Mayor Otis Johnson had a heart attack 4 years ago today. On the heels of that, he has been pushing a consortium of groups organized together as the Healthy Savannah initiative. Healthy Savannah goes beyond what you might typically think of in terms of affecting health outcomes for our community. Sure, there are areas looking at nutrition and curbing smoking, but also a look at deeper and more lasting changes (though potentially more difficult problems) through civic master planning and transportation.

This focus on how the built environment can contribute to a healthy community is of course right up our alley, so when they asked us to be a part of tonight’s community forum at the Civic Center, it made perfect sense. Come on by and see us, and also take a look at what the City of Savannah and other groups are doing to change our built environment to make it more bikable and walkable in the transportation and civic master planning sections of the forum.

What: Healthy Savannah Community Forum
Where: Civic Center
When: Today, Thu 4/29 at 6-8pm
Why: Learn about how the built environment affects the health of our community.

In its first 2 years, this ride has drawn hundreds Savannahians from all walks of life. For the third year running we bring back the mobile party through Savannah’s downtown streets to celebrate the joy and possibilities of bicycling. Bring yourself, bring your friends, bring your kids — the Wheelie welcomes all!

The Wheelie will set off from the south end of Forsyth Park immediately after the closing of the Earth Day Festival at 4 p.m. We will be joined again by the elected officials for the ride that will include a police escort. Helmets are strongly encouraged.

What do you get when you put together breakfast, bikes and a bunch of lawyers riding to work?  The punch line escapes me, but the real answer is the upcoming 2Wheels 2Work: Wheels of Justice on Friday March 5.

We are pleased as ever to have Jittery Joe’s coffee at Davant Park to offer participants including those who ride with us the whole way from Habersham Village (park in the far northeast corner of the lot, as far from Red and White as possible if you drive there for a hybrid car-bike commute) and also those who stop by on bike on their way to work from anywhere in the city.  If law school wasn’t your bag, don’t fret — it’s open to all comers.  We will also have some other breakfast treats and a bike giveaway courtesy McKee Court Reporting and Quality Bike Shop.  Thanks also to our other sponsors Hunter Maclean, Brennan Wasden, the City of Savannah and the Young Lawyer’s Division of the Savannah Bar Association.

Join us Saturday, March 6 in the Starland District lot (Whitaker and 40th) for Desotorow Gallery’s Spoked bike art and culture festival.  There will be bike exhibitors (including us), contests, demonstrations, and prizes from 12-6pm along with a Wheelie-style ride starting at 2pm.  You can check out the Spoked exhibit now at the gallery.  The festival also includes a screening of Veer, a movie about bicycle culture this Thursday 3/4 at 9pm at River Club, 3 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, so be sure to check that out too!

Feb 26 – March 10	Spoked A part of Desotorow’s Bike Artisan Festival, Spoked is a juried exhibition featuring work about the bicycle and cycling culture. “Unwanted” by Angela Petsis Digital Print from BW Negative, $175 Featured Artists: J. Graham Carswell Ashley Dowling Angela Petsis Evan Pomerantz George Retseck Cecily Upton Kevin Willsey Jessie Jones Opening Reception March 5, 6-9pm Sponsored by the City of Savannah, Scion, and SCAD Radio

Georgia has been slow to jump on the Safe Routes to School bandwagon, but we are finally on board.  SRTS is a program to encourage elementary and middle school students to walk and bicycle to school (which 42% did in 1969, but only 16% do today) for the potential benefits of health, decreased traffic congestion and pollution.  Because there are federal dollars backing it, we now have a staff member from the Safe Routes Resource Center who is helping schools get programs off the ground here in coastal Georgia (it also means that both public and private schools that establish programs will be eligible to apply for 100% federal funding of infrastructure projects — i.e. sidewalks, bike paths, traffic calming, etc — so this could be a great thing for our kids and our streets if adopted in a big way).

Patti Sistrunk, former South Carolina SRTS State Coordinator and now the Coordinator for Coastal GA, has organized a workshop for SRTS at Jacob G. Smith Elementary next Thu Feb 25 from 2-5pm.  The workshop includes a walkability assessment, and participants will observe and comment on a regular day’s dismissal of students, while learning how to build incentives for kids and their parents to walk and bicycle to school.  It’s open to all who are interested, so RSVP to Patti by Mon Feb 22 if you would like to attend.

Georgia Bikes!, our statewide advocacy group has reorganized and added a lobbying component.  Part of that effort in the statehouse this year is the annual Georgia Rides to the Capitol.  With rides beginning at two main locations around metro Atlanta, this event brings together elected officials and cyclists to highlight the need for better public policy with respect to bikes.

If any of you has a reason to be in Atlanta on March 23, or you just want to support legislative efforts (let us know — there may be an opportunity to meet with our legislators while you’re there), check it out!  If you do plan to go, please pre-register so the organizers know how many to expect and consider making a donation to the effort — the ride has been put on for free in the past, but due to mounting costs, this may not be the case in the future.

Sadly, the monthly commuter event scheduled for tomorrow, Friday February 5, is cancelled due to heavy rain in the forecast for pretty much the whole day (though we know there are folks who will still ride).  Please look for an announcement soon about the Friday March 5 2Wheels 2Work!

Campaigners!

One week to go to the big Ben Sollee show at Blowin’ Smoke Thursday Dec 10 — Ben is a talented artist who in touring on bike this December is focusing attention on sustainable transportation and at his shows raising money for Oxfam America’s efforts to fight poverty. As we have mentioned, he is bringing his cello (that’s right — cello!) on a bike, along with others on bikes with drums and support for the shows. We’ll kick off the night with a rockin’ night ride/Tour of Lights starting at 6pm at Blowin’ Smoke. Music will start around 7:30.

We’ll be having a raffle with awesome stuff including a bike from Quality Bike Shop! More from Chrome messenger bags, Half Moon Outfitters, Timbuk2, PrincetonTek, Native Sunglasses, Eagle Nest Outfitters, and more! Proceeds will benefit Oxfam America and SBC’s new program to outfit the underserved with lights, helmets, and locks! Come, ride, listen, and have fun with us all at Blowin Smoke! If you join us, make sure your bike has at least a white front light, as we follow the law on our rides. Helmets and a rear red light are also strongly encouraged.

Leave us a comment or drop us a line if you are interested in joining them for the ride as they arrive into town next Thursday afternoon as well — we want to give them a great Savannah welcome!