The Savannah Bicycle Campaign is featuring people who ride their bikes for work, play — and everything in-between. They may ride rain or shine, or they may hit two wheels on the weekends. But no matter what, they know what they love about riding in Savannah — and what can be improved.
Follow along on our blog and our Instagram account as we share some top shots they’ve taken from behind their handlebars, their favorite things about riding in our beautiful city, and their hopes and dreams for the future of bicycling in Savannah.
Interested in sharing your story? Email info@bicyclecampaign.org.
After all, #TodayIsForRiding.
Dr. Billy Jamerson started riding a bicycle as a child growing up in downtown Savannah. Taking a break to begin his dental career and raising a family, he forgot about the joy and fun of cycling. In fact for several years, he didn’t cycle at all!
Then about six years ago, his daughter Beth encouraged him to start walking around Lake Mayer. This led to faster walking and eventually running. Along the way while recovering from plantar fasciitis he rediscovered the childhood joys of cycling Savannah. He often rides several times a month between ten and fifty miles each ride.
“Cycling is a great way to stay young and ride like you did when you were a kid — but this time in spandex! Its like being forever young.”
What are your favorite rides? 1) Slow ride on Washington Avenue to Habersham downtown around the downtown squares on a lazy Sunday morning onto Burnside Island pass Isle of Hope, Wormsloe and Bethesda. 2) Enjoying the early morning sun rise and late evening sunsets. 3) Discovering new rides in distant cities offer great ways to tour and see the world. 4) Riding with groups of cyclists over greater distance.
Billy says… Savannah with its mostly flat terrain is geographically easy to ride. The streets downtown offer a perfect way to exercise and enjoy the innate beauty of the parks punctuated with centuries old trees. The flow of tourists, students and locals scurrying around makes downtown an effervescent magnet for pedestrians appreciating the areas deep and rich history. Each day the dynamics change and are never the same. The outlying county is also mostly flat offering excellent coastal views and intimate retreats with nature.
What could be improved? Savannah’s original historic street design offers an excellent plan to stimulate biking and pedestrian safety. 1) Establish a safe network of trails or routes to interconnect different parts of county. 2) Construct strategic routes downtown with protected cycling lanes. 3) Join cities like Atlanta, Columbus, and Athens committed to paths, trails and complete streets safer for pedestrians, runners and cyclists alike. 4) Become a leader in decreasing accidents and slowing vehicular traffic downtown to promote a safer and more fluid movement of people.