SBC will again host a bike valet at Picnic in the Park on Sunday, Oct 7 in Forsyth Park.  Getting there will be half of the fun — racks will be ready to accept your two wheels starting at 4pm.  Our volunteer attendants will watch your bike (donations are greatly appreciated) while you enjoy your picnic and the sounds of Eddie Wilson and Strings of the South. Bikes will be held until 15 minutes after the end of the show.  Make sure you use lights for a safe ride home!

If you’re interested in volunteering, please email volunteers@bicyclecampaign.org and let us know when you are available.Volunteers will get a free t-shirt (or wear one if you already have it) and you’ll get a nice place to sit and watch the concert.

Ladies and gentlemen:

Start your (carbohydrate, protein and lipid fueled) engines! The first Dump the Pump Challenge Pageant Prologue is coming to Savannah Wed May 23 at 6pm. There is no charge to compete.

Dump the Pump Challenge is a cooperative effort with Chatham Area Transit (CAT) and the City of Savannah where 3 competitors race from 12 Oaks Shopping Center to City Hall, to be held this year the morning of Thurs June 21. Competitors include one motorist, one transit rider, and one bicylist. Competitors must park vehicles legally and observe all rules of the road and traffic signals.

Savannah Bicycle Campaign has taken home the gold each of the first three years of this race, and while Frank McIntosh is retiring as a champion, we have no intention of the bicyclist losing the prize in this year’s event. To help choose our best hope for the event, we’re holding this qualifying event – the Bike Pageant Prologue – to test the city cycling skills of potential competitors, along with their poise and appearance both before and after the ride, since after all, this is an event tailor-made for the press!

So, bring your bike and your “A” game, your best cycle-ready workday attire, your grace, and your charisma. Equally weighted components of the competition will be (1) prologue course time, (2) post-ride appearance, and (3) interview. It’s gonna be awesome, so make your plans to attend as a competitor or as a volunteer! Top competitors will walk away with fantastic prizes, the top competitor with the honor to represent Savannah’s bicyclists in the June 21 Dump the Pump Challenge!

We’ll wrap the event with some congratulations and refreshments – don’t miss it! Register below or at this link to compete! To volunteer, please send an email to volunteers@bicyclecampaign.org.

What: Bike Pageant Prologue: a time-trial bike race through Savannah’s city streets, plus judging of post-race appearance and interview.
When: Wed May 23 6pm
Who: Bicyclists hoping to represent SBC in the June 21 Dump the Challenge
Where: Forsyth Park Bandshell
Why: ’cause we can’t lose. We need to put our best rider forward!

UPDATE: OFFICAL RULES ARE AVAILABLE HERE.
FREE REGISTRATION BELOW:

It’s on! An Earth Day tradition since 2008, we are bringing back all the fun, music, and street empowerment that goes with a free police escorted ride through downtown Savannah with our fifth Earth Day Wheelie. The ride starts at Park and Bull at the south end of Forsyth Park at 4pm and proceeds to Blowin’ Smoke for the Post Wheelie Dealie, a great party we throw to say thanks to our fantastic membership!

2011 Earth Day Wheelie from Savannah Bicycle Campaign on Vimeo.

Who: All of y’all…
What: A free, police escorted bike ride through downtown, followed by our annual membership party!
When: Sat April 21, 4pm ride-party. 5pm post-ride-party.
Where: Ride-Bull St and Park Ave to Blowin’ Smoke BBQ at 514 MLK Jr. Blvd for the Post Wheelie Dealie.
Why: Celebrate the freedom and fun of sustainable active transportation!

Our February Bike 2 Beer is on deck. Next Tuesday, join your pedal powered pals in our monthly social! Two options – ride with us from Habersham Village starting at 5:30pm (we’ll take the long way) OR meet us at this month’s Bike 2 Beer destination, Foxy Loxy Cafe, starting at 6! Hang out, check out the member giveaways and hear about events on the horizon for the Campaign. The fine folks at Foxy Loxy will be serving up lattes and Lone Star beer for $2 each, not to mention that their craft brews will be 10% off…

WHO: You and yours
WHAT: Bike 2 Beer – Monthly Social!
WHEN: Tues Feb 21, 5:30pm Ride/6pm Social
WHERE: Ride starts in Habersham Village parking lot. Social at Foxy Loxy Cafe, 1919 Bull Street
WHY:  Because it’s there.

In partnership with our friends at the Savannah Tree Foundation, we’re leading a ride out of Daffin Park this Saturday. We’ll go for about 10 miles and see some tree plantings carried out by Savannah Tree Foundation in their mission of maintaining and growing the urban forest of Savannah!

WHO: Everyone! Probably not appropriate for kids under 8 to ride under their own power, but they’re welcome in kid seats, trailers, or tag-a-longs.
WHAT: Arbor Day Ride – 10 miles at a casual pace. Helmets are strongly encouraged.
WHEN: Saturday, February 18, 10am
WHERE: Daffin Park start. Meet on Waring Drive south of the circle.
WHY: The Lorax would want you to go.

