Want to avoid pain at the pump? Try bicycle commuting on March 4

Rising gasoline prices are front page news in Savannah. Today, WSAV’s Joann Merrigan offered advice on how to use less gas. While all her suggestions were helpful, she failed to mention the most effective strategy for using less gas: Leave your car at home!

According to the Nationwide Personal Transportation Survey, 25 percent of all trips are made within a mile of the home, 40 percent of all trips are within two miles of the home, and 50 percent of the working population commutes five miles or less to work.  Yet more than 82 percent of trips five miles or less are made by personal motor vehicle.

The situation is clear. Many people are driving short distances to work—short distances that easily bikeable.

But others are recognizing there is a better way. The combination of rising digits on gas station signs and beautiful spring weather in Savannah has a lot of folks opting to commute to work by bicycle.

Want to join them?

This Friday, the Savannah Bicycle Campaign invites you to take 2 Wheels 2 Work by riding to work in the company of experienced bicycle commuters. We’ll depart from the Habersham Village Shopping Center at 7:30 a.m. and head north into downtown Savannah to enjoy free pre-work coffee from Jittery Joe’s.

Volunteer opportunities!

Ride Marshal on DutySure feels like spring! Join in the excitement and give a hand to the SBC for one of many upcoming events — the first is coming this Saturday with the Historic Savannah Foundation Run for Preservation!

– HSF Run for Preservation, Sat 2/26/11 7:30-9am, 12 needed for course signage
– 2Wheels2Work: Fri 3/4/11 7:30am-8:00am, 3-4 marshals
– Spoked Festival Ride: Fri 3/4/11 6-7:30pm, 4 marshals
– SMF Opening Night Ride: Thu 3/24/11 7:15-8:30pm, 4 marshals
– Tybee Bike Rodeo (kids bike ed): Sat 3/26/11 time TBA, 8 needed
– Multiple opportunities for bike valet volunteers at the Savannah Music Festival (see below) — join us for these and you may get to see part of the show!
– SMF Closing Night Ride: Saturday 4/9/11 7:15-8:30pm, 4 marshals

All opportunities are listed on the form at this link, which you should use to indicate your availability.

Savannah Music Festival Bike Valet

We will be running bike valet for multiple shows at the Savannah Music Festival this year! Volunteer and you may have an opportunity to see part of the show! Shows are listed below, and you should indicate your availability for those dates, indicating “Bike Valet” and the desired shift time on this SMF web form. Please put “Bicycle Campaign” in the final field marked “How did you learn about this volunteer opportunity?” There are two brief orientations set up for early March.

– Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings: Trustees Theater, 3/24/11 7:30-10:30pm
– The Avett Brothers: Johnny Mercer Theater, 3/30/11 7:30-10:30pm
– Robert Randolph and the Family Band: Trustees Theater, 4/1/11 8-10:30pm
– Band of Horses: Johnny Mercer Theater, 4/4/11 6:30-9:30pm
– Citizen Cope: Trustees Theater, 4/5/11 7-10pm
– Maceo Parker: Charles H. Morris Center, 4/9/11, 7:30pm-10pm or 10pm-midnight

Feb. 15 Bike to Beer provides fun, the latest bicycling news

Curious about the latest advocacy efforts, the status of local bicycle infrastructure projects or upcoming rides and events? Do you like beer, food or spending time with fellow cyclists? If you answered yes to one or more of these, your Savannah Bicycle Campaign invites you to the monthly Bike to Beer social, downstairs at Moon River Brewing Company on Tuesday, Feb. 15 at 6:30 p.m. Whether you’re a long-time SBC member or simply want to know more about how bicycles make Savannah better, all are welcome. You can even bring your bike downstairs with you. Otherwise, secure bicycle parking is available nearby at the corner of Bryan and Bull streets and on the west side of city hall.

Tis the season: Buy a bike, donate a second free!

That’s right, when you buy one of these cute widdle bikes, the Savannah Bicycle Campaign will donate a second one to a child of a Construction Apprentice Program student, a program that helps unemployed and underemployed Chatham County residents get back on their feet. And when they go gleefully rocketing off on one of these truly fine kids’ rides from Specialized Bikes (builders of some of the world’s better bicycles), they may be headed for a life of health and happiness perched on a bicycle saddle. As will your child.

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The third gift isn’t frankincense, myrrh or gold, but the proceeds of the sale of the bicycle will help the SBC purchase larger bicycles that will be used to teach area 4th and 5th graders in safe (and happy) bicycle riding. Asking price is MSRP but we’ll be entertaining best offers both on a parallel E-Bay listing (for an online payment) and through direct contact. If someone would like to go above MSRP, you’ll be helping several worthy causes.

There are a total of 6 bikes available for sale/donation, ranging in gender design (boy, girl) and size (12″-16″ frames, good for children 3-9). Interested gifters can pick the gifts for their child and the child in need. Bikes are already fully assembled (training wheels included) and are available for pick-up in either Ardsley Park or Downtown Savannah.

Payments can be facilitated through a this cross-listing on Ebay , cash or check made payable to the Savannah Bicycle Campaign.

For more information, please contact Garrison at (912) 373-4683.

O Come All Ye Gearheads: Caroling next Tuesday

Not sure about you, but this Canadian air in Savannah is getting a little old…

We do, however, have the cure: bike caroling next Tuesday. It is the third Tuesday, our usual meeting time, and for the December social we’ve planned a treat: we’ll ride and sing the songs of the season starting at around 5:45pm. Ride and caroling will begin from Tiedelman Park (Atlantic and Washington Ave, across from Savannah Arts Academy). Please remember lights (holiday displays are appropriate, too!) as it will be dark.


Join us after carols to warm up at the home of Exec Dir Frank McIntosh and Board member Patty McIntosh to celebrate the season and another great year for the Campaign, our first holiday member appreciation party! Wassail, Yule viands (i.e., good food) and other cheer provided for carolers and other congregants.

We look forward to seeing you for another chance to appreciate what a fine group of people we have building a better world through bicycling. Automobile parking is a little limited on E 50th St, so please bike if possible. Back yard bike racks will be available for two wheelers.

Happy Yule, Y’all.
Tues., Dec 21, 2010
Tiedelmann Park (Atlantic and Washington Ave) 5:45-7pm – Neighborhood caroling by bike: come one and all!
The McIntoshes, 205 E. 50th St. – Holiday Member Appreciation Party 7-9pm: RSVP to frank[at]bicyclecampaign[dot]org or 912-228-3096.

Another Golden Opportunity for a Chilly Morning Ride Fri Dec 3

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.)

Fort Pulaski Wheelie this Sunday 12/5

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.

Survey says: We need your input!

How often do you ride your bicycle? How many bicycles do you own? What are your favorite and least favorite routes? What can be done to make Savannah and Chatham County better for bicycling? We need to know what you think. Please take a moment to complete the online survey located here. Your answers — which we hope are more relevant than the ones on the big board pictured above — will help us prioritize our advocacy efforts. Don’t forget to answer the questions at the end, which help us determine how well we’ve communicated with you about what your Savannah Bicycle Campaign has been doing. Get started right away!

Bike to Beer: 7pm Tomorrow 11/16

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…

SBC Geekend Spinning

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!