Dinner and Bikes hosted by Pedal Chic

Pedal Chic is hosting an event this weekend that may interest many of you. Portland based bike blogger and author Elly Blue will be in Greenville as part of her Dinner and Bikes tour of the southeastern U.S. Joining her on the tour are Joe Biel, founder of Microcosm Publishing, and Joshua Ploeg, vegan chef and author. As stated on the Dinner and Bikes website, the goal of the tour is to “bring people together to eat delicious food and get inspired about bicycle transportation.” Sounds like a great combination, so plan to be there Saturday evening if you can. Elly is covering the tour on her blog, so check it out to read about the places that they have visited so far.

The dinner and event will take place at the Caine Halter Family YMCA (721 Cleveland Street) this coming Saturday, April 28th at 7p.m. Tickets are $15 in advance or at the door.

Bike Month is coming up!

For any of you who may have missed it, the latest City of Greenville Bicycling and Greenways e-newsletter is out… and it is a good one. May is National Bike Month, and as always Bikeville is coordinating events in the city throughout the month. See the Bike Month page for a listings and descriptions of the bike related events and activity that are planned next month.

On the Bike Month page, you can also find information about the Get Up and Ride : National Bike Challenge. “Sign up as an individual or as a team, log your miles, share your stories and encourage others to join you. Riders will compete for prizes and awards on the local and national level, including a Grand Prize trip through California wine country from Trek Travel.”

Also on the City’s website, find out more about the new Swamp Rabbit Trail Interactive Map. The map was developed by the City, with support from the Greenville County Recreation District, and features “trail amenities, on-street bicycle facilities, points of interest, as well as special considerations for a safe experience.”

Speaking of the Swamp Rabbit Trail, you can join Greenville Rec, Upstate Forever, and Furman University tomorrow, April 18th, at the Swamp Rabbit Café (205 Cedar Lane Road). They will be making an announcement about the sucess of the trail and will share results from the first year of a three-year impact study. If you can’t attend the event, the full presentation will be available soon after on the County's Swamp Rabbit page. I won't be able to make it in person, but I am looking forward to reading the good news about the impact of the SRT on our community.

Important bicycle legislation to be heard this week

photo credit: Charleston Moves

As a recent post at the PCC blog points out, “the bicycle ban that went into effect earlier this year on the James Island Connector in Charleston has brought attention to the fact that South Carolina law (56-5-3860) prohibits bicycle use (and other activities) on state controlled access highways.”  You may remember that signs like the one shown here were posted on the James Island Connector following the tragic death of Dr. Mitchell Hollon, who was killed while riding his bicycle across the bridge last year. 

The Coastal Conservation League and Charleston Moves have worked with Senator Chip Campsen (R-Charleston) to introduce a bill (S.1375) that will allow local governments the option to file exemptions to the law, putting decisions about restricted highway access in the hands of the local municipality and not SCDOT. Local governments know better than the state how to manage the roads in their communities, so please take a minute to voice your support for the amendment.  You can also show support by attending the Senate Transportation Subcommittee meeting this Wednesday, April 11^th at 10am at the Gressette building in Columbia.