Harvest of Hope Ride

Join Patrick Booton, noted local cyclist, medical physicist and two time cancer survivor for his seventh annual Harvest of Hope Ride, October 18, 2008. It’s a double metric century (140 miles) that will take you from Savannah to Augusta, supporting the local cancer support organization Harvest of Hope.

Harvest of Hope Retreat to brings together childhood and adult cancer survivors and their extended families for a relaxing and educational retreat. The retreat provides an opportunity for families to share with their peers their experiences and to interact with oncology professionals in a safe and stress-free setting. The retreat is free to all participants and is open to cancer patients and their families in the community.

It’s a well supported ride, a wonderful cause, and a good reason to start training!

The City of Savannah wants to promote bicycling!

Following the Inaugural Wheelie on April 19, we have been steadily developing support in local government for our effort to improve bicycling here in and around Savannah. In particular, we have very positive feedback from the MPC, and now have City Manager Michael Brown interested in moving these initiatives forward!

From the May 8 City Council Minutes (see page 2):

City Manager Brown stated for the past two months, bicycling has been an ongoing topic with the Metropolitan Planning Commission’s MPO process. In the next thirty to sixty days, city staff will be reviewing all bicycle plans and routes. To dump the pump, there has to be a practical view of the safety and accessibility to the proper routes and the placement of the bicycle initiative. Mayor Johnson’s famous bicycle ride sparked communication. Now methods have to be created for the public to incorporate bicycling in a safe and expeditious manner or eliminate trips. As the City’s budget process approaches, city staff will present ideas for the enhancement and increase of bicycle usage.

Mayor Otis Johnson and Chatham Co. Commission Chair Pete Liakakis Mayor Johnson’s Famous Bicycle Ride: The mayor is pictured here with County Commission Chairman Pete Liakakis at the Inaugural Savannah Wheelie, April 19, 2008.

Did you Dump the Pump?

Many of your neighbors did. At the coffee break alone (Colonial Cemetery) last Friday, an estimated 60 people stopped by on their way to work using nothing but their own power. Considering that we were not on the route of a large number of other folks who might have taken alternative modes that day (I don’t work downtown), surely there were more.

Mary Landers covered what many city officials were doing that day to get to work. We would love to hear about you bike, pedestrian, or other alternative transportation experience — leave us a comment!

Wormsloe (Isle of Hope) Wheelie

 Join Savannah Bicycle Campaign for a morning ride at Wormsloe Historic Site on June 14, 11am. Our ride will include the beautiful 1.5 mile live oak canopied drive that is such an icon for Savannah, and will continue into Isle of Hope and down beautiful Bluff Drive before heading back to Wormsloe. That day is a free day at state parks including Wormsloe, so stick around and hang out, as we will be picnicking at Wormsloe following the ride!

Check here for the Wormsloe Wheelie route — it’s a little over 6 miles, but you could shorten to 3 miles up and back the Wormsloe drive for the kids. For the more experienced riders, here is a 9 mile route from Forsyth Park to get to the start of the ride. As always, use your judgment and wear a helmet!

Bike to Work Week — It’s On.

Welcome to National Bike to Work Week. It was a good start for morning riders today. A headwind if you were headed southbound like me, but nice and cool for a day in May.

If you need inspiration, check this track out from the interview Orlando Montoya of GPB did with us for the first Dump the Pump on April 18.

[audio:SBC GPB interview w.Orlando Montoya.mp3]

National Bike to Work Day is this Friday, May 16 (aka Dump the Pump II). I hope that everyone will get out to ride on Friday, or if not, carpool, walk, or take transit! Join us for the coffee break in Davant Park (south end of Colonial Cemetery, on Lincoln) from 7-9am!

Dump the Pump Savannah National Bike to Work Day

National Bike to Work Day: Dump the Pump II

Get ready for the second Dump the Pump — May 16 — corresponding with National Bike to Work Day. As if riding a bike to work through the beautiful streets of Savannah is not incentive enough, we’ll also have a coffee break set up from 6:30-9:30am in Davant Park at the south end of Colonial Cemetery on Lincoln. Coffee, food, and prizes to the transit, bike and pedestrian commuters who come by!

Attitude adjustment

We have a long way to go to bicycle enlightenment in Georgia. I should not read what goes on in Atlanta, but it’s where I grew up and I can’t help it if people are forwarding me the stuff over and over. Opinion Talk on AJC asked for comments on whether bicyclists should use the roads. Not surprisingly, the majority of reponses from the east coast’s model for sprawl were negative. Here’s an example of the attitudes:

I have no problem with bikes sharing the road if….

As noted in several other posts, cyclists obey all of the same traffic laws as motor vehicles and are subject to the same citations as motorists when they break a traffic rule.

They pay to license/register their bikes for use on the road. Having a valid license plate on a bike would help accident investigations where a cyclist was involved.

They pay some sort of “trail fee” to remain on par with the taxes built in to gas prices that motorists pay. These fees would be used to maintain the roadways that the cyclists want to share.

If cyclists want equal treatment on the road, the expectation should be that they are also subject to the same registration/taxes as motorists.

Let’s take the points in turn, as each is wrong in its own special way:

  1. To the extent that the laws are enforced, cyclists are subject to the same laws and citations as motor vehicles. Being on a bike does not excuse a person from a stop sign. I agree that we should set the example.
  2. Paying to register a bike is one that motorists often tout as their right to the road — after all, they ‘bought’ it with their tag and gas taxes, right? Not so, according to this study. As I have previously noted elsewhere,

    3. After examination of the direct and indirect costs of road building and maintenance, gasoline taxes would need to be increased by 20 to 70 cents per gallon for the roads to be a self sustaining venture. And so, in fact your and my property and income taxes pay a significant component of this infrastructure, to say nothing of my own automobile and gas taxes, since I too have a car and drive it.

  3. And then to say that we need license plates on bikes to help in accident investigations I think is just inflammatory, implying that bicyclists are hitting and running. What in fact happens is that motorists hit cyclists. The injured cyclist is likely unable to leave the scene — motorists are not injured and hopefully stop to help, though they often flee the scene as happened here not so long ago.
  4. These final points essentially cover the material under #2 again. Let me just point out again that roads for cars are heavily subsidized ventures. Tag and gas taxes do not cover their construction and maintenance, and therefore anyone who pays taxes of any kind is subsidizing personal automobile travel whether they choose to travel that way or not.

May 18 Savannah Wheelie

We hope everyone had a good time at the inaugural Wheelie downtown on April 19 — we sure did. We were so pleased to have all of our neighbors join us for a friendly ride through the Historic Downtown Bikeway, and now we all know where it is!

Wheelie!

In May, we will be starting our third Sunday schedule, with our next Wheelie to coincide with the Sand Gnats’ May 18 battle with the Greenville Drive (there is a message here: Ride, don’t Drive). We will leave from Grayson Stadium at 1pm, returning for the 2pm Gnats game. Savannah Wheelie participants will get in for $5, which is $2 off the general admission price.

gabikelawKids who can ride a few miles are welcome; younger kids are welcome in carriers. The route travels bike paths and streets through the Parkside Historic District and includes Police Memorial Park Trail. Helmets are strongly encouraged.

Specializing in injuries to, claims by and advocacy of the rights of cyclists, Georgia Bike Law and Local Attorney Joseph J. Steffen, Jr (912.944.4430) is a proud sponsor of the May Wheelie.

Speaking of law, we do ask you to sign a waiver, so try to be there a few minutes early or you can print this file, sign it, and bring it with you.