Savannah Wheelie. Tour de Georgia. Dump the Pump!
It’s coming. Soon. If you love bikes and you love Savannah, you had better hope you are here and ready for the weekend of April 18-21.
Friday April 18, the day before Savannah’s Earth Day festival, is the first of three Dump the Pump days sponsored by Savannah Development and Renewal Authority, Savannah Bicycle Campaign, PACE, CAT and the City of Savannah. Downtown workers are encouraged to bike, walk, carpool or take transit and leave their cars at home for the day. The next is May 16 to correspond with National Bike to Work day and the third June 19 to correspond with the American Public Transit Association’s Dump the Pump day. Thanks to SavannahTransit.com who note that multimodal commute fans get an added benefit: if you board CAT with a bike, your fare is 25 cents!
Saturday, April 19, we welcome everyone to join us at 3pm for the first ever Savannah Wheelie, a free social ride beginning and ending at Forsyth Park. Pedal over to Blowin’ Smoke on MLK afterwards (4pm) for the Post Wheelie Dealie to enjoy some fine BBQ, live music and great people. Tickets are available in advance online, and also at Blowin’ Smoke and Quality Bike. This is a membership drive for Savannah Bicycle Campaign as
well, so we hope you will join us in a collective call to make Savannah into a world class bicycle friendly community. Click here for a Wheelie Poster to print and post.
The fun continues April 19 with the arrival of international professional cycling to the Coastal Empire. The Tour de Georgia kickoff party, Toast de Tour, is at the Trade Center at 6pm. It’s a casual affair, with an introduction of the teams including Astana led by 2007 tour de France champion Alberto Contador and 2007 US National Road Race Champion Levi Leipheimer, as well as the first visit by a professional Chinese team to the US (from VeloNews):
Founded in 2005, Marco Polo Cycling is China’s first professional cycling team. Its participation in the Tour de Georgia marks the first time a China-based cycling team has ever raced on American soil, further enhancing the event’s international profile.
Sunday, April 20 holds the TdG’s Ride for Research, a charity ride benefitting AFLAC Children’s Cancer Center, leaving from Tybee at 10am. The route will follow much of Monday’s race route and include former pro cyclists.
Check out active.com to register.
To round out the weekend, on Monday, April 21 the cream of professional cycling converge on Tybee Island for the opening stage of Tour de Georgia, a renowned warmup for le tour in July. The first stage will cover 71 miles, and include 3 sprint lines, and marks the first time in 5 years Tour de Georgia has raced through Chatham County. The map is available here; start time from Tybee is 10am. Liberty Street is the center of the action downtown, and riders should zip through westbound between 10:30 and 11am. Finishers are expected at the Civic Center (Liberty and Montgomery) between 1 and 1:45pm. Hang around for the expo, and as always, ride your bike there! Keep your eyes open for the bike valet provided by Savannah Bicycle Campaign.