Xtracycles, cello, drums, and a great time.  Ben Sollee’s Pedaling Against Poverty Tour rolled into town last night at Blowin’ Smoke.  Ben and his bandmates are incredibly talented and clearly love what they do.  If they weren’t riding bikes, though, they may never have come here, and if they did, we probably would not have had the pleasure of meeting them like we did.  Thanks to them for a great event last night — everyone had a ball!

Our raffle raised $425 which will go to the Oxfam Unwrapped program Ben is touring in part to support (buying a bike for an impoverished community at every show — please consider giving individually to this worthy cause) and SBC’s new program for lights and helmets for low income cyclists who are more frequently injured or killed on their bikes, in part due to the absence of some of these key pieces of equipment.  More to come on that soon, and our thanks to Quality Bike Shop and Bicycle Link for assisting in these efforts.  Many thanks to Quality Bike Shop and Half Moon Outfitters for their donations for the raffle.

Thanks also to our volunteers who made the ride and raffle happen.  We had a great group groovin’ through the downtown Savannah streets last night before the show.  Ben and crew are on their way to Jacksonville for a Sunday 12/13 show at Jack Rabbit’s, via St Marys and Fernandina Beach where they will play the ferry that links those cities at 2:30 this Saturday 12/12.  Definitely something to see if you’re in the area.

Speaking of ferries, Ben noted during the show, and Mary Landers also noted in her article in today’s SMN that the Belles Ferry operators were less than accomodating when these four loaded cyclists arrived for a ride across the river despite an expected minimum of ferry traffic on a weekday mid December afternoon:

You also have to deal with the unexpected, such as a stern operator aboard the Savannah Belles Ferry, who would only allow the group’s oversized bikes to take the ferry one at a time. That would’ve taken the foursome about an hour and a half and put them off schedule, so they braved the Talmadge Bridge on their bikes instead.

Hardly a way to welcome visitors to our city.  That ferry is part of the East Coast Greenway route which will ultimately link Maine with Key West, and the next time loaded cyclists come through, we’d like to think they will get a warm welcome instead of a hassle.  Ben and crew were very good natured about it, even doing a funny monologue about it in the show.  This morning, the ferry supervisor has issued them an official apology, noting from the SMN pictures that they could have accomodated at least 2 bikes on a ferry, probably all if a larger boat had been used.  Still, this was a lost opportunity to extend the hospitality of the hostess city to visitors bringing nothing but good things to us.  Lesson learned — let’s hope that only happens once!

Well, they have rolled into Charleston, cello and drums in tow. Two days until the Savannah show at Blowin’ Smoke this Thursday Dec 10.

Just so you know, there will be great stuff available at the raffle. Proceeds benefit Oxfam America’s initiatives against poverty (buy a bike for an impoverished community) and SBC’s new program to outfit the underserved with lights and helmets. Some highlights from the raffle include a Simple Cruiser and Brooks B17 saddle from our friends at QBS as well as a chrome messenger bag and loads of other great camping and outdoors gear thanks to Half Moon Outfitters.

If you are free Thursday afternoon, Ben and crew will be coming in from Beaufort, expecting to arrive at the intersection of US17 and SC170 at around 2pm. Drop us a line in the comments and we’ll put you in touch if you want to join them as they ride into town. As a reminder, our night ride through downtown starts at 6pm and music starts at 7:30 at Blowin’ Smoke.

Holidays are on the way. Kick yours off to a fun start down in Jekyll with the Jingle Bell Ride, organized by our Glynn County friends with the Coastal Georgia Greenway:

What better way to experience Jekyll Island’s Christmas celebration than to be cruising through the historic neighborhoods on your own “clean green machine,” namely, your bicycle. No combustible engines. No rolled up windows, isolating you from experiencing the celebration of the season. No, just you, your family, and your closest friends, pedaling peacefully through our colorful history, illuminated with the brilliant colors of the season.

The Jingle Bell Ride, scheduled for Saturday, November 28th at 9:30am, is an eighteen mile, casual, family friendly ride around Jekyll Island. The one to three hour ride will be held in conjunction with the Jekyll Island Christmas Tree lighting Festival. The festival includes a tree-lighting in front of the historic Jekyll island club hotel, holiday crafts, family fun, delicious food, and outstanding Christmas decorations.

The ride is being held to offer a fun family activity, and to promote not only Jekyll Island, but also the Coastal Georgia Greenway, which when complete, will offer pedalers and hikers in Georgia paved paths from south in St. Marys north to Savannah, ultimately part of the East Coast Greenway connecting 3000 miles between Maine and Key West.

Online preregistration is available here!

First, campaigners, a reminder on your weekend plans — the Jerry Jaycox Fort Pulaski Wheelie begins from the picnic area at Fort Pulaski Sunday 11/15 at 2pm, cookout to follow.  Great scenery, great weather, great fun!  Bring a dish and BYOB.

Next, the following weekend, Saturday Nov 21, the fastest folks on two wheels here in SAV, the Savannah Wheelmen, will hold their annual banquet.  Not just for racers, all bike lovers are welcome to join in the fun:

The banquet is open to all cyclists and cycling fans – you don’t have to be a Wheelman to attend.  Please join us for some good food at a great location with good friends.

This year our guest speaker is Savannah’s own Ken Laidlaw.  Ken won the Tour of Scotland in 1957.  He competed in the 1960 Olympics.  During the 1961 Tour de France, after an attack on the final climb of the 19th stage, Ken was named most aggressive rider for the stage.

What: Savannah Wheelmen Banquet
When: November 21st at 6:00 PM
Where: DeSoto Hilton Hotel – Harbor View room on the 14th floor (great view)

Finally, and this is really exciting for fans of music and bikes.  Ben Sollee, a renowned cellist and singer-songwriter is taking his act on the road down the coast and is coming to play Savannah on Thursday, Dec 10.  Ben was here as part of the Sparrow Quartet (Bela Fleck, Abigail Washburn) during the 2008 Savannah Music Festival.

Before you say, “Wait, since when was this organization about music,” what’s amazing is that Ben is bringing this show from Louisville, Kentucky down the coast on bikes.  More to come on this show, but I must say we’re pretty excited.  Look for an announcement of our plans for his visit next week.

Campaigners —

In memory of our friend Jerry Jaycox, SBC will lead a guided bicycle tour of the McQueen’s Island Rail Trail, Cockspur Island and the dikes surrounding Ft Pulaski, so be sure to bring a bike with fat tires. Jerry was a force to be reckoned with, and this was his favorite Wheelie, so of course we named it for him.

We’ll start and finish at the Fort Pulaski picnic pavilions. Fort Pulaski has generously offered free entrance to Wheelie participants — just let them know at the gate you have come for the ride! This is a unique opportunity to experience the fort’s history from a new perspective. The ride is approximately 10 miles, though there are opportunities to make it shorter (2 or 6 mile options). It’s a really fun ride, and as always, kids are welcome. Please plan to stick around after for the cookout in Fort Pulaski’s picnic area—burgers and dogs will be provided. Please bring a dish to share and BYOB. The more the merrier!