Cycling For Good

When Damon Elmore set out to bike across all 159 of Georgia’s counties, he had no idea how much the personal venture would teach him.

Riding his bicycle has always been a favorite pastime, and he realized that he could combine that hobby with a yearning to discover more about the state that he loved and the people in it.

Elmore’s career in law has taken him down a winding path, from serving the City of Atlanta and working in local government to private practice and international Fortune 250 companies.

“And now, back to what I love most,” he said. “Helping small businesses, non-profits and local governments – counties and cities.”

Now a partner at Nowell Sparks Law Firm in Atlanta, his specializes in human resources and works more on the business side instead of the legal aspects of the firm.

“I am still committed to making new lawyers and the profession better,” he said.

Elmore currently serves on the Board of Governors for the State Bar of Georgia, and he was previously the president of the Georgia Legal Services Program Board of Directors.

“GLSP is a statewide, legal services agency whose mission is to bring legal services to rural towns and areas in Georgia,” Elmore said.

While serving in this capacity, however, he began to realize that he did not know the clients or the families that needed their legal services. He had never seen the issues firsthand that led to their need of assistance. Elmore pointed out that he had never even been to all 10 of the GLSP’s offices across the state.

Feeling the need to meet these people face-to-face and see the trails of the peach state for himself, Elmore embarked on a personal journey in 2013 to bike through all 159 counties – and Bike GA Counties was born.

“It took about, really, two years because the state is so big,” he said. He gained a following on social media as he posted his progress on Twitter using @BikeGACounties.

For two years, Elmore used this initiative to raise awareness with a theme of increasing access to justice. He set up a fundraiser online  and began raising money to benefit the GLSP. The idea was to reach people in need of legal help who had no access to it, like senior citizens looking for help from predatory lenders or women escaping abusive situations. The initiative reached its goal of almost $16,000 in funds that went back into the organization focused on helping those without access to legal services.

After weekend trips and vacations spread out over the two-year period, Elmore ended his journey in the summer of 2015 as he passed through Union and Towns counties. This was not, however, the end of this chapter. With a new appreciation for the many walks of life in Georgia, an eagerness to help and a persistent passion for biking, Elmore ended one initiative just to kickstart another.

Cycling for Good is an opportunity for other people in the community to combine their love for biking with a helping hand. Once a month, Elmore organizes a bike ride somewhere in Georgia and encourages people to join him. The ride begins, and the bikers deliver donated items to homeless men and women in the area along their route. Donations include fresh fruit, snack bars, tuna packs, nuts and almonds as well as hygiene items like bars of soap, razors and feminine products.

“This is just a simple continuation of that bigger broader thing,” Elmore said. “It’s just to do out there and do something good.”

He stresses to the people who accompany him on the Cycling for Good bike rides that they are not simply dropping off the items and speeding away. He puts an emphasis on making the interaction personal.

“When you meet people, learn their names and their stories,” he said. “Be genuine.”

Though most rides are comprised of a handful of regular cyclists who learn of the program by word-of-mouth or on social media, some have involved other facets of the community. For the group’s Easter ride, a metro Atlanta elementary school donated plastic eggs with kind messages inside to be delivered. Another ride involved a local grocery store that donated items for the care packages, and the rides during the holidays received plenty of donations from the community. Though the majority of the rides take place in Fulton County and downtown Atlanta, some have branched further out into the state, including the January ride that was in Savannah.

Elmore has used the Cycling for Good initiative to invite his neighbors in the community around him to join him in helping others while enjoying a leisurely ride.

“It is intentionally not hard,” he said. “We don’t ride long.”

He explains that there are really only two rules for people who participate: bring a donation and learn someone’s name.

Elmore hopes to see the Cycling for Good program continue to grow as more people learn about the opportunity. He posts updates about upcoming rides on the Twitter using @Cycling_4-Good and on the Facebook page, Cycling for Good.

Bike GA Counties is not over, however. Seeing Georgia’s 159 counties once was not enough, and Elmore plans to start round two during the summer of 2016. He hopes to raise more awareness and money for those in need. Doubtless, his second trek around the state will garner attention, and he says there’s always one question everyone asks him.

“What’s my favorite county?” he laughed. “I can never pick just one!”

Written by ACCG Communications Intern Sierra Hubbard