Alternative Fuel partnership benefiting the community!

n 2009, Jittery Joe's introduced Alternative Fuel, a special coffee blend designed to support the programs and activities of BikeAthens. Available ground or whole bean, Alternative Fuel sales directly enable BikeAthens' safety & advocacy efforts as well as direct service programs such as Holiday Bikes for Kids.

Thanks to the support of Jittery Joe's and drinkers of Alternative Fuel, BikeAthens was able to refurbish and donate over 60 children's bicycles to local families in need this holiday season. Every bicycle was thoroughly cleaned and repaired by volunteers, then delivered in time for the holidays with a brand new helmet.

Proceeds from the sale of the Alternative Fuel coffee blend have been instrumental in the growth of programs like Holiday Bikes for Kids. The extra revenue has allowed for the purchase of tools, work stands, cleaner, helmets, and much more. Since the partnership began, Jittery Joe's has contributed $1,169.50 to BikeAthens!

There's still time to get your Alternative Fuel - a great gift for the cyclist in your family!
Order online here, or visit the Jittery Joe's Roaster on E. Broad St or any of the Athens-area Jittery Joe's locations.

BikeAthens extends its sincerest thanks to our generous neighbors at Jittery Joe's for supporting our work. Fore more about Jittery Joe's and Alternative Fuel, please visit www.jitteryjoes.com/fundraising/alternativefuel.html

Holiday Bikes for Kids delivers 41 bicyles

Thanks to the hard work and organizing efforts of the Bike Recycling Program volunteers, this morning BikeAthens delivered 41 fully refurbished youth bikes and brand new helmets to Fowler Drive Elementary School!

The bikes will be picked up tomorrow morning by parents, who will pass these along to some very happy children on Christmas morning.

Way to be, BRP!

Some pics of the delivery below:

Art Bash & Holiday Party

Thanks to everyone who contributed art, helped organize, and attended. We had a blast!

Thursday: BikeAthens Art Bash!

Holiday social & silent auction on some very cool bike-themed pieces from local artists.
6:00 - 10 pm at The Globe, upstairs

1/2 price pints of New Belgium beer all night!

New thinking @ Atlanta Regional Commission?

Tad Leithead, the newly elected chairman of the Atlanta Regional Commission, looks like an advocate for better public transportation in Georgia:

He is keen to resurrect the North Cobb to Akers Mill to Perimeter light-rail line that would alleviate congestion along interstates 75 and 285. Commuter lines from Atlanta to Macon and Athens rank high too. The so-called Northern Arc, connecting interstates 75 and 85, deserves serious reconsideration, Leithead said.

Marta needs a steadier flow of money to maintain, let alone upgrade, its system. Public-private partnerships could turn HOV lanes into toll lanes.

Leithead said the General Assembly must give the 10-county metro region the financial tools to solve transportation woes. A penny sales tax would raise $7.9 billion, he said, with federal matching dollars adding another $5 billion.

“To be a great metropolitan city, we must have that great transit system,” Leithead said.

I'll amend his comments a bit: to be a functional, responsible, and sustainable society, we must have a reliable, convenient, and valued transit system. Here's hoping Leithead succeeds in his transit goals.
The northern arc...not so much.
You can't build automobile infrastructure and expect people to use transit. Every road widening and new road construction project guarantees the congestion you're trying to eliminate.

Video from holiday parade

BikeAthens' "float" featured in this video at minute 17:50.