Bike!Bike! Southeast 2018

Bike!Bike! Southeast is a regional gathering of community bike shops, co-ops and collectives to celebrate inclusive cycling community and to share knowledge. It will be a weekend of fun, friends, and workshops punctuated with fun rides and nighttime activities.

Bike!Bike! Southeast 2018 is only a few months away and we are thrilled to host everyone!! We are planning a couple of great rides, famous southern bbq, and most importantly an array of engaging and thought provoking conference topics – which we will share details about as we get closer to the date. Registration opens on January 8th, 2018 and will close on February 28, 2018.

Full agenda is now posted below. Take a look!

Registration

Thank you for completing your registration. We'll see you at Bike!Bike! Payment is by donation and can be done now or upon arrival. To help us fund the conference, we ask that you pay the registration donation as soon as you can. Thank you.

Housing Accommodations

Volunteers and members of the CTBC will provide housing, space for tents to as many people as available. Please send us an e-mail ASAP so we can confirm that housing is still available at colatownbikecollective@gmail.com . There are also ample Air BNB locations and some great hotels in the area. Please use us as a resource and we can make sure you're staying in the best accommodations possible!

Schedule

This year, we had several more folks register than we originally anticipated, so we want to make sure we can accommodate everyone. If you could please send colatownbikecollective@gmail.com a request if you need a bicycle to borrow ASAP. We have limited bikes – and will try to accommodate everybody, but it will have to be first come first serve. Be sure to include your height. If you are staying with one of us, you should have gotten an e-mail with contact for the person you will be staying with. Please reach out to them independently to work out logistics. If you cannot get in touch with somebody, e-mail the CTBC and we will sort it out for you.

Lastly, while we are showcasing the city, there will be group rides between each of the different locations. If you are uncomfortable riding with the group, the town does have Uber and Lyft for very reasonable costs. There may also be folks driving that can share a ride with. Let us know ahead of time if you need help organizing logistics and do not plan to ride a bike.









The theme of this Bike!Bike! this year is to showcase emerging infrastructure for pedestrian and cyclists and turn it into a learning experience! We have made progress in the last 5 years towards building out our bike and pedestrian infrastructure, but we are very much in the early stages relative to bigger cities in the U.S. We have a filmmaker from Charleston, SC screening his movie "Backpedal" to start off the whole event, followed by a talk with Mayor Steven Benjamin talking about how he has spearheaded a difficult problem of building bike infrastructure in a state that really has none. You will enjoy some scenic bike rides, compelling panel discussions, and some fantastic southern cuisine. The conference will be in various locations in the heart of Columbia. The event comes to a close with a great party at Art Bar with DJ VIVID coming up from Atlanta to perform. He was pretty huge in the 90s and dusted off his turntables about 3 years ago and relaunched his career. He recently opened for Gareth Emery and has played festivals with the likes of Deadmau5. Of course, we are pulling out all the stops for our guests from out of town for food, catering 3 meals and a snack by one of the best BBQ guys around, Joe Turkaly (he also can accommodate vegetarian and vegan cuisine).

We selected specific venues to offer everybody the opportunity to take in what Columbia has to offer and experience some of our rich history as a town:

The newly renovated 1929 The Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Co airplane hangar, one of 7 left in existence, which was fully restored into a production brewery called Hunter Gatherer.

Historic Nickelodeon Theater, home to the original fox theater, where we are screening Backpedal.

701 Whaley, the historic Mill Store for the Whaley and Olympia mills.

Tapp's Art Space, originally Tapp's department store, the first department store of its kind- built in 1940 with a contemporary modern exterior. And Air conditioning!

Historic Columbia's Siebels House. Build in 1796, this house sits on the northern edge of the historic district, and has an absolutely beautiful garden.

Below, you can find a draft of our schedule. This is subject to slight change, but the gist of it should be complete.









