News - Page 34 of 62 - Bike Walk Savannah

3 days left on best Midnight Garden Ride prices

Plans for our Third Annual Midnight Garden Ride are set, and riders are lining up for the music and the fun – we are set for a record turnout!

The best prices on the ride are available through this Friday 8/19: $15 for SBC members or $25 for non-members. On Sat 8/20, prices go up to $20 for members or $35 for non-members, so go to MidnightGardenRide.com to register now!

You won’t want to miss the fun – the ride, the spectacle and the music (Ben Sollee concert in Forsyth Park will follow). Register today, and while you’re there, purchase your ticket to win a 2011 New Belgium Fat Tire Cruiser or a $500 gift certificate to Quality Bike Shop!

Special MGR T-bird Room Rate

We’re pleased to offer a special rate at the Thunderbird Inn for the September 3 Midnight Garden Ride. It’s a holiday weekend, so many of the downtown hotels are slammed with visitors enjoying our fair city not only for the Midnight Garden ride but also for the Savannah Century and Savannah Craft Brew Fest.

The rate is $115/night and you can get it online or by calling the Thunderbird at 866-324-2661.

Price Street Bike Lane 2 Beer

A very special Tuesday August 16 awaits. Two jolly bike related events are planned for your enjoyment.

First, join the City of Savannah’s Open House on the Price Street retrofit (pictured below) at Savannah Arts Academy from 3-6pm. Be present to add your voice to others acclaiming the wondrous changes thermoplastic will bring to Price Street: a southbound bike lane out of downtown, traffic calming, and a more positive pedestrian atmosphere. We won’t miss the small total volume of cars travelling much too fast, to be replaced by a small volume traveling at a reasonable speed.

As if that weren’t enough, follow it up with a sneak partial preview of the Midnight Garden Ride route as we mosey to our third Tuesday Bike 2 Beer, this month at Blue Turtle Bistro on Paulsen Street. We should arrive around 7pm for Bike 2 Beer if you can’t join us for the ride from Savannah Arts at 6pm.

What: Bike 2 Beer monthly social

Where and When:
Savannah Arts Academy, 3-6pm: Savannah Price Bike Lane Open House
Savannah Arts to Blue Turtle Bistro, 6-7pm: A Midnight Garden Ride route preview
Blue Turtle Bistro (5002 Paulsen St), 7pm: Bike 2 Beer social

Who: You and all of the rest of our awesome Campaigners

Why: Celebrate the coming of the new Price Street bike lane and the Midnight Garden Ride

Win an Amazing Bike From Us!

You heard right. We like bikes, and we know you do, too, so we have one from sponsor New Belgium Brewing that we’re putting up for raffle in conjunction with the 2011 Midnight Garden Ride/Good & Evil Party Concert Fiesta Saturday September 3. The bike is pictured below, and just to sweeten the deal a bit, our co-grand prize for a second lucky winner is a $500 gift certificate from Quality Bike Shop! The winning ticket will cost you a paltry $10.

These sweet wheels will get you where you need or just want to go in style, and sport a very smart cargo rack to boot. Tickets are now on sale at our registration page for the Midnight Garden Ride. You need not register for the ride to enter the raffle, and you need not be present to win. You do, however, have to play to win, so get your tickets now!

Ben Sollee to Headline Midnight Garden Ride 2011

We were thrilled to announce today on WTOC a fantastic addition to the Third Annual Midnight Garden Ride. Made possible in part by the generosity of our new presenting sponsor, Michelob Ultra, we proudly announce the return of Ben Sollee to Savannah to headline the 2011 Midnight Garden Ride Concert in Forsyth Park! The free show at the Forsyth Park Band Shell, a joint production of Savannah Bicycle Campaign and Savannah Stopover, will open with Cheyenne Marie Mize at 9pm.

As a reminder to faithful campaigners who witnessed his most recent stop in Savannah, Ben Sollee often tours by bike, and he last joined us here for a show in December of 2009. Video from the ride that preceded the show is below (sort of a mini-version of the Midnight Garden Ride), followed by our press release. You won’t want to miss this night – register today!

bell symphony – Ben Sollee Bike Tour from marty benson on Vimeo.

SAVANNAH — Classically trained pop cellist Ben Sollee and his band will headline a concert at the Forsyth Park Band Shell on Sept. 3 at 9 p.m., following the Savannah Bicycle Campaign’s third annual Midnight Garden Ride. The concert – a co-production of the Savannah Bicycle Campaign (SBC) and Savannah Stopover – is free. Registration is required for the ride, which is the primary fundraiser for the non-profit advocacy organization. A limited number of stage-front VIP seats will be available.

Sollee attracted national attention with his debut album “Learning to Bend” in 2008 and in with his band mates has conducted multiple tours by bicycle, one of which included a stop in Savannah organized by SBC in December 2009. Sollee also performed at the 2008 Savannah Music Festival as part of the Sparrow Quartet, featuring Bela Fleck. His latest recording, “Inclusions,” was released this year and described by Paste magazine as “exploring post-modern jazz one minute and simple folk the next, with gospel themes running up the spine. It’s a surprising and rewarding journey…”

Cheyenne Marie Mize will open the show. Mize has collaborated with Sollee in the past and will be familiar to local audiences from her performance at the 2011 Savannah Stopover Festival. Her latest recording, “Before Lately,” was released on SonaBLAST records in 2010.

“The Midnight Garden Ride has grown in size and energy every year. Expanding it to include live music from notable performers is particularly exciting for us,” said Savannah Bicycle Campaign Chairman Drew Wade. “We are grateful for the support of many wonderful sponsors, and in particular our presenting sponsor Michelob Ultra. We invite everyone to join us on the ride and for the concert in Forsyth Park.”

