On Thursday, September 23, Washington County based Jet Food Stores announced their new partnership with the Georgia Hi-Lo Trail to present the 2021 & 2022 Athens to Savannah Bicycle Ride. The Athens to Savannah Ride is an annual 3-day, 285-mile supported road ride from Athens to Savannah raising awareness for the proposed Georgia Hi-Lo Trail.
“Jet Food Stores has always focused on rural Georgia. We are so proud to be the place where many families gather. This Trail will be an asset to its rural communities by creating an experience economy that attracts next generations back home to small town Georgia to raise their families.” said Clint Hancock, President of Jet Food Stores. “This is an investment in the future of this and surrounding rural communities.”
Jet Food Stores was founded in 1973 and still remains a privately owned chain of retail convenience stores, now with 54 stores throughout 21 counties in Middle & South Georgia.
The Athens to Savannah Ride will be held from Friday, October 22 through Sunday, October, 24, 2021. Friday will run 106 miles from Athens to Tennille. 102 miles will be span on Saturday from Sandersville to Statesboro. Sunday’s finale is set for 77 miles from Statesboro to Savannah.
To register for the Athens to Savannah Ride, visit AthenstoSavannah.com. Cyclists may bike the full weekend or race a portion of the ride by purchasing a one-day ticket. Locally, the Day 2, Saturday, October 23, ride will start at the Washington County Chamber and take stops at the old Wiggle & Twist train depot in Wrightsville and the Midnight Run Distillery in Bartow. Each morning of the ride will begin with Jittery Joes coffee, and end with food, drinks, and fellowship with the other cyclists.
Additional top-tier investors in the 2021 Athens to Savannah Ride include:
– The Hub Bicycles, Day 1Stage Sponsor
– Astra Group, Day 2 Stage Sponsor
– Bicycle Attorney Joseph J. Steffen, Jr., Day 3 Stage Sponsor
“As a bicycle shop we believe it is our responsibility to help with the development of safe places for people to ride! Places like Oconee River Greenway, The Firefly Trail, and the Georgia Hi-Lo Trail are places that we as Georgians desperately need. Our state is so far behind the rest of the country with safe places to ride. With the current bike boom happening in the United States, we need these places more than ever,” said Brian Molloy, Owner & Founder of Hub Bikes.
“The rigorous Athens to Savannah Ride is a real example of how you can start with a grassroots vision and see just how necessary this trail is and how useful it can be in connecting rural areas of the state through miles of concrete,” Allen Eison, Vice President of Astra Group said. “It’s about making and sustaining connections, and Astra is thrilled at the opportunity to support the Georgia Hi-Lo trail.”
“As a recreational cyclist and advocate it has been so rewarding to gear my law practice towards cases involving injured cyclists. One component that is still lacking in our part of Georgia is safe and well-designated trails. These trails are often just as valuable to kids and beginners as they are to seasoned riders. My office is honored to help sponsor the Georgia Hi-Lo Trail through the Athens to Savannah Ride,” said Owner & Founder of The Law Office of Bicycle Attorney Joseph J. Steffen, Jr.
Director of the Georgia Hi-Lo Trail Mary Charles Howard expressed her appreciation for all Ride sponsors by stating, “as we grow this Athens to Savannah Ride to be a regional and national event, we are keenly aware that we can not do this without our sponsors. We are investing in this Ride and Trail now so we can build better rural communities for the next generation.”
To see more sponsors of the Athens to Savannah Ride, visit AthenstoSavannah.com.
The mission of the Athens to Savannah Ride is to channel the enthusiasm and tradition of this event to promote awareness, support, and funding for the Georgia Hi-Lo Trail, as well as the Trail’s mission to drive economic development through connectivity and empowerment of Georgia’s rural communities. For more information visit AthenstoSavannah.com.
The Georgia Hi-Lo Trail is dedicated to building a 211-mile paved trail that will serve to drive economic development through the connectivity and empowerment of rural Georgia. Upon completion of the 211-mile Georgia Hi-Lo Trail from Union Point to Savannah, the Hi-Lo Trail will connect to the 39-mile Firefly Trail from Union Point to Athens and together form the longest paved trail in America, connecting small Georgia towns, from Athens to Savannah through the paved, road separated path and creating opportunities for growth and economic development. For more information visit GeorgiaHiLo.com.
For media inquiries or more information about participation or sponsorship, contact Mary Charles Howard at 706-338-8054 or hello@GeorgiaHiLo.com.