6:30pm - 7:30pm - Check-in/Reception Cola Town Bike Collective HQ

7:30pm - Take a ride through historic Rosewood neighborhood and end at Hunter Gatherer brewery, in the newly renovated historic Curtiss Wright hangar. [Guests will purchase their own refreshments, light snacks will be provided.]









8:00am - 8:30am - Check-in at CTBC

9:00am – 9:45 am - Breakfast on Main Street. Michaels and Good Life Café, guests to purchase their own meals.

10:00am - 11:30am - Screening of Backpedal, a documentary on our addiction to cars filmed locally in Charleston SC followed by Q&A with Ryan Cockrell – the producer, director.

11:30 am – 12:00pm - Follow up Q&A with Mayor Benjamin and Keith Gosselin on how a city develops bike infrastructure.

12:30pm - 1:30pm - Lunch: Due to our large group size, we will split up into several spots in the downtown area for lunch. We will write up a list and descriptions of everything!

2:00pm - 3:00pm - Workshop Sessions #2 Round table discussion: Biggest challenges you face towards accomplishing organization's mission/avoiding mission drift. -moderated by David King

3:00pm - 4:00pm - Workshop Sessions #3 presentation and panel discussion about inclusiveness in the bicycle world. Presented by Katie Blackburn

4:00pm – 5:00pm – Tricks, etc – Both Functional and Frivolous @Tunnel Vision [Tim Landholt]

5:00pm - Until - Dinner and Hangout [TBD]









8:00am - 8:30am - Check-in [CTBC]

8:30am – 9:00am – Transport to 701 Whaley

9:00am – 9:30am - Breakfast [Joe T Catering]

10:00am - 11:00am - Workshop Sessions #1 (Reversing the norm – Cycling Advocacy in a policy desert) – Panel with Scott Nuelken

11:00am - 12:00pm - Workshop Sessions #2 LGTBQIA+ discussion headed up by Brittany

12:00pm - 1:00pm - Workshop Sessions #3 Why We love our bikes- brainstorming project session. Hosted by Ellie Obosky

1:00pm - 1:30pm - Pack up and ride to Tapp’s

1:30pm - 2:30pm - Lunch [Joe T] @Tapp’s

2:30pm - 3:30pm - Technology in the Shop - David Zielinski

3:30pm - 4:30pm - Building a Volunteer base - coordination, recruiting - Roundtable Discussion led by David King

4:30pm - 6:00pm - Bike Ride featuring West Columbia / Cayce Riverfront

6:00pm – 7:00 pm: Dinner Tapp’s

8:00pm - After Party at Art Bar w/ DJ VIVID. Doors open at 8, Viv goes on at 9PM - 1AM









8:30am - 9:00am - Check in at CTBC. Leaving at 9:00 to ride to Historic Columbia Siebels House

9:30am - 11:00am - Merch Swap/BBSE 2019 location selection at the Historic Columbia Siebels House. This concludes Bike!Bike! SE 2018









· Cola Town Bike Collective ( CTBC) HQ - 1823 Superior Street Columbia, SC 29205

· Hunter Gatherer Brewery (Hanger) - 1000 Airport Blvd. Columbia, SC 29205

· The Whig - 1200 Main St, Columbia, SC 29201

· 701 Whaley - 701 Whaley St, Columbia, SC 29201

· The War Mouth - 1209 Franklin St, Columbia, SC 29201

· Lamb’s Bread Vegan Cafe - 2338 Main St. Columbia, SC 29201

· Art Bar - 1211 Park Street, Columbia, SC 29201

· Tapp’s - 1644 Main St. Columbia, SC 29201

· Nickelodeon Theater - 1607 Main St. Columbia, SC 29201

· Good Life Cafe (vegan/rawfood) - 1614 Main St. Columbia, SC 29201

· Michael’s Cafe - 1620 Main St. Columbia, SC 29201









Group Ride

Due to limited space at our actual shop, we have structured the conference to be in several different locations around the city. For those of you who want to ride bikes during this event, we will have rides to and from each of these locations, along with the organized group rides below:





THURSDAY NIGHT

Casual (short) ride through historic Rosewood neighborhood after registration, ending at The Hunter Gather Brewery in the newly renovated Curtis Wright Hangar right on the edge of an airport. We will be leaving from the collective after registration. There will be some light snacks provided - but guests will be responsible for any beverage purchases.





