Bikes for Savannah’s future

Jake and Miriam have big ideasHow many of you Campaigners out there get Savannah Magazine? Or at least read it while you’re waiting for your doctor or to get your hair cut? Us too!

We were thrilled to see so much about bikes in the 20th anniversary issue out this month. Gracing the cover are two great bike people, friends and SBC supporters Jake and Miriam Hodesh of New Moon of Savannah. They and other Savannah futurists see great possibility for our city in improving bikability and walkability. No less than 6 of the 20 idea makers including Martin Melaver (Living Above the Store), Scott Boylston (SCAD, Emergent Structures Project), Judy Jennings (Sierra Club, Riverkeeper, Wilderness SE), and others provide a specific mention of bicycling and bikability in their vision of Savannah 2030.  Two others make mention of livability and walkability, which of course go hand in hand with the same idea, not to mention Tom Barton’s notion of merging city and county government which might indeed make us more efficient.  All great ideas, and we’re glad we have so many of the same mind working together for the future of Savannah.

In the same issue, Anne Hart (also of SouthernMamas.com) wrote another article on new year’s resolutions, and while no specific text is devoted to cycling, the idea of bicycling as a family activity is not-so-subtly promoted in the photo.  Bike your new year's resolution!

Also, before any of you gives Savannah magazine or us a hard time for displaying this photo of an unhelmeted child passenger, just remember that we all as adults braved the gauntlet of helmetless riding through many years as kids, this child is pictured on a trail where the laws of the road (namely those under 16 must wear a helmet in Georgia) do not apply, and this has all been staged for a photo opportunity to give readers positive messages about physical activity (i.e. it is not something dangerous to be avoided).  Just as an FYI, for my own kids the rule is still: no helmet, no bike.  For more info, these links take a look for some of the swirl of the helmet debate…

SBC Twitter Weekly 2010-01-22

  • SBC board meeting tonight, 6pm @ Moon River in the underground lair. All are welcome! #
  • CBTC Oyster Roast at Bonna Bella this Sunday, 2pm: http://ow.ly/WjjL RSVP now! #
  • RT @atlantabike: RT @atlantawire: House members calls for ban on texting while driving – http://ow.ly/Yha2 #
  • Check out PULSE @ Telfair yet in #Savannah? http://ow.ly/Z0G9 Remember the PULSE night ride next Fri 1/29! http://ow.ly/Z0He #
  • Only one space left in the Savannah LCI seminar next month. Let us know if you’re interested! #
  • RT @morebikes: MUST SEE Driver honks at cyclist who turns out to be a bike cop! http://bit.ly/72oI1s via @cyclelicious #

Telfair PULSE: Art, technology, and your bike

Bikes!  Art!  Technology!

The Telfair’s PULSE festival begins next Wednesday:

The Telfair’s 2010 Pulse: Art and Technology Festival is a FREE, all-ages event exploring the intersection of art and technology. The 11-day festival features a mind-expanding array of programs including interactive art installations, musical robots, wearable art, game design, VJs, and more!

In celebration of the event, we’re bringing everyone together for a night ride!  Following the screening of Copyright Criminals at the Jepson Center from 6-7pm on Friday, Jan 29, your Savannah Bicycle Campaign will lead a fun, casual, slow paced 5 mile nighttime bike ride through downtown Savannah starting at around 7pm.  The short ride will include a cruise  through another of the PULSE events, the Medeology Collective’s Interactive Installation and finish at Matt Hebermehl’s wall blast at Atwell’s on West Broughton.  Post ride festivities will follow across the street at T-Rex Mex at around 8pm.  A front white headlight is required for all riders, and a rear red light and helmet are stongly encouraged.

Traffic Skills 101 and LCI Certification

Campaigners! I hope you are all well in this frigid new year.

Our first LCI, Eve Seibert, will be teaching two Traffic Skills 101 courses in preparation for new LCI candidates, and there are spaces available in both classes!

WHAT: TS 101, Gives cyclists the confidence they need to ride safely and legally in traffic or on the trail. The course covers bicycle safety checks, fixing a flat, on-bike skills and crash avoidance techniques and includes a student manual. Recommended for adults and children above age fourteen, this fast-paced, nine-hour course prepares cyclists for a full understanding of vehicular cycling.
WHEN: Jan 9-10 and Jan 23-24.
Saturday 9-4 and Sunday 12-4 each weekend.
WHY: Ride safe.
WHERE: Downtown Savannah, 645 E Broughton.
HOW (much): All are responsible for the $10 book. The course is otherwise free to current Savannah Bicycle Campaign members. We ask nonmembers to consider joining or giving a donation. If you would like to take the course, please let Eve know and indicate which weekend, as each class is limited to 10 participants.
Safety first.

