Time to get to work on the BATTY Ride

[Benny]

OK. We had a good discussion about how we don't want or need a police escort for this ride, but we need to get down to business and work out the details.

I propose that the 1st BATTY Ride be held at 7:00pm on Tuesday, September 9th. We will start in the parking lot behind Oconee Outfitters.

I still want to work out some details on the route, but I think it should include Wayne Street, Hancock Street, Clark Street, Montgomery Street, Columbia Street and MLK. I'm debating whether we should return on the quieter streets like Clark and Wayne, or be bold and take it all the way in on Jefferson.

I need a group of about five members to work with me on planning the details of this ride. I want to hold at least one physical meeting, but we can do most of this by phone and email. I need people who can stay on this thing until we get it done. We won't have to spend a lot of hours on this, but we can't let things sit and go undone.

We only have a little over 3 weeks to get this thing ready to roll. The biggest challenge will be the publicity and promotional aspects. We won't accomplish a lot if nobody knows what we are doing and why. We also need to work hard to get as many people as we can to do the ride. The more riders, the bigger the impact.

Another reason to get as many riders involved as possible is that the message we are trying to relay, that bicycles belong on the roads as much as cars, is a message that bicyclists need to hear as much as car drivers do. You see plenty of evidence every day that many people riding bicycles have no clue that they should be following the same rules as drivers.

So let's hear it. Is the date OK? And who wants to help make this plan come to life?

[hthrlngstn]

Before we settle on the date, I think we should check with the city first. They are trying to help us and I would hate to shoot ourselves in the foot. I am out of town on Monday but I will be glad to start on this on Tuesday.

[C.U. Allezter]

Count me in Benny. I will definitely be promoting this event through the shop, and doing everything else I can to encourage riders to show up. I think we should be bold with this. If all goes well, we should have a good number of riders. I don't think Jefferson St will be that big of a deal, especially if we take the whole right lane.

[Benny]

Is Jefferson Street 4-lane all the way from MLK to Montgomery Street?

[Benny]

Before we settle on the date, I think we should check with the city first. They are trying to help us and I would hate to shoot ourselves in the foot. I am out of town on Monday but I will be glad to start on this on Tuesday.

OK, but we need to get that settled quickly. It definitely needs to be during that week so that I can be at the good part of my chemo cycle.

[C.U. Allezter]

Is Jefferson Street 4-lane all the way from MLK to Montgomery Street?

Yeah, the only hairy spot will be approaching the intersection with Montgomery. That is where the left lane becomes turn only, and drivers might try to race around the group and cut us off. Also, I don't think we should seek the city's approval for the ride (or the date). If this is really about our rights as cyclists, we can't cancel the ride because the city doesn't like the idea. If everybody follows the rules, there shouldn't be anything for anybody to object to.

[hthrlngstn]

From Adam: "Also, I don't think we should seek the city's approval for the ride (or the date). If this is really about our rights as cyclists, we can't cancel the ride because the city doesn't like the idea. If everybody follows the rules, there shouldn't be anything for anybody to object to."

It is not about getting approval. It is about letting them know what our plans are. If the event is as big as we hope, we will cause a disruption, however unintentional. It is better to have everyone prepared. I would appreciate more people discussing this because I am new to the political aspect. The city is working with us and we do not want to set those efforts back another year or two. Benny, it may be better if you speak with the Mayor. He is usually at his insurance company during the day.

[Benny]

From Adam: "Also, I don't think we should seek the city's approval for the ride (or the date). If this is really about our rights as cyclists, we can't cancel the ride because the city doesn't like the idea. If everybody follows the rules, there shouldn't be anything for anybody to object to."

It is not about getting approval. It is about letting them know what our plans are. If the event is as big as we hope, we will cause a disruption, however unintentional. It is better to have everyone prepared. I would appreciate more people discussing this because I am new to the political aspect. The city is working with us and we do not want to set those efforts back another year or two. Benny, it may be better if you speak with the Mayor. He is usually at his insurance company during the day.

Adam, down boy. :D I don't think we would cancel in the extremely unlikely circumstance of the city opposing the ride. I don't mind talking to the mayor, the police chief or anyone else about our plans. I fully expect them to be supportive. I think it would be a good gesture for us to make them aware of our plans before we start publicizing it all over town. Although we don't want or need a police escort, I sure wouldn't mind having a patrol car cruising the areas we will be riding through just to make sure everyone is behaving.

