fatalities, but there is concern car-bicycle mishaps may increase with bicycling growing in popularity.

Northwest Indiana parks, cities and towns have blazed more than 80 miles of bike trails and paths to date, and federal spending on the growing bicycle network is rising.

Mitch Barloga, greenways planner for the Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission, said the federal government has been pumping increasing federal dollars into new bikeways.

"We have about 80 miles of off-road trails on the ground and another 60 (miles) funded to be fully developed within three years," Barloga said. "We are at a point that we call mode shift, where people are making short trips on bikes — and in some cases commuting to work.

"That's why we need share-the-road signs and painted bike lanes on some of the more heavily used roads in some communities like Crown Point and Valparaiso."

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Information from: The Times, http://www.thetimesonline.com