Wed, April 9 at Keys Hall, 516 Abercorn. The old WTOC building just north of Sweetleaf; enter under the stairs — door will be open.
Ride for Research
TdG’s Ride for Research, a charity ride benefitting AFLAC Children’s Cancer Center, leaving from Pooler at 10am. The route will follow the western portion of Monday’s race route and include Lt. Gov Casey Cagle, as well as former current and former pro cyclists: Mari Holden (2000 Olympic Silver Medalist Women’s Time Trial, UCI Road World Champion – Time Trial, US National Road Champion – Road Race, 5 time US National Road Champion – Time Trial), Kevin Livingston (8 Year professional Career, including Team Saturn and US National team member, Motorola, Cofidis, US Postal Service and Team Telekom), Nathan O’Neill (Pro Cyclist and 8-time Australian National Time Trial Champion).
UPDATE: Due to an anonymous donation, the ride has been changed to open registration — no charge! Check out active.com to register.
Toast de Tour
Kickoff party for Tour de Georgia at the Trade Center, on the heels of our own Savannah Wheelie and Post Wheelie Dealie. We are pleased to announce a special offer on Toast de Tour for SBC members — $100 donation, down from the $250 to the general public! Donations benefit the AFLAC Cancer Center at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.
Tour de Georgia Stage I, Tybee to Savannah
International professional riders descend on the Coastal Empire for the opening stage of the 2008 Tour de Georgia. Look for 2007 Tour de France champion Alberto Contador and Astana teammate Levi Leipheimer (2007 US National Road Race champion) along with the first ever appearance of a pro Chinese team in a US race.
Finish line is by the Savannah Civic Center on Liberty Street. The riders will pass there twice, once at around 10:30am and again for the finish at 1-1:30pm.
Savannah Wheelie and the Post Wheelie Dealie
A casual, social, family friendly ride through downtown coinciding with the Earth Day festival, so you can take a ride with the mayor and chairman of the County Commission! This post has all the details, but we hope everyone will join us afterwards for the Post Wheelie Dealie, a party and membership drive for Savannah Bicycle Campaign.
National Bike to Work Day
During Bike month, and National Bike to Work Week, this day is co-promoted by SBC and SDRA as a bike to work day/dump the pump day. Downtown workers are encouraged to ride a bike, take transit, carpool or walk to work and leave their cars at home to save on gas, to decrease traffic and parking problems, and to improve health.
Dump the Pump
Leave your car at home. Savannah Development and Renewal Authority’s first of three alternative transportation days for the downtown commute, to coincide with Earth Day weekend festivities. See SavannahTransit.com for details.
Critical Mass returns to Savannah
Critical Mass has started again in Savannah. From their facebook page,
Critical Mass is an event typically held on the last Friday of every month in cities around the world where bicyclists take to the streets en masse. Critical Mass is a monthly bicycle ride to celebrate cycling and to assert cyclists’ right to the road.
We support this goal. We are traffic.
Thanks to Rebecca Doss for the artwork.
Critical Mass Savannah meets the last Friday of every month at 5:30 at Franklin Square next to Vinnie Van Go-Go’s. Next Mass will be April 25.
The Economic Impact of Cycling
Well, of course we’re fired up about Tour de Georgia in Savannah here at the Savannah Bicycle Campaign — we have signed on to be a local source of information to the cycling community. But look, we even have some interest from the business community — but why?
Money talks. As noted by this post on the Creative Coast, since cyclists typically fall into a highly sought after marketing demographic, cycling tourism is extremely desirable. For example, the Tour de Georgia has had
a direct economic impact of over $148 million over the last five years. More than a quarter of the fan base makes in excess of $100,000 per year. Three out of every four fans a graduate of a 4-year college or higher.
2007 Tour de Georgia Stage I, from PhotoSport International
When we talk about improving our city as a bicycle friendly community, we talk about improving quality of life, of improving the attractiveness of our community to tourists, and also of attracting people to live and work here who will boost our local economy. This is precisely the message our local business community needs to hear about cycling, and I thank Fitz Haile for delivering it.
How to ride in Traffic
Traffic is probably the greatest barrier to riding for the average person. If you follow the rules of the road, with a few modifications for your vehicle’s slower speed, you can strike a good balance between your safety and the flow of car traffic. This video produced by a certified instructor for the League of American Bicyclists gives a great introduction to the best practices for riding in traffic. Check it out — it just takes a few minutes and the advice is excellent.