This isn't so much about flaunting our rights as it is about demonstrating that cyclists behaving cooperatively with drivers can fit in with little if any disruption to the regular flow of traffic. It makes sense that we should cooperate with city officials and not try to disrupt that aspect of our environment.

I will try to speak to the mayor on Monday if he is available.

[C.U. Allezter]

If the city expresses displeasure or concern at the idea, what are you going to do? What if they won't allow the ride without an escort? These are just a couple of examples of why we (my opinion) don't need to approach the city. I agree, I don't want to set us back, but I don't think that will be the result.

[Benny]

I'm not going to ask for their permission. We don't need anyone's permission to ride our bikes in a lawful manner on the roads. I'm just going to let them know what we are doing, as a courtesy.

[Jay]

Well, I was going to stay out of this. But the way I see it is this: If you have 20 cars all going to the same place and on the same route you need to have an escort or something. For example this number of autos could be considered a parade or a funeral procession. Both of these usually have escorts. As for us on our bikes, we will interfere with traffic even more so than a small funeral. Get the details worked out, I'll come ride with you.

Jay

[lizhavey]

I made a flyer during lunch. Can I post it here? If so, how?

[haywoodkb]

"chemo cycle"? Is that the Lone Ranger's bicycle?

Does this ride have a destination? Are we riding out to the mall and back? That would give us good visibility, if we can arrive by a lightly traveled route.

[Benny]

I'm not sure why there was so much concern. I had a nice, long chat with Mayor Bentley this afternoon. He thinks our ride is a great idea and supports it fully. He said he would pass the word along to the police and others just to let them know what we were doing so nobody would be surprised.

We also talked about bicycling in the city in general. He said that he and the city were definitely in favor of doing whatever they can to make cycling safer and more manageable in Milledgeville as long as it is affordable. They had been scared off by the high price associated with the RDC plan which included a lot of bike lanes and road resurfacing.

I think we are fortunate to have a city government that is open minded about the place of bicycling in the traffic landscape. We have earned much of that relationship through our hard efforts in the past and I'm sure we will continue to do so.

[Benny]

Well, I was going to stay out of this. But the way I see it is this: If you have 20 cars all going to the same place and on the same route you need to have an escort or something. For example this number of autos could be considered a parade or a funeral procession. Both of these usually have escorts. As for us on our bikes, we will interfere with traffic even more so than a small funeral. Get the details worked out, I'll come ride with you.

Jay

I discussed the question of a permit with Mr. Daneuzer (sp?) at City Hall. He is the secretary or office manager or personal assistant or whatever who sends people in the right direction when they come into City Hall. He said that unless we wanted to block off streets, there was no need for anything like that.

As for disruption, I don't think we will be much of a disruption at all. Along the 3 mile route I have in mind, we will either be riding single file so that we can be safely passed or we will take over one of the two available lanes, leaving the other for cars to easily pass.We might briefly slow the through-flow of a few intersections, but only very briefly.

I have been on rides where over 2000 bikes rode through towns without disrupting traffic. I don't see any reason to expect anything different from our ride.

[Benny]

I think we need to move the start time up to 6:30. The ride will take about 45 minutes, give or take. Sunset on 9/9 will be 7:52. That's too close.

[hthrlngstn]

I am pleased to hear that all went well with Mayor BENTLEY!! I knew it would. I also think it is good idea for someone other than myself to talk to him --so thank you, Benny. It seems you all have this well under control. Let me know if there is anything I can do.

[Benny]

Glad to see you were paying attention. Now I can edit my little test away. :o

[C.U. Allezter]

Huh?

[C.U. Allezter]

I'm glad all went well. I wasn't trying to be an anti-establishment revolutionary or anything, I just didn't see a need. However, since we have support, I'm grateful for it. I was primarily concerned that they would want to put an escort on us, and that would have defeated the message of this ride.

[Benny]

It was a calculated risk and I calculated that to be a very small risk. The offsetting benefit was the opportunity to sit and talk with the mayor, one on one, about making Milledgeville more bike friendly. That's gotta be worth taking a little risk.

[C.U. Allezter]

Touché.