From the press in Connect Savannah and Savannah Morning News this week, we have been getting lots of questions about how late registration will work. All the info is at midnightgardenride.com (sorry Safari and Chrome browser users, a bug in our theme makes the whole site black. Try it in Internet Explorer or Firefox!), but it’s also here if you want to take a look:

Ride weekend regisration is available for $25,

• 6-9pm on Friday, September 4 at Bicycle Link at 408 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, Savannah, GA 31401 and
• 8-9am on Saturday, September 5 at the Savannah Century ride start in Ellabell and
• 6-7:30pm at the Distillery on Saturday, September 5.

Current SBC members will still receive the reduced $15 price at late registration.

We’ll see you Saturday for the Midnight Garden Ride!

You’ve seen other people doing it on your  drive to work. You’ve wondered what it would be like. You’ve pondered trying it yourself. Maybe you just need a little company and encouragement to get started.

Well, we’ve been there and we can show you the way. If you’re ready to have fun, save money and enjoy the health benefits of bicycle commuting, ride along with us on Friday, Sept. 4.

At 7:30 a.m. (returning participants, please note the earlier departure time)  the Savannah Bicycle Campaign’s monthly bicycle commuting convoy will get rolling from the Habersham Village Shopping Center. This month’s 2 Wheels 2 Work destination is Johnson Square, where participants will enjoy fresh coffee from the bike-friendly folks at Jittery Joe’s and tasty eats from the Blue Goose Cafe, new bicycling public service announcements will be debuted and local officials will talk about the positive impact bicycle commuting can have public safety, public health and public life.

Whether you’ve never ridden your bike to work — or you ride every day — please join us in this causally paced ride and stay for the festivities that follow. As always, helmets are strongly encouraged. In the event of heavy rain, the ride will be postponed until Sept. 11.

Last minute warning: set your DVR (or go to wtoctv.com later today) to check out David Acuff and Drew Wade’s appearance on WTOC’s Mid Morning Live with Sonny and Jody today at 10am. We’ll post the interview here later today. We’ll be talking about what the Campaign is up to, and promoting the Midnight Garden Ride on September 5!

As you all know, the City of Savannah has garnered an honorable mention in the most recent Bicycle Friendly Community ratings awarded by the League of American Bicyclists.  So, we’re not there yet, but we have a good start.

We now have the full feedback from the League, with suggestions from the local cycling community as well as experts in the field.  The full report is available here.  Some highlights:

Engineering:

• Adopt a complete streets policy
• Adopt and implement a comprehensive bike plan
• Develop a designated east-west bicycling corridor
• Develop a bridge access policy

Education:

• Add educational message to utility bills
• Continue to improve bicycling education opportunities for adults

Encouragement:

• Consider a “Ciclovia” or “Summer Streets” event to open streets to nonmotorized users
• Commuter challenge or bike to work pit stop for Bike to Work Week
• Consider an ordinance to require larger employers to provide showers, bike parking, and other encouragement tools.

Enforcement:

• Encourage police officers to use targeted enforcement to encourage motorists and cyclists to share the road, such as a tip card explaining each user’s rights and responsibilities.
• Host Enforcement for Bicycle Safety seminar.

Evaluation:

• Update the Bicycle Master Plan. The new plan should set targeted annual goals for implementation.
• Continue to improve data collection methods on bicycle usage and crash statistics and evaluation of this data. Use this data to prioritize infrastructure upgrades or targeted enforcement efforts.

Of course, our own Frank McIntosh who on his trusty steed bested Sean Brandon on bus and foot, and Jordan Griffin in her car and on foot from 12 Oaks to City Hall in the first Dump the Pump Challenge yesterday.  Frank got held up for a long time at the light at Bay and Bull, but still made it 7 minutes before the car driver, giving him plenty of time to freshen up for the press conference after the steamy ride in.  As the temps continue to rise, take a look at this post for tips on beating the heat for your bike commute.

Frank’s win again highlights the usefulness of the bike for short trips (this was a 4.2 mile race), and the hidden time in parking a car and walking to one’s destination, a very real addition of time for drivers especially in the downtown area. One thing not mentioned in the coverage (Mary Landers in SMN and the WJCL story) is that combining the first two modes — bike and bus — extends their range substantially, and presents another great option in our city where all the buses are equipped with bike racks.

Congratulations and thanks again to Frank!  Thanks to the City of Savannah and CAT for their help in promoting this event.

Those within the Savannah and Tybee city limits have it easy.  That is to say, they have what many communities across the country have established in the last 20 years, curbside recycling.  Sure, there are facilities available for recycling for the motivated — collect and sort, load and drive, unload and drive home.  It’s an inefficient use of time and gas.  If instead, this were rolled into a regular service as it has been in Savannah, many more would use it.

Recycle Chatham has begun a petition that has already garnered 5,000 of the required 16,626 to place the measure on the ballot.  Though our organization is focused on bicycles, we see the value in this and our board has therefore endorsed the petition.  If  you live in Chatham County and are a registered voter, please take the (very short) time to go to the petition and make your voice heard in support of this measure.  Think of it this way:  your rides will then be free from all of those cars driving their recycling to the transfer stations!

The April edition of the Dump the Pump alternative commuting event is ready to roll this Friday, April 10. Two groups of cyclists will leave from Habersham Village Shopping Center and Baldwin Park (41st and Atlantic) at 8 a.m., each bound for Davant Park on the southern tip of Colonial Park Cemetery. Once there, bicycle commuters can enjoy free coffee and snacks from bicycle-friendly coffee purveyors Jittery Joe’s (located inside Ex Libris Bookstore) and pick up information from the Savannah Bicycle Campaign and Bikes Belong.

For local residents, who have never tried riding their bikes to work, Dump the Pump provides an easy and fun way to take bicycle commuting for a test drive. The bicycle caravans travel at a moderate pace and are led by experienced cyclists, who can answer questions about bicycle commuting along the way.

Originally scheduled for April 3, this month’s Dump the Pump was moved to April 10 due to the threat of bad weather. What will happen if rain clouds appear this Friday? We won’t let rain hold us back. If the skies are gray, wear a rain jacket that day. And a helmet.

Many thanks to the South magazine for their recent piece on bicycling (mostly the Savannah Bicycle Campaign) in Savannah.  We were pleased to see the attention.  The full article is only available in print, so pick up a copy while there are still some available!

The number of ideas and initiatives floating around these monthly meetings are matched by the number of passionate cyclists longing and working for improved conditions for the sport they love. These attendees of the SBC’s Moon River rendezvous represent a diverse collection of local biking organizations and informal groups, each with their own needs and desires for which to rally, and each encouraging lifestyles bolstered by biking.

Though sport is only the start — recreation, transportation, fun!

Now that we’ve moved into the darker part of the year, the subject of visibility becomes very important. To drive home that point, below is an incredibly cheesy takeoff on an already cheesy 1981 hit, brought to you in part by the folks who made this previously referenced video.

On that note, stay tuned for the full details later this week, but note this date: Saturday December 6 at 5:30pm. Strap your lights to your bike and join Savannah Bicycle Campaign in the last Wheelie of the year for the River Street Christmas Parade. Lights and a helmet will be required, and, here’s the best part: the best holiday themed rider/bike costume setup wins a new cruiser from Quality Bike Shop. More to follow soon.

The bottom line is that you are at much greater risk of being struck by a car without lights at night. Georgia law requires at minimum a white headlight and a rear red reflector, though a white headlight with a rear red light is better. We even know a few folks who have been ticketed in Savannah for riding without a headlight, so keep that in mind if the risk of serious bodily injury is not enough to sway you.