It’s on! An Earth Day tradition since 2008, we are bringing back all the fun, music, and street empowerment that goes with a free police escorted ride through downtown Savannah with our fifth Earth Day Wheelie. The ride starts at Park and Bull at the south end of Forsyth Park at 4pm and proceeds to Blowin’ Smoke for the Post Wheelie Dealie, a great party we throw to say thanks to our fantastic membership!

2011 Earth Day Wheelie from Savannah Bicycle Campaign on Vimeo.

Who: All of y’all…
What: A free, police escorted bike ride through downtown, followed by our annual membership party!
When: Sat April 21, 4pm ride-party. 5pm post-ride-party.
Where: Ride-Bull St and Park Ave to Blowin’ Smoke BBQ at 514 MLK Jr. Blvd for the Post Wheelie Dealie.
Why: Celebrate the freedom and fun of sustainable active transportation!

In partnership with our friends at the Savannah Tree Foundation, we’re leading a ride out of Daffin Park this Saturday. We’ll go for about 10 miles and see some tree plantings carried out by Savannah Tree Foundation in their mission of maintaining and growing the urban forest of Savannah!

WHO: Everyone! Probably not appropriate for kids under 8 to ride under their own power, but they’re welcome in kid seats, trailers, or tag-a-longs.
WHAT: Arbor Day Ride – 10 miles at a casual pace. Helmets are strongly encouraged.
WHEN: Saturday, February 18, 10am
WHERE: Daffin Park start. Meet on Waring Drive south of the circle.
WHY: The Lorax would want you to go.

As Savannah braces for the coming of thousands of marathoners this weekend, we announce the return of the Jerry Jaycox Fort Pulaski Wheelie NEXT weekend, after all the foot-racing hubbub dies down. The Wheelie will begin around 2pm on Sunday, November 13.

The ride, now in its fourth year, is named for founding SBC board member Jerry Jaycox who passed away riding his bicycle. The ride will again take riders of all abilities through the trails and dikes of Fort Pulaski and include a spin out to the McQueen’s Island Rail Trail which parallels the south channel of the Savannah River (The trail runs along the old Savannah-Tybee Railway corridor). The ride will be about an hour (and you’re free to wander around longer, if you’d like), much of it on non-paved surfaces, and so fat-tire bikes are recommended, though it can be successfully negotiated with a hybrid or road bike. Entrance to Fort Pulaski and all national parks that weekend is free in honor of Veterans Day!

As always, after the ride, we host a cookout at the picnic area at Fort Pulaski that serves as our launch and finish point (go left at the fork when you come into Fort Pulaski). It’s a fun event, and we’ll provide burgers, dogs and beverages — please bring a dish to share!

The Midnight Garden Ride has made a splash in its first 2 years as hundreds hit the streets in a blinking wave of human power. Music, costumes, and giveaways will again take over Savannah in a rolling party. There are some significant improvements to this year’s ride, not the least of which is a new start/finish and party location in Forsyth Park. We’ll be rolling out announcements about entertainment, route, and prizes in the coming days and weeks, so stay tuned.

Register now for a night you won’t forget!

April (like just about every month) is a great time to ride in Savannah. More folks seem to get out on their bikes in April, though, so this is when we have partnered in the past with the City of Savannah to coordinate volunteers for the bike census. The last couple showed a huge increase from 2009 to 2010, and looking around, we expect that trend will continue! Please help us measure that trend so we can inform our discussions with city planners and elected officials next week — we have shifts available Monday April 25, Wednesday April 27, or Saturday April 30. Use this link to fill out your available times.

We can’t leave out the fun, either, can we? We need volunteers to help with our Earth Day display at the festival leading up to our triumphant Earth Day Wheelie this coming Saturday April 23! Shifts are listed here, and we have just a few open spots left, so get in on the action now…

Many of you campaigners will remember that it was early in 2008 that this group of bike-minded folks began to organize, and the first major project we organized was the Earth Day Wheelie. Well, here we are in 2011 preparing to celebrate the 4th Annual Earth Day Wheelie!

We are bringing back all the fun, music, and street empowerment that goes with a free police escorted ride through downtown Savannah. Ride starts at Park and Bull at the south end of Forsyth Park at 4pm. We will finish with the Post Wheelie Dealie at Blowin’ Smoke where we invite you to partake of some refreshments and to join or renew as a donor-member of this movement! With your help, we’ll keep pedaling toward our goal of bike enlightenment as we usher in the Age of Bicycles in Chatham County. Don’t miss it!

Tonight 4/4, 7:30pm Band of Horses at Johnny Mercer Theater – East entrance to the Civic Center
Tomorrow 4/5, 8pm Citizen Cope solo at Trustees Theater
Saturday 4/9, 8:30pm AND 10:30pm Maceo Parker shows: Funky dance party at Charles Morris Center

Valet opens 30 minutes before showtime and closes 30 minutes after the end.

Plus, along with the Saturday show, we’ll host the Closing Night Funky Sunset Social Ride, starting at 7pm from the Morris Center. We’ll bring the funk — you bring your bike and your friends and shake your moneymaker with us!

Details will be up very soon on the 4th Annual Earth Day Savannah Wheelie set for Saturday, 4/23 at 4pm. It’s hard to believe this will be the fourth time around, but there it is. The free pedal party through downtown starts at the close of the Earth Day Festival in Forsyth Park and finishes with the Post Wheelie Dealie party, our annual membership drive. Mark your calendar!

As we’ve been saying, tomorrow (Thursday, March 24) is opening night for the Savannah Music Festival.  Join us at Ellis Square for a cruise around downtown finishing at the opening night show, Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings at Trustees Theater.  The ride leaves Ellis Square at 7:30 pm.You might even get a chance to do it on the Savannah Slow Ride if you call for a reservation…

And, if you can’t make the ride, at least ride to the show and we’ll park it for you in a jiffy at our spiffy bike valet!  We’ll be hosting bike valet at this show and 5 others, so check out the schedule and bike to the Savannah Music Festival with us!