On Saturday October 21, more than 100 cyclists visited Statesboro, GA, from across the United States and parts of Canada to participate in the "Athens to Savannah" annual fundraiser ride.
The ride helps promote the development of the Georgia Hi-Lo Trail, with participants coming from Canada, North Dakota, California, and other neighboring states in show of support.
Cyclists arrived for hours at the The Visit Statesboro Market building, where they were welcomed with catered food and a big screen viewing of the Georgia Southern Homecoming Football game.
The Athens to Savannah ride consists of a 3-Day Road or 4-Day Gravel trip, from Athens to Savannah.
"Today for the Athens to Savannah Ride, we have a 4-Day Gravel ride [dirt roads] and 3-Day Road ride [paved roads] underway," stated Mary Charles Howard, Director of the Athens to Savannah Ride and Director of the Georgia Hi-Lo Trail.
"We rode our bikes today from Tennille, GA, to Statesboro, GA. It was our longest mileage day, being 84 miles for Gravel, and over 101 miles for Road riders, due to road riders being looped through Bartow, GA to have a 'Century Ride' of over 100 miles," Howard added. "No matter if a rider is doing Gravel or Road, we all end the ride on Sunday with an awards celebration being had at Service Brewing Co. in Savannah, Ga."
"It's great to have this Athens to Savannah ride, which is a fundraiser for the Georgia Hi-Lo Trail. The Georgia Hi-Lo Trail is a proposed trail to be connected to the Firefly Trail from downtown Athens to Union Point, which is about 39 miles. I live in Sandersville and really need a trail; just like so many other moms and individuals who don't want to risk their lives on the road riding bikes just to get some exercise. That is essentially how the Georgia Hi-Lo Trail came to be. We just need a safe, common space for people to exercise, walk, run, or bike on. The Georgia Hi-Lo Trail is proposed to be the longest paved trail in the United States at 211 miles, and that would go right through Statesboro, which would be great feature for local tourism. We encourage community support and input for the Georgia Hi-Lo trail, as we want this trail to be an asset to each community that it will pass through."
Tracie Sanchez, Community Development MPA of the Georgia Department of Community Affairs, also gave some highlights.
"It's fun when small towns come out to greet you and host a snack stop at a local church or community building," stated Sanchez. "In Twin City, we visited a pecan seller who showed us her candies and stores of pecans. The dirt roads are also beautiful."
Howard would like to thank Howard Sheppard, Inc. Trucking Company for transporting all of the riders' bikes back to Athens after the ride finished.
For the full list of SPONSORING PARTNERS of the Athens to Savannah Ride, click HERE.
About the Georgia Hi-Lo Trail
After four years of being frustrated with a lack of safe cycling and economic opportunities in her home town, Mary Charles Howard decided to take matters into her own hands.
In 2019, she launched the Georgia Hi-Lo Trail initiative. After seeing the success of Athens’ own Firefly Trail, she decided to build on the great work of that trail by extending Firefly Trail’s original 39-mile trail south another 200 miles with the Georgia Hi-Lo Trail – through Sandersville and beyond – and ending in Savannah, GA.
Upon completion, the Georgia Hi-Lo Trail will be the longest paved trail in all of America.
For more information on the Georgia Hi-Lo Trail, visit https://georgiahilo.com/.
