We are changing our normal Cycle Social timing this month for a holiday party at Thinc Savannah. Enjoy beverages, light hors d’oeuvres and holiday cheer on Saturday, Dec. 28 at 35 Barnard Street, Suite 300. Meet us there at 6 p.m. or join a group ride from Habersham Village at 5:30 p.m. Please let us know you’re coming by joining the Facebook event or sending an R.S.V.P. email to info@bicyclecampaign.org. Don’t forget your lights and helmet!
Our SpokeModels group is hosting another installment of its bike scavenger hunt series in conjunction with First Friday Art March on Dec. 6 from 6-9 p.m. This month’s Art March features a dozen restaurants, galleries, and boutiques all south of Forsyth Park. Stop by the Savannah Bicycle Campaign table at Destorow Gallery to pick up a map and rules for the contest. Need more information? Check out the Facebook Event.
The Savannah Urban Garden Alliance’s 5th Annual Tour the Coop is set for Dec. 15, from 1-5 p.m., departing from Southern Pine. The tour offers a peek at the chicken coops and urban gardens in Savannah, and includes an urban homesteading expo!
This year the event will include a self-guided bicycle tour. Select this option and you’ll save $10. The Trolley tour option is still available at $20. Link to purchase tickets and more information is available on SUGA Facebook page.
About SUGA: SUGA believes that community gardens can be instrumental in addressing issues of food accessibility, nutrition, obesity, and other diet related illnesses through active recruitment of garden membership in targeted low income neighborhoods.
Gardening, nutrition and cooking workshops; afterschool programs that will provide exercise, hands on growing experiences and simple cooking demonstrations and tastings. Partnerships with elderly services, master gardeners, churches and schools will ensure diversity and community bonding.
Our SpokeModels group is organizing Savannah’s first ever Cranksgiving Ride on Saturday, Nov. 23.
It’s partially a bike ride, partially a food drive and completely a good way to spend a Saturday afternoon!
Competitors will ride to area grocery stores and purchase food items, which will be donated to Emmaus House. Registration begins at 1 p.m. in Baldwin Park and riders will set out for the stores at 2 p.m. They’ll return with all the food they could haul at 4 p.m. and join a bicycle convoy to deliver the bounty to Emmaus House, which has provided food for the hungry in Savannah since 1982.
An after party is planned at Zunzi’s 2, where awards will be given based on most items carried, most stores visited and best budgeter.
More information is available on the SpokeModels Facebook page.
The fourth annual Jerry Jaycox Savannah Wheelie ride is scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 17. Named in memory of our friend Jerry Jaycox, this autumn tradition moves to Skidaway Island State Park for a spin around the park and nearby trails. The ride leaves from and returns to picnic shelter No. 1. (View the park map). The casual pace and paved trails make this a great ride for the whole family. Those with mountain bikes can also explore the Big Ferry Trail. The ride will depart at 3 p.m. sharp, so please plan to arrive a little early.
A cookout follows the ride, back at picnic shelter No. 1, with hotdogs, hamburgers and beverages. The ride and cookout are free, but there is a $5 per vehicle parking fee to enter the park. The Jerry Jaycox Wheelie will serve as our monthly Cycle Social for November. Let us know you’re coming by joining the event on Facebook and don’t forget your helmet!
THIS MEETING HAS BEEN CANCELLED. We will post information on a rescheduled date as soon as we have it. The Chatham County Department of Engineering in Conjunction with City of Savannah and Georgia Department of Transportation will hold a public information open house for the Truman Linear Park Trail, Phase 2 on Nov. 7 at Bible Baptist Church Social Hall located at 4700 Skidaway Road.
The purpose of the open house is to provide the public with an opportunity to view the proposed project, ask questions and comment on the proposal. The public is invited to attend the informal open house anytime between 4 and 7 p.m. There will be no formal presentation. The meeting site is accessible to persons with disabilities.
