“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 ride begins at 2 p.m. and is followed by a cookout. Best of all, entry to Fort Pulaski is free! More information is available on the Savannah Bicycle Campaign website.

“Maybe it is time to move out of this city. Parts of my family has lived in and around Savannah for almost 300 years and I don’t want that to end, but, really maybe it is time.”

Another commenter advanced the popular but misguided notion that using city streets for anything other than the movement of private automobiles cheats the rightful owners of these thoroughfares:

“I pay taxes to use the roads and not to have a sporting event that I don’t see a dime from held in them.”

While the marathon street closures will surely disrupt traffic patterns, the truth of the matter is that streets are closed to traffic in the Savannah area every single day, multiple times per day. Here is just a sample of the scores of Savannah Morning News stories from October that include mention of roads closed by car crashes:

Traffic Alert: Wreck causes I-516 delay
TRAFFIC ALERT: Accidents that could delay your morning commute
Ga. 17 at Roebling Road opens after wreck
UPDATE: Victory Drive reopened after accident
An accident at the intersection of East Derenne Avenue and Abercorn Street is delaying traffic

All of these are individual events and even if dozens of local roads are closed in a single day, it is not the same thing as coordinated road closures to accommodate a major event. I get that. Still, in aggregate these crashes cause many, many more hours of traffic delay and are much more expensive. And, it must be noted, cost many lives.

Yet none of these stories about automobile crashes merited a single comment. Not one commenter lashed out at motorists for causing these accidents, called the drivers involved “morons” or  “idiots,” or accused them of being ignorant of traffic regulations. Not one commenter shared stories of their own encounters with motorists who think they “own the road” or “always have the right of way.”

Oh, but wait, there was one “road closed due to traffic crash” deemed worthy of such comments. It was, of course, a story about a collision between two bicyclists.

There are cyclists on Savannah’s streets at all times of day and night, of course, but the spectacle of 700 or more people riding bicycles as night falls is something else altogether. As I wrote in this week’s  Savannah “News Cycle” column, “It’s sociable and empowering at the same time. The sight of hundreds of bicycles with blinking lights and other decorations makes it more like a parade than anything else.” This year’s event has moved to Forsyth Park and expanded to include a concert cospresented by Savannah Stopover. Back again are the popular costume and best lighting rig contests and raffle.

While the event is certainly fun, it also allows import efforts to make our community better. Funds raised through registration and other event activities help the Savannah Bicycle Campaign toward its mission:

“Our primary objectives are education for cyclists and motorists about the best ways to share the road, advocacy for improved bicycle facilities in Chatham County, and promoting bicycling as a healthy, safe activity for recreation and sustainable transportation. Ultimately, through an inclusive approach, we will make our communities more livable, connected & safe. These are our goals, and we hope that you will join us.”Our primary objectives are education for cyclists and motorists about the best ways to share the road, advocacy for improved bicycle facilities in Chatham County, and promoting bicycling as a healthy, safe activity for recreation and sustainable transportation. Ultimately, through an inclusive approach, we will make our communities more livable, connected and safe. These are our goals, and we hope that you will join us.”

Does that sound like something you support? If yes, you know where you should be on Saturday night.

Thursday, Sept. 16

6-8 p.m.

Tybee Island City Hall

403 Butler Ave.

Tybee Island

“The purpose of the study is to determine the feasibility of replacing or modifying the existing bridges witha design that includes shoulders, as well as protected facilities for bicycles and pedestrians, either on one bridge or a separate bridge.”

Healthy Savannah

A press release describes the goal of the forum “is to help people understand what factors have the greatest impact on our health in Savannah. Keynote speaker Dr. Evelyn Lewis will provide an opportunity for citizens to learn about how their health is affected by factors like public policy and the environment in which we live. Participants will also engage in active dialogue around actions we can take to improve our health individually and within the communities where we live.”

Healthy Savannah — coalition of businesses, nonprofits, healthcare agencies, governments, schools and neighborhoods — is an initiative of City of Savannah Mayor Otis Johnson formed in 2007.  It is a public/private collaboration of over 65 community organizations and growing. The community forum is sponsored by the Junior League of Savannah, The 100 Black Men of Savannah, The City of Savannah, St. Joseph’s/Candler Health System, Memorial Medical Center, GeoVista Credit Union, Savannah State University and the A Phillip Randolph Institute.

