December Two Wheels to Work (2W2W)
The happy gang that joined us for the November 2W2W (thanks again to Mayor Johnson and Healthy Savannah for being there) all reported some trepidation at braving the 30-something degree weather that greeted that morning’s ride. When we gathered at ride’s end at Jittery Joe’s Coffee (also the December ride’s destination—located in Ex Libris Bookstore at 228 Martin Luther King Blvd just north of Liberty St.) it was all smiles among the rosy-cheeked participants.

So, do yourself a favor and roll out in time to ride through the crackling clear morning over to Jittery Joe’s and join other Savannah bike commuters for a free cup of joe from 8 – 9 am. You can either ride “free range” (just show up at Jittery Joe’s to meet the gang) or join a group launching from the usual Habersham Village beginning point. The group ride will launch no later than 7:45 am.

We like to try to involve other groups as official partners in 2W2W rides. We hope that if we introduce enough people to the joys of a nice morning ride, more people will start to take their bike to work now and then if not always. If we all rode a bike to work one day a month, we would roughly quintuple the mode share for bicycling—it stands at about 1% right now. (We can do better than that, right?)

If you are a member of a group, organization, business, or other pack of people who might be interested in a pleasant morning group ride and maybe the beginning of a career as a bike commuter, please send an email to frank@bicyclecampaign.org to discuss what’s involved. (It’s not complicated.)

Please excuse this non-commercial interruption to your CyberMonday for an announcement on one of our most popular rides, less than a week away!

Coming this Sunday December 5 is the Jerry Jaycox Fort Pulaski Wheelie.  We’ll start at 2pm at the Fort Pulaski picnic pavilions, ride around the trails both on Cockspur Island (including the dikes around the fort) and the McQueen’s Island Rail Trail that runs along the south channel of the Savannah River.  The ride itself is free, but adults 16 and older will owe $3 each for entry to to Fort Pulaski. Kids are welcome and get free entry to the Fort. Lots of the ride is off-road, so fat tires are recommended.  You’ll have options for around 10, 6 or 2 miles.

Then, if the ride wasn’t enough, we’ll wrap it all up with a cookout — we’ll supply burgers and dogs and just ask you to bring a dish to share and BYOB.

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Jerry Jaycox moved to Savannah in 2005. He was an active and accomplished cyclist who rode with both the Coastal Bicycle Touring Club and the Savannah Wheelman. He was a very enthusiastic cyclist who shared and promoted his love of cycling with all he came in contact with. He was a founding member and very active in the Savannah Bicycle Campaign back in 2008 and helped put together the original Fort Pulaski Wheelie in November of 2008. It was one of his favorite rides.

Jerry passed away unexpectedly in January 2009 while doing what he loved most, riding a bike.

Third Tuesday is upon us. For the monthly Bike to Beer social, we’ll hit the fun running at 7pm (this is a little later than our usual 6:30) at Moon River Brewing Company on W. Bay. Join us in the basement for beer, an SBC update, socializing and usually a giveaway or two…

It’s not a spinning class, but in honor of this weekend’s Geekend, Savannah Bicycle Campaign will be spinning up some frozen drinks using its award-winning bicycle-powered blender (Greenest Picnic—2010 Pinknic in the Park) Saturday November 6 starting at 7pm. Come join the geek merrymakers and spin doctors at one of Savannah’s coolest and greenest hangs and partake of your favorite human-powered beverage. Heck, if you got some legs, we may even let you drive on one or two—3 or 4 full out 45 second sprints will spin up a thirst on most anyone.

SEED Eco Lounge; 39 Montgomery St.; (912) 349-5100

One more thing, Campaigners! Don’t forget tomorrow’s 2Wheels 2Work , a joint event this month with Healthy Savannah. Starts 7:30am at Habersham Village. Join us there, along the way or at the finish for coffee at Ellis Square!

Healthy Savannah is teaming up with your Savannah Bicycle Campaign to promote our monthly Two Wheels To Work commuter ride on Friday, November 5^th.

