diff --git a/bin/github-backup b/bin/github-backup
index aa16823..72bdcfd 100755
--- a/bin/github-backup
+++ b/bin/github-backup
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ import urllib2
 
 from github_backup import __version__
 
+FNULL = open(os.devnull, 'w')
 
 def log_error(message):
     if type(message) == str:
@@ -357,6 +358,11 @@ def fetch_repository(name, remote_url, local_dir, skip_existing=False):
     if clone_exists and skip_existing:
         return
 
+    initalized = subprocess.call('git ls-remote ' + remote_url,  stdout=FNULL, stderr=FNULL, shell=True)
+    if initalized == 128:
+        log_info("Skipping {} since it's not initalized".format(name))
+        return
+    
     if clone_exists:
         log_info('Updating {} in {}'.format(name, local_dir))
         git_command = ['git', 'fetch', '--all', '--tags', '--prune']