FRIDAY AM

We will meet at the CTBC shop for anyone that wants to ride bikes. We will do a leisurely ride, utilizing some neighborhood routes, bike paths, and greenways through the historic Vista area to the Main street location where we will meet. For those who do not ride, please meet us at 9:00 AM on Main Street. Address will be provided in Agenda.





SATURDAY AM

Saturday will be much like Friday. We will ride from the CTBC at 8:30 AM to the 701 Whaley location for the first half of our conference. After half a day of discussion, we will ride back to Main st. to the Tapps Art Gallery for the 2nd half of our lectures. At 4:00 PM, we will do a more scenic bike ride through the city and to the West Columbia, Cayce Riverfront park. After the group ride, we will proceed to the Vista area to the Art Bar for our official afterparty. BBSE participants get in free of charge to see DJ Vivid

A little about Columbia

In the heart of South Carolina, tradition and tomorrow pair perfectly in Columbia. It's a modern city where stately buildings buzz with new business, and centuries-old sites give rise to fresh perspectives. It's a creative hub that's fed by university and capital city communities -- all this in the midst of surrounding natural beauty. With dynamite shopping, food and tons to see and do year round, it's the real Southern hot spot that will leave you looking forward to what's next.





WEATHER

Columbia SC is pretty sunny and warm. Our average temperatures in March have highs of 71 and lows of 47. Bring a light jacket and a rain jacket just in case!





CYCLING IN COLUMBIA

For those of you who have never ridden a bike in the deep south, there are some considerations to have. Traffic in Columbia moves relatively quickly on the major thoroughfares - so some knowledge of where you are going is required to ride safely That being said, there are some great cycle paths and routes that connect the cities business and food centers. Our board has 30+ years of cycling downtown and we will be happy to give you specific routes upon your arrival. Please bring lights and a lock.





FOOD IN COLUMBIA

Food is a big part of our southern culture - and there is something for everybody! We will be providing meals and visiting some of our favorite establishments. If you have any dietary restrictions or preferences, please let us know! There are some great vegan and vegetarian options around the city and we will accommodate everybody with meals that we provide.









Getting To Columbia

Columbia Metropolitan Airport

Located eight miles outside of downtown Columbia, the Columbia Metropolitan Airport (CAE) is the commercial airport serving the Columbia region with 35 daily non-stop flights from eight destinations across three airlines.





Interstates

Three major interstates run through Columbia: I-26, I-20 and I-77. I-95 connects to I-20 and I-26 for easy access from anywhere on the Eastern corridor.





Uber

The ride-sharing app is available across the region.





COMET Bus System

Columbia’s transit system is noticeable by its neon-painted buses. With routes across the Columbia region, the COMET can get you can get wherever you need to go for as little as $2.





Main Street District's E-Rover

Call City Center Partnership's E-rover to catch a free ride anywhere within the 36-block area bounded by Gervais, Elmwood, Assembly and Marion streets. Call (803) 309-7758 (Monday through Sunday, 7:30 am to 11:00 pm).





Taxis

Several taxi companies serve the area. View our complete list of taxi providers.





Megabus

This low-cost service brings daily buses from Atlanta, Durham, N.C., Fayetteville, N.C., and New York.





Greyhound

The Greyhound bus system brings passengers to heart of the downtown area.





Amtrak

The Columbia SC station (CLB) is on the Silver Service/Palmetto line and includes arrivals from Boston, New York, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and dozens of other cities along the Eastern seaboard.



