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Despite leftover wind gusts from Hurricane Zeta, it was a great day to ride a bike. That’s exactly what Georgia Gwinnett College (GGC) students, faculty and staff did this afternoon as part of the Link to Lawrenceville event, a 2.5-mile bike ride from the center of GGC’s main campus to downtown Lawrenceville.

“The Link to Lawrenceville is a great way for us to spotlight GGC’s wonderful relationship with our home city of Lawrenceville,” said GGC President Jann L. Joseph, who addressed participants along with Lawrenceville Mayor David Still. “The ride highlights our campus’s easy access to the incredible shops, restaurants, and businesses in the city’s downtown.”

Also participating in the event—now in its seventh year—was former Lawrenceville Mayor Judy Jordan Johnson, who said the annual ride was developed as a partnership between the City of Lawrenceville and GGC. The current route, she said, parallels the College Corridor, which is currently under construction. Once complete, the 2.2 mile stretch of roadway will connect GGC with downtown Lawrenceville.

“This was a good way to invite the students and the GGC community to come downtown and see what we have to offer,” said Johnson, whose term ended in December 2019.

This was the first time Kat Kyle rode in the Link to Lawrenceville. Kyle, who is GGC’s associate vice president of human resources, teamed up with her colleague, Christine Miller Divine, vice president of information technology/CIO, to participate.

“The city is doing so many amazing things with development and it’s an incredible opportunity for us to promote the relationship between the college and downtown Lawrenceville,” Kyle said. “And it’s a beautiful day for a bike ride.”

David Dorrell, associate professor of geography, brought his wife and 9-year-old son to the event. This is the second year that he’s organized the event on behalf of GGC and as part of the college’s Sustainability Committee, which promotes and advances sustainable initiatives on campus.

“This event has been successful and we wanted to make sure it continued,” he said. “The weather’s clear. There are no trees on the road. We’re ready to ride.”

As the event began, riders, escorted by members of the GGC and City of Lawrenceville police departments, made their way onto the roadway, cheered on by Joseph and Still.

“I’m so grateful for the partnership between GGC and the City of Lawrenceville,” Joseph said. “I see a lasting relationship between the college and the city and one where students can see that GGC and Lawrenceville are interconnected.”

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