The Midnight Garden Ride is a casual, police-escorted ride that winds through some of Savannah’s most historic and beautiful neighborhoods. Registration is required, as are lights and helmets. The event also includes a costume contest, raffle, food and beverages. All proceeds benefit SBC, which is dedicated to making Savannah better through bicycling.

For more information visit http://midnightgardenride.com, http://bensollee.com and http://shinyplaces.com

Midnight Garden Ride Route is Set!

We’ve already told you that we have moved our Midnight Garden Ride venue this year to Forsyth Park. We have also made many changes to our route, which we’re happy to announce to you now. We think this plan will allow for better flow and safer riding, while still maintaining all the great fun and scenery you have come to expect.

Our route is decided for this year – it’s a gem of a ride through Savannah, giving a bike’s eye view of the hostess city, starting north on Drayton Street and heading into the National Landmark Historic District. We’ll wind a path through 4 more historic districts, past Grayson Stadium and back to Forsyth Park. A map of the route is here and below.

To make the best use of Savannah’s finest who will provide our escort (and to be sure everyone has a chance to enjoy the post-ride concert) there will be checkpoints along the way where slower riders will be directed to the finish. The countdown has begun – REGISTER TODAY!

Also, keep your ear to the ground for an update next week on our post-ride entertainment… it’s going to be amazing! And, if you want a sneak peak at that, come on by to B Matthews for Bike to Beer tomorrow night (Wed 7/20 at 7pm) where a few more details will be revealed to the bike faithful!

Get in Gear and Bike to Beer!

As mentioned last week and correctly indicated on our calendar, the July Bike to Beer social is TOMORROW, Wednesday 7/20 at 7pm. This time, Bike-to-Beergoers will be witnesses to a secret early announcement of our post-ride entertainment for this year’s Midnight Garden Ride… AND we’ll be giving away 2 pairs of free tickets for this year’s ride to some lucky SBC members – you must be present to win, and must be a current member, so join or renew today!

So, c’mon out with us and enjoy the impressive B Matthews beer selection, and grab a bite while you’re there.

3 foot Midnight Garden Ride Discount

Big crowds were on hand this weekend to celebrate enactment of HB 101 defining minimum safe passing distance as 3 feet in Georgia… check our facebook page or flickr for more photos! CBTC July 4: 3feet 2pass
Thanks to Ed Jewell of CBTC and David Udinsky of Perry Rubber Bike Shop for their help in organizing those rides to celebrate this victory for cyclists!

We’re returning the love this week with a deep discount on the 2011 Midnight Garden Ride. Now through Sunday, the first 30 to register will enjoy a big discount on the much anticipated 3rd Annual MGR, starting and finishing at Forsyth Park:

SBC member price $10
Non-member price $15.

That’s a discount of $15 for members and $10 for non-members off the full preregistration price. Discount will be applied at checkout. Get to it, though — only the first 30 will get this price!

3 feet 2 pass celebrations this weekend!

This weekend, join one or both of two Savannah rides celebrating passage of HB 101 in the state legislature this year, defining 3 feet as a minimum safe distance for cars overtaking bicycles!

As dedicated Campaigners know, this Friday July 1, Georgia will become a safer place for cyclists as a state law that includes the 3 foot minimum takes effect. Over this Independence Day weekend, bicycling clubs and advocacy groups statewide will take to the roads on “3 Feet 2 Pass” group rides to celebrate and publicize this year’s passage by the General Assembly of HB 101, the “Better Bicycling Bill.”

Governor Nathan Deal signed House Bill 101, the “Better Bicycling Bill,” on May 11th and Georgia joined 17 other states with safe passing laws. The bill makes several other improvements to bicycling laws. The law now clarifies that bicycle lanes must be built according to nationally recognized minimum safety standards and that cyclists have the right of way while travelling in bicycle lanes.

Language in the bill also clarifies conditions under which a bicycle, long recognized as a vehicle under state law, may move from its legally mandated area of operation “as far right as practicable” into the center of a travel lane. “This is particularly important to the safety of cyclists,” notes SBC director Frank McIntosh, “as they oftentimes must move more into the travel lane to ensure their safety. A lot more road hazards gather in the gutter and you are not as visible.”

Savannah Bicycle Campaign partner ‘3 Feet 2 Pass’ rides include a road ride Saturday, July 2 morning ride launching from Gallery Espresso at 8 a.m., concurrent with the usual Saturday morning road ride there. Ride options range from 30 miles at 18-20 mph to 47 miles at 25mph+. For more information on the ride, contact David Udinsky at info@perryrubberbikeshop.com.

Then on Monday, July 4th, the Coastal Bicycle Touring Club will host a 25 mile ride starting from the north end of Forsyth Park at 10 a.m., proceeding around Isle of Hope and back. It is a more moderately paced ride that allows time to enjoy the scenery. For more information contact: Ed Jewell, 912-826-3657.

Full press release of rides around the state is here.

Don’t forget to register for the Midnight Garden Ride Saturday September 3! It’s going to be a sight to behold!

Midnight Garden Ride Registration is open!

Campaigners! The wait has ended – registration is at last open for the 2011 Midnight Garden Ride!

The Midnight Garden Ride has made a splash in its first 2 years as hundreds hit the streets in a blinking wave of human power. Music, costumes, and giveaways will again take over Savannah in a rolling party. There are some significant improvements to this year’s ride, not the least of which is a new start/finish and party location in Forsyth Park. We’ll be rolling out announcements about entertainment, route, and prizes in the coming days and weeks, so stay tuned.