Thee vent is free and open to the public. For more information, visit the Healthy Savannah Web site or call Kimberly Pannell at (912) 658-8769.

The streets are filled with happy bicyclists, unconcerned about the threat of aggressive or districted drivers. Handlebar bells ring cheerfully as hundreds of people move through a city, unique in its beauty because it was designed long before the needs of cars came to dominate the built environment. People of all ages are present, enjoying the freedom and fun of traveling under their own power and at their own pace.

A utopian fantasy? Not on Saturday, April 17 at 4 p.m.

It’s difficult to describe how special the Savannah Bicycle Campaign’s Earth Day Wheelie bicycle ride has become. Not only is it the first event organized by the group after its founding in 2008, the Earth Day Wheelie truly has become a part of the local culture for the reasons described above.

If only for a one afternoon, it provides a glimpse of what our community could be like if more people felt more comfortable getting on their bikes and riding for recreation. And as studies have shown, recreational cycling is a gateway drug to transportational cycling and a mindset that looks for opportunities to ditch the car and go by bike. Sometimes this shift in thinking starts with just one bike ride, in the company of a couple hundred other people pedaling along for moral support.

The ride will depart from the south end of Forsyth Park. There is no charge to participate. Helmets are strongly encouraged.

“The Midnight Garden Ride is a non-competitive, nighttime charity bike ride through Historic Downtown Savannah. Six and 12 mile options will wind through historic Savannah under the live oak canopy and a full moon.”

The event also includes a party and costume contest. Proceeds support the Savannah Bicycle Campaign’s advocacy and education efforts. Registration and other information is available on the Midnight Garden Ride Web site.

“We’ve been working with the city on developing natural walking trails at Bacon Park Forest for years,” said Diane Houston, President of the Savannah Tree Foundation.  “While this day marks the beginning of the trail installation process, it’s also the culmination of a great deal of time spent by our organization and staff from the city’s Leisure Services Bureau to develop the concept and design.  This is a great moment for all of us.”

And volunteers are needed on Saturday, June 6 from 9 a.m. until noon:

Volunteers should wear long sleeves shirts, pants and close?toed shoes with socks, and should bring work gloves, bypass pruners and pruning shears if they have them.  Refreshments, community service hours, tools and T?shirts will be provided.  Onsite parking is available near the intersection of Skidaway Road and Bonna Bella Drive.

More information on the event is available here.

Sometimes it’s impossible to discern the intent of  Vox Populi comments in the Savannah Morning News. Take this one:

“Savannah will always be as bicycle friendly as the Autobahn is to a Moped rider.”

Is this an indictment of Savannah’s aggressive drivers? A warning to cyclists? An affirmation of the absolute dominance of cars on local streets? We will never know.

When evaluating Savannah’s bicycle friendliness level, it all depends on how you look at it.

This weekend hundreds of cyclists visited Savannah to participate in a ride benefiting a very good cause. As they turned right onto Habersham Street from Washington Avenue, they were greeted by an unwelcome sight: several large mounds of yard waste piled in the bike lane. I’m not sure how a person gets the idea that a heavily travelled bicycle lane is an appropriate place to dump trash (ever heard of composting?), but nevertheless there it was and there it remains as I type this, several days later.

Earlier in the week, a friend and colleague narrowly escaped an encounter with a motorist, who clearly meant to do him harm. He provided a vehicle description and license plate number to the police, but the motorist is still out there driving around as I type this, several days later.

And last week, for the first time in a long time, I received a profanity laced scolding from a motorist simply because I was operating my bicycle in accordance with state law. 

Yet last week was an excellent week for Savannah cyclists. The League of American Bicyclists announced Bicycle Friendly Communities for 2009. Momentum seemed to be building on the long-delayed Truman Linear Park Trail. Young cyclists participated in a terrific event in Daffin Park. And, again, hundreds of cyclists visited Savannah to participate in a ride benefiting a good cause.