The convoy will depart at 7:30am from Habersham Village for a gently-paced 20-25 minute social ride into downtown, ending at Ellis Square.  The ride will end with a nice cup of Jittery Joe’s Coffee, along with an assortment of healthy breakfast treats provided by Healthy Savannah.

The 2W2W event highlights how enjoyable bicycling to work can be, particularly during our fine Fall weather. Bicycling to work is one of the healthiest choices you can make at a variety of levels.  Exercising first thing in the morning does wonders for boosting your metabolism and will give you that extra pep in your step!

As you campaigners know, not only is biking to work good for your body, but it also benefits our environment. Short trips by automobiles are one of the worst sources of pollution. Automobiles run particularly foul in the first few minutes they are in operation. Because of this, a prime goal of cleaner transit advocates is to increase the awareness of cleaner alternatives like biking, walking and mass transit. At present, human powered transit accounts for only about a 1% mode share of all trips in America. If commuters would employ an alternative mode just one of the 20 or so work days of each month, that mode share would go up to 5%.

Bicycling to work also meshes beautifully with Healthy Savannah’s stated goal: “The Healthy Savannah 2012 Initiative is dedicated to making Savannah a healthier place to live. Our aim is to increase opportunities for citizens to engage in physical activity and consume a nutritious, balanced diet.”

“I started biking to work in Atlanta in 1993 on Bike to Work Day,” says Frank McIntosh, SBC Executive Director. “I’ve biked a little over 48,000 miles since then with a significant percentage of that being just short hops to work and running errands. It has been an amazingly positive influence in my life. SBC is working hard to make sure that our city is as bicycle friendly as it can be and is eager to work with anyone who wants to make cycling a part of their lives.”

Members of Healthy Savannah will address the group after the ride on the importance of the many small healthy choices we make every day in our overall well-being.  All are welcome!

Savannah is front and center for bicycling in our state as the Georgia Bike Summit brings its sessions to the Coastal Georgia Center on Saturday — you can still register and catch the keynote from League of American Bicyclists President Andy Clarke!

Even if you can’t join us for the summit proper, come out with fellow cyclists from all over the state for our social ride for your perfect score day (10-10-10) on Sunday morning at 9.  We’ll leave from Gallery Espresso with one of three options to Ride the Summit:

1. Social, slow paced cruise — any kind of bike will do.  Wheelie style through downtown.  We’ll show our visitors why downtown Savannah is such a great place to ride bikes.
2. Isle of Hope 25: Slow to moderate pace, best suited for road bikes: thanks to the fine folks of Coastal Bicycle Touring Club for organizing!  Bull Street through Forsyth Park, Washington Avenue through Ardsley Park and Daffin Park, out to Sandfly pausing at the Old Oak Alley at Wormsloe Plantation before checking out the scenic view of the intracoastal waterway at Bluff Drive on Isle of Hope. Back to town via the old grand prix course on Laroche, through Savannah State, river views and working fishing boats in Thunderbolt, finally stopping for a look at Bonaventure Cemetery before continuing through old streetcar suburbs of Gordonston and back into town.
3. Anyone who needs more speed and distance can join the usual Sunday morning Gallery ride (usually around 50 miles at 22-24mph), heading out into West Chatham for country roads, miles and more miles.

Don’t be late!  Thanks to Perry Rubber Bike Shop* for sponsoring the Georgia Bike Summit and for their help in hosting this ride.  Helmets are required on the Isle of Hope and regular Gallery ride, and highly recommended for the social cruise.  Although there is no charge for the ride, we hope you will consider making a donation to Georgia Bikes Alliance in their efforts to push bike friendly legislation including the 3 foot passing law through the Georgia legislature.  We hope to see you all there!

*Thanks also to Bicycle Link and Quality Bike Shop, the City of Savannah and Chatham Environmental Forum for supporting this first Georgia Bike Summit!