We’re so excited about our first Pedal Medal Award, that we just couldn’t keep it under wraps. Savannah director of Mobility and Parking and friend to cyclists Sean Brandon is our first recipient of the Pedal Medal. He embodies
the idea of building a better Savannah through bicycling. We’re grateful for his dedication to a more bike-friendly city, and look forward to seeing you all at the Pedal Medal Celebration at the historic Kennedy Pharmacy on Thursday February 2. Get your tickets today, or attend as a volunteer!

More in the press release:

For Immediate Release

SAVANNAH BICYCLE CAMPAIGN TO RECOGNIZE THOSE WHO ARE MAKING SAVANNAH BETTER FOR BICYCLING

Bicycle advocacy group will honor City of Savannah employee for implementing cycling infrastructure improvements

Jan. 23, 2012 Savannah, Ga. — The Savannah Bicycle Campaign will recognize Mobility and Parking Services Director Sean Brandon at its first Pedal Medal award ceremony, Feb. 2 from 5:30-7 p.m. at the Kennedy Pharmacy, 323 E. Broughton St. The organization will also recognize Bill Bailey as its volunteer of the year.

“The Savannah Bicycle Campaign has made significant progress toward the goal of making Savannah safer and friendlier for cyclists, and encouraging people to make bicycling part of their daily lives,” said SBC vice chairman John Bennett. “This wouldn’t have been possible without the Sean Brandon’s leadership and vision.”

Brandon has spearheaded the expansion of Savannah’s pavement-marked bicycle lane network, including the Washington Avenue bike lanes and the Price Street bike lane and traffic-calming project, which will be completed later this year. He has also increased the number of bicycle parking locations, including racks at the corner of Broughton and Bull streets and other prominent locations.

“Sean is a public servant who leads by example,” Bennett said. “As a daily bicycle commuter, he demonstrates the practicality of cycling and the considerable benefits of going by bike.”

Tickets are still available for the ceremony, which will feature hors d’oeuvres, drinks and a silent auction. Tickets can be purchased online at https://bicyclecampaign.org/pedal-medal-award-celebration/ or by calling 912-228-3096.

Proceeds from the event will help fund a Bike Restoration and Education Center, to serve as center of cycling activities in Savannah-Chatham, to provide a physical presence for SBC and to allow for collection and rehabilitation of discarded bicycles to be put into safe operating condition. Bikes will be distributed to members of the community who have limited means for transportation and often resort to dangerously ill-fitted, poorly maintained bicycles. Distribution of these bikes and safety equipment will be a means to improve mobility for this at risk community and to allow us to deliver basic bike safety education and equipment.

2nd Annual Bike 2 Beer Caroling Extravaganza

UPDATE: Because the weather outside is so frightful, we thought we’d have a few more happily harmonizing campaigners if we moved the festivities to this Wednesday, December 14. And so we have – please join us Wednesday!

Singing the songs of the holidays and propelled by our bikes, we’ll carol through Ardsley Park THIS WEDNESDAY next Monday starting at 6pm. To join the chorus, bring yourself, your bike and friends to Tiedemann Park (the Atlantic Ave mall in front of Savannah Arts Academy) at 6pm on Monday Wednesday. This is our December Bike 2 Beer, so we’ll finish with good cheer at SBC International Headquarters (Frank and Patty McIntosh’s house) at 205 E 50th St, with those festivities starting around 7:30 if you can’t make it for the ride and song.

HEAR US PERFORM!

To hear the sweet sounds of our band of bicycling carolers, bring good tidings, you and your kin to the locations below on Wednesday 12/14.*

Showtimes… our scheduled route for WEDNESDAY*

6:00pm: Tiedemann Park (Atlantic and Washington)
6:15pm: Guckenheimer Park (45th and Battey)
6:30pm: Theus Park (45th and Harmon)
6:45pm: Solomons Park (50th and Harmon)
7:00pm: McCauley Park (50th and Battey)

*If you are having a holiday gathering in Ardsley Park and would like us to stop by for a song, send an email to our Community Rides Chair, David Acuff – rides[at]bicyclecampaign{dot}org – and we’ll try to make it work!

As Savannah braces for the coming of thousands of marathoners this weekend, we announce the return of the Jerry Jaycox Fort Pulaski Wheelie NEXT weekend, after all the foot-racing hubbub dies down. The Wheelie will begin around 2pm on Sunday, November 13.

The ride, now in its fourth year, is named for founding SBC board member Jerry Jaycox who passed away riding his bicycle. The ride will again take riders of all abilities through the trails and dikes of Fort Pulaski and include a spin out to the McQueen’s Island Rail Trail which parallels the south channel of the Savannah River (The trail runs along the old Savannah-Tybee Railway corridor). The ride will be about an hour (and you’re free to wander around longer, if you’d like), much of it on non-paved surfaces, and so fat-tire bikes are recommended, though it can be successfully negotiated with a hybrid or road bike. Entrance to Fort Pulaski and all national parks that weekend is free in honor of Veterans Day!

As always, after the ride, we host a cookout at the picnic area at Fort Pulaski that serves as our launch and finish point (go left at the fork when you come into Fort Pulaski). It’s a fun event, and we’ll provide burgers, dogs and beverages — please bring a dish to share!