Furthermore, we are pleased that with the support of the city of Savannah, a League Cycling Instructor certification (See below or here for LCI details) course is being held in Savannah the weekend of Feb 19-21. It will begin in the late afternoon on Friday and extend through Sunday afternoon.

You need to be an League of American Bicyclists member ($35) to take the LCI certification and have taken TS101/Road I (see above for available times). The $200 course registration will be paid by the city of Savannah in return for your commitment to at least 3 classes in Savannah over the next 3 years. It’s a great way to serve your community through education, so if you or someone you know may be interested, we’d love to have you join us!

Online registration for LCI certification through the League of American Bicyclists is available at this link. Please contact us if you are interested in having Savannah pay for your certification, and pleave us a comment or send an email if you would like more info.

Stay warm and ride safe!
Drew

LEAGUE CYCLING INSTRUCTORS
Becoming a League Cycling Instructor (LCI) certified to teach BikeEd is a great way to help cyclists in your community. Certified instructors can teach BikeEd classes to children and adults. Help bring the joy of safe cycling to others. If you are an experienced cyclist and would like to teach others please consider taking the next step towards certification.

Fun with bikes and music

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!

Ben Sollee Tour in Savannah

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!

Ben Sollee update

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.

Tour of lights with Ben Sollee Pedaling against Poverty

Campaigners!

One week to go to the big Ben Sollee show at Blowin’ Smoke Thursday Dec 10 — Ben is a talented artist who in touring on bike this December is focusing attention on sustainable transportation and at his shows raising money for Oxfam America’s efforts to fight poverty. As we have mentioned, he is bringing his cello (that’s right — cello!) on a bike, along with others on bikes with drums and support for the shows. We’ll kick off the night with a rockin’ night ride/Tour of Lights starting at 6pm at Blowin’ Smoke. Music will start around 7:30.

We’ll be having a raffle with awesome stuff including a bike from Quality Bike Shop! More from Chrome messenger bags, Half Moon Outfitters, Timbuk2, PrincetonTek, Native Sunglasses, Eagle Nest Outfitters, and more! Proceeds will benefitChrome Logo_web Oxfam America and SBC’s new program to outfit the underserved with lights, helmets, and locks! Come, ride, listen, and have fun with us all at Blowin Smoke! If you join us, make sure your bike has at least a white front light, as we follow the law on our rides. Helmets and a rear red light are also strongly encouraged.

Leave us a comment or drop us a line if you are interested in joining them for the ride as they arrive into town next Thursday afternoon as well — we want to give them a great Savannah welcome!

Teaching kids to ride: losing the training wheels

As a dad and bike enthusiast, my kids were highly motivated (mostly by me) to move to the next level of bicycling, graduating early from training wheels (5 and not quite 4). There are a few sources that suggest one or another method, but I have now successfully shed training wheels from 4 or 5 kids’ (fortunately not all mine) bikes with a minimum of fear and skinned knees. I hear the question from time to time, and Santa is on his way pretty soon, so I thought more might be interested in this little how-to on going from training wheels to two wheels.

Step one, wobble your training wheels:
Once your child gets some comfort riding with training wheels, move them up so there is a little wobble back and forth, then maybe a little more. Wait another few days and then you will be ready for the no training wheels try.

Next, push and glide:
First, take the training wheels and pedals off your child’s bike. Lower the seat so they can comfortably put their feet on the ground while sitting on the seat. Give them a few minutes to push the bike around with their feet. Tell them to pick up speed and then pick up their feet and glide. Once they can push and glide for 5 seconds or so, you’re ready to put the pedals back.

Third, add pedals:
Reinstall the pedals and with the seat still low, hold the back of their seat and give them a solid, single push (no need to run) and make sure they know to start pedaling. With the low seat, they will be ready to put a foot down if needed. Now they are on two wheels!

The final step: self starting. Once your child has made a few passes with a quick push from you, they may be ready to try to start on their own. It’s second nature to you, but no so for them. Tell them to put one “power pedal up” in the 1-2 o’clock position, kick with the other foot and start pedaling, or for an easy way for them to remember: “Power pedal up, one kick and go!”

Some final notes. Some advise the push bike (a bike without cranks, pedals, etc) a marketer’s invention to speed the transition from tricycle to bicycle. I agree with the late great Sheldon Brown (whose more detailed article on this subject is available at the Harris Cyclery website here) that the push bike (like-a-bike, others) is a dead end in that once kids know how to glide, they are ready for pedals again, so you might as well just take the pedals off a fully functional bike so you will be ready for that time.

Also, you are probably aware that kids under 16 are required by Georgia law to wear helmets. Please be sure your kids put a lid on. Happy cycling!