Ladies Night: Halloween Witch Ride

from Red & Black:

On Halloween, a night where downtown will be crowded with people in costumes, anything can happen.

Maybe witches will take downtown by storm on bikes. Actually, scratch the maybe.

Liz Kinnamon, a senior from St. Simons Island, and Avery White, a senior from Atlanta, co-founded The Witch Ride.

"The Witch Ride is an all-girls bike ride set for Halloween," Kinnamon said. "Historically, women have been called 'witches' for a variety of different reasons, so a 'witch' could simply be an empowered, strong woman, or it could define a woman thought to practice black magic."

Kinnamon and White said they thought of this idea last month and put it into effect by getting the word out through a Facebook group "Witch Ride" and putting flyers downtown and on campus.

"We thought it was humorous and a good chance to create solidarity between women," Kinnamon said. "There's something about an all girl environment that feels unifying and fun."

There are already 30 people attending, according to the Facebook event.

The event is free and anyone can attend. The bike ride starts at 6:30 p.m. at the intersection of Prince Avenue and Pulaski Street.

"Often times, it's clear what demographic an event speaks to, but this event is for every woman who wants to come. Bring your friends and a witchy costume," Kinnamon said.

Final Courteous Mass of '07 this Friday, Nov. 2nd, 6 pm

Please join BikeAthens for the final Courteous Mass ride of the season
this Friday, November 2, at 6:00 at City Hall.

We will be joined by a news team from the UGA NewsChannel 15 crew,
and as such we have an unprecedented opportunity to show the public
support for improved transportation infrastructure and to demonstrate
the strength of public need and support for safer cycling in Athens.

A large turnout will be a great benefit to the cause of transportation choices. Grab every cyclist you know, and come out for a beautiful, sunny ride under blue autumn skies.

For more about Courteous Mass, check this out.

"Celebration of Land" this Sunday

The Oconee River Land Trust’s

6th annual

Celebration of Land

Sunday, November 4th

2-5 pm

Hosted by Oconee River Land Trust Board Member and Conservation Easement Holder Smith Wilson

580 Morton Road, Athens

Please join us for a casual and fun-filled afternoon for the whole family!

There will be a variety of fun activities for all ages, as well as a chance to learn about our progress in preserving the beautiful Piedmont landscape!

Bring your friends!

The activities will include:

Live Bluegrass Music by Strung Jury

Mule-drawn Hay Rides	Harvest Munchies & Hot Cider
Guided Walks on the Land	Drawing Contest
Scavenger Hunt	Face Painting

Bike Athens to Attend S'mores by Campfire

Directions: From the intersection of Gaines School Road and Lexington Road in Athens, follow Highway 78 (Lexington Road) 2.7 miles to Morton Road. Turn right, & go 0.8 miles. Look for balloons marking driveway on the right.

For information, please contact Katherine Hinson at 706-850-1354 or katherineinge@earthlink.net

the alienated empire

a very intriguing article about the atomizing, isolating impact of our dominant forms of urban planning and architecture.

Get your Halloween grub at Earth Fare & kick us some change

Don't forget!
October is our "Friend of Earth Fare" Month

Throughout October, BikeAthens is Earth Fare's "Friend of the Month." Any time you shop at Earth Fare and use your own bag, BikeAthens receives a donation.

Only a few days left, so go forth, buy organic free range turkey and bulk veg chili mix, and be sure to bring your own bag.

Athens Transit Services news

I attended the Citizens Advisory Committee for Athens Transit this past Monday and learned about a slew of technological improvements to transit service that should be up and running very soon (if they aren't already). Enhancements include:

1. Computer-aided dispatch systems

2. Buses and the Multi-Modal Transit Center are outfitted with scrolling digital signs. Signs on buses indicate the time and the next approaching stop. These are augmented by audio announcements, which kick in ~100' from major stops (e.g. Prince Ave @ Milledge Ave). The signage at MMTC will display real-time ETAs on buses at the arrival bays.

3. A web-based system will soon be available, allowing ATS staff & riders to see the location & ETA of their bus as it travels its route. The combination of this feature with item 1 will result in much more timely bus arrival at route stops.

4. In partnership with BikeAthens, ATS will also be online with Google Transit, joining a handful of cities utilizing this extremely useful trip-planning application. ATS predicts that this will go live within six weeks.

Exciting developments! Stay tuned...I'll post updates on this as it becomes available.

Tabling at the Loretta Cleveland Festival

Watch a short slide show from our bike repair & informational booth at the October 13th East Athens Loretta Cleveland Festival:

Support BikeAthens through UGA Campaign for Charities

UGA's annual Campaign for Charities provides an easy and convenient
opportunity to help BikeAthens continue it's ongoing efforts to make
walking, cycling, and transit safer and and more convenient in Athens Clarke
County.

As a Georgia Shares member organization, a monthly payroll donation to
BikeAthens can be entered on the Campaign for Charities form that has
recently been distributed to UGA employees.

BikeAthens is organization number 194064, listed under Georgia Shares, in
the second column (about 7 inches down) in the State Charitable
Contributions brochure that was mailed with the information packet.

Even a small donation is very helpful, and very much appreciated.

To learn more about Georgia Shares and its member organizations, see
www.georgiashares.org

A new way to keep you informed

Hi, BikeAthens friends and supporters.
We're establishing this blog to keep you abreast of transportation news and happenings in Athens and the region.

We'll link to relevant news stories, post pictures of BikeAthens events, comment on transportation issues in our fair Classic City, and fill you in on the latest BikeAthens happenings.

If you use an RSS reader, you can subscribe to this blog via the "Subscribe to Posts" link below.

Stay tuned, and thanks, as always, for supporting transportation choices!