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.

Thank you new members!

We just wanted to send out a big thank you to the intrepid group of members who have joined in the past few weeks.  The inaugural Savannah Wheelie was a huge success, and our counts on the video showed over 250 riders! A special thanks to our business members:

  • Quality Bike Shop, our Wheelie Gold Sponsor — thanks!
  • Islands Bikes and Boards
  • Seabolt Brokers
  • SouthCoast Imaging Center 
  • Bicycle Savannah
  • Bicycle Link
  • Stephen Acuff, DDS
  • Recycles

Earth Day WheeliePlease join us for a general meeting on Monday, April 28, at 6pm at Keys Hall, 516 Abercorn (this is the old WTOC building just north of Sweetleaf).  We will be talking about the May Wheelie, bike parking downtown, adopting bylaws and electing the permanent board.  All are welcome — we hope you will join us.

Savannah Wheelie Earth Day Ride

The weather held out, and we all had a ball. Numerous counts have been done, but we do know this: more than 250 riders took to the streets of Savannah on Saturday, April 19 in celebration of Earth Day for the first ever Savannah Wheelie. Check out the photos below — we had families, hipsters, hippies, retirees, elected officials, and everything in between.


Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

Come and see us next time in Daffin Park, May 18. Stay tuned for details.