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!

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!  
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!

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.

Register now for a night you won’t forget!

Please join us in congratulating our own Frank McIntosh for his third consecutive win at the Dump the Pump Challenge. Frank sailed into the bike racks at City Hall before the bus and car riders this morning in the annual race from 12 Oaks Shopping Center. It’s not a surprise to us, of course, that riding a bike downtown is not only good for your health, your wallet, and the planet, but it makes for easy parking and gets you to where you need to go quickly.

Kudos to Frank, and we hope you Dump the Pump with us for the rest of today and any time you can! Many thanks to our partners in this event today, the City of Savannah and Chatham Area Transit.  Tune in to WSAV and WTOC for coverage of today’s event.

Between 2000 and 2008, bicycle commuting increased 43 percent in the United States. That’s a lot more bicycle commuters, to be sure. Still, there are millions more Americans, who could easily leave their cars at home. More than half of the U.S. population lives within five miles of their workplaces and this includes many Savannah residents who live within comfortable biking distance of their jobs. Now’s the time, friends and neighbors, to try bicycle commuting and enjoy the significant economic, health and environmental benefits.

The City of Savannah and the Savannah Bicycle Campaign will celebrate National Bike to Work Day on May 20 with refreshments in Ellis Square for bicycle commuters and a “State of Cycling in Savannah” announcements from city officials, which will include the latest updates on bicycle facilities. A group commute will depart from the Habersham Village Shopping Center at 7:30 a.m. First time bike commuters, who would prefer to ride in the company of experienced cyclists, are encouraged to participate in the group commute. All bicycle commuters can stop by Ellis Square for coffee and refreshments from 7:30 a.m. until 9 a.m.

National Bike To Work Day is celebrated by cities across the country as part of the League of American Bicyclists National Bike Month Andy Clarke, President of the LAB, said, “Biking to work is an efficient and fun way to get the exercise you need, without having to find extra time to work out. And this year, with gasoline prices as high as
they are, biking to work makes more sense than ever.”

It’s hard to argue with that.