About the Truman Linear Park Trail
The Truman Linear Park Trail, Phase 2 project proposes to connect the Phase 1 Trail (Police Memorial Trail) to Lake Mayer. Phase 2 is approximately 4.8 miles in length and varies in width from 8-ft to 10-ft. The path will consist of a combination of retrofitting existing sidewalk and a new 10-ft wide asphalt path. Canals will be crossed with timber bridges and wetlands will be crossed using timber boardwalks. The improvements also include upgrading intersection crossings to safely accommodate pedestrians. The current project schedule anticipates a construction contract being awarded in December 2014.
Written statements concerning this project will be accepted until Nov. 22 and should be submitted to:
Chatham County Department of Engineering
Attn: Nathaniel Panther, P.E.
P.O. Box 8161 Savannah, Georgia 31412
Our SpokeModels group has organized a Bike Scavenger Hunt in conjunction with this month’s First Friday Art March on Nov. 1 from 6-9 p.m. at Desotorow Gallery.
Teams will check in with the Bicycle Campaign tent on Desoto Avenue, where they receive the rules, challenge questions, and a map. This is a great way to explore both the city and the Art March in a fun, interactive way! The winning team will receive prizes from the Savannah Bicycle Campaign and Desotorow. More information will be posted soon on the SpokeModels Facebook page.
City leaders announced Oct. 16 that Savannah earned Bicycle Friendly Community status for recent accomplishments in bicycle infrastructure, education, and programming. The City joins 291 Cities nation-wide and just four cities in the State of Georgia that have been recognized with the award.
“The City of Savannah is playing a critical part in creating a truly Bicycle Friendly America,” said Andy Clarke, President of the League of American Bicyclists which issued the Award. “We know Savannah’s investment in bicycling will be returned many times over in the health, environmental, and quality of life benefits of a thriving community.”
“The City has worked hard to provide new public bicycling facilities for residents, including the lanes on Washington Avenue in the 4th District,”, said Mary Ellen Sprague, 4th District Alderwoman. “This award celebrates the progress made, with more accomplishments to come.”
Recent accomplishments of the City include the Price Street and Washington Avenue bicycle lanes, “sharrows” throughout Barnard Street, an expanded bicycle rack program, the launch of the downtown bike-share program, and the receipt of a 2013 Play Streets grant.
“The City of Savannah has made great strides in fostering a bicycling culture in the last several years”, said John Bennett, executive director of the Savannah Bicycle Campaign. “We’re measuring growing numbers of riders each year, and have seen increased national recognition of Savannah as a bicycling destination.”
Read more about Savannah’s Bicycle Friendly Community designation.
This year’s highly successful Savannah Play Streets series concludes on Saturday with a colossal event in Daffin Park from 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. Throughout the year the Savannah Bicycle Campaign has brought bicycle fun to Play Streets with bike activities for kids, free bicycle valet parking and a group ride to the event, and this Saturday is no different. Want to get involved? Select a volunteer shift!
A group ride will leave from the south end of Forsyth Park at 11 a.m. And, thanks to our friends at Well FED Savannah, everyone who parks a bike with us will receive a free gift bag full of goodies valued at more than $25.
That’s only one of the cool things that happens when Play Streets teams up with the Savannah Food Day Festival, a nationwide celebration and a movement toward more healthy, affordable, and sustainable food. This is a national grassroots mobilization backed by some of the most prominent voices for energizing the food movement.
Savannah’s Food Day Festival is the largest in the nation and features live music, nearly 100 exhibitors and vendors and shopping at the Farmer’s Market. Attendees are also sure to find interest among the two dozen unique and completely free workshops and cooking classes, suitable for everyone, including the kids!
On Tuesday, Oct. 15 we’ll be riding from Baldwin Park to the Flip Flop Tiki Bar & Grill, located at 117 Whitaker Street.
Ride with us at 5:30 or meet us there at 6 p.m. Enjoy food, beverages and the company of other cyclists. It’s a fun way to find out about the latest news from your Savannah Bicycle Campaign.
Don’t forget your lights and helmet!