Riding To An Autumn Picnic

At Porches And Pies

Think of Chomp & Stomp with pie instead of chili. The inaugural Adair Park festival gave us eighty treats both sweet and savory, plus a look at how the BeltLine is renewing yet another Atlanta neighborhood.

At The October Commuter Breakfast: Act I

From dressy parades to everyday errands, Atlantans on bicycles are numerous in my portraits queue. Wonderful it is to live where our city government is responding with infrastructure improvements, and now, our very own Chief Bicycle Officer.

September|October Momentum Magazine

The best fashion show is definitely on the street. Always has been. Always will be, quoth Bill Cunningham, and was chosen by the editors of Momentum Magazine to introduce their feature, 'Global Bike Style On The Street'. Their choices celebrate humanity via the daily lives of people who ride bikes. Memorable folk from Nepal, Havanna, Mexico City, Tokyo, Toronto, and, yes, Atlanta, grace as many pages.

Cycling To The Dogwood Festival

Roll Model: Shayna Pollock

I try to use my bicycle to understand Atlanta. A passionate urban planner, I’m obsessed with the way cities live, work, and breathe. Riding on two wheels enables me to notice the off the beaten path buildings, the bustling neighborhood parks, and the tiny details of this city that give it character. Of course, I also notice the pot holes, the construction plates and Atlanta’s oft-bizarre street grid. However, I feel certain I wouldn’t see and experience the city the same way if I was a car driver speeding through.

I ride Linus, my early 1980s red road bike, everywhere. As my mom says, “Shayna and Linus have a thing.” We really do. I bought him at a used bicycle shop in Athens during college, and we’ve been inseparable (other than a stint abroad) ever since. He’s my primary mode of transportation and my permanent adventure buddy.

About 2.5 years ago, I left the US for a while and lived in the Netherlands (and a couple of other places). There, bicycling culture is so different. It’s the norm to cycle everywhere, and the pace of city cycling is much more leisurely. Since I didn’t even know anyone with a car there, I had to depend on my little Dutch bike to get me everywhere, even when I had huge items (see: campfire wood, an entire box of bananas, and a rolling duffel). Developing that self-sufficiency abroad really inspired my cycling habit once I returned home. Now each grocery store run, Home Depot purchase, or commute to work is a reminder of the independence and mobility that a bicycle affords.

Now, I commute to work in Downtown from Reynoldstown, and I truly enjoy it more every day. Because Wylie and Edgewood are such popular bicycling corridors, I’m making friends on the ride to work. It’s nice to chat with fellow cyclists at red lights and it’s a human connection that I certainly wouldn’t get if I was inside a vehicle. Plus, more and more people are joining the ranks every day. The bicycling community in Atlanta is so strong and welcoming. I’ve loved being a part of it so far and I look forward to watching it grow as our infrastructure expands over the next few years.

Shayna Pollock

Save The Date: October 4

By sundown Saturday, one savvy, sociable and strong cyclist will sit astride this Globe city bike that SOPO has given to be Grand Prize in the 2014 Terminus 5C. No lesser soul would prevail in a such a gauntlet of five secret way points, each providing an unique challenge. Play is for points, so bring a friend or two and take your time. Free beer and a raft of runner-up prizes await those who can find their ways to the finish. Please follow this link to register. As ever, the T5C raises funds for the Atlanta Bicycle Coalition, so everyone gains both fond memories and a more bike-friendly city.

Roll Model: Nedra Deadwyler

Kirkwood resident Nedra Deadwyler tellingly names June 7 of this year as the birthday of her company, Civil Bikes. It was a day of pop up shopping along Auburn, and Edgewood Avenues to celebrate the Atlanta Streetcar route. Like those rails linking Centennial Olympic Park, and its Center For Civil, and Human Rights to the MLK National Historic Site, her vision is transformational. "My goal is preserving history through tours. It's a passion that pulls many things that I love together. Riding my bike puts me in a good mood automatically, keeps my body healthy, and builds relationships with people."

With help from Neil Walker of Cycles & Change, Deadwyler obtained funding for sixty-eight Raleigh Talus mountain bicycles. She then distributed half of that bounty among youth programs in metro Atlanta. The remainder became her business fleet, either for rent or guided tours. "Right now it's Old Fourth Ward, and downtown, concentrating on civil rights."

Other days find her studying historic preservation at Georgia State University. "I like to ride downtown on Peachtree Street. Motorists are mindful, and don't go that fast. More people are riding, and acknowledging one another. A stranger called to me, 'Have a nice ride!' I ring my bell all the time, and people ring back." Civil behaviors, indeed.

On The BeltLine: Ansley Park

On The EastSide Trail: Bicycle Love

East Meets West: Atlanta BeltLine Annual Bicycle Tour

What a Saturday! With the Atlanta 'Zine Fest and Tunes From The Tombs filling the afternoon, there was just enough of my morning to join the West End tour riders as far as The BeltLine Bike Shop.

Roll Model: Amber Raley

Amber Raley likens bicycles to tattoos. "The ideal number is one more than you now have, with a limit of the number at which your partner will leave you, minus one," she hastens to add. As someone about to donate her car to NPR, she retains many transportation options.

"Aubrey was my first bike in Atlanta, a blue 1980's Ross with orange wheels." Invited to ride in North Georgia with Sorella, she looked to Kirkwood ReCycle for something sportier: a red Schwinn ten-speed from the 1960's, its drop bars wrapped in the original tape now faded to her favored color. She proudly remembers hanging tough with the B+ riders, all the while mastering Cinnamon's derailleur gears. When friends sent her the same link to a CraigsList for sale ad, the orange and white fixed gear mixte (aka chixie) became her Tango. Christmas brought a yet to be named vintage mountain bike. "I haven't ridden it yet and gotten a sense of its spirit."

Lari is the suborder of sea birds that includes terns and the name given to the Tern folding bicycle she won from the silent auction at last year's ABC Blinkie Awards. This versatile bike goes with her on MARTA and into conference rooms, where it plays a role in advocacy on behalf of BeltLine Speakers Bureau. Her winning ways and wits have disarmed guards in the Atlanta Financial Center and the less than bike friendly Hurt Building, who watched as the dreaded, two wheeled machine became...luggage!

This "crucial part of my BeltLine narrative also shapped my choice of neighborhood, Adair Park." She first explored those streets of SW Atlanta in a 'wheel estate' tour with EcoBroker Burke Sisco. Subsequent rides, including one to her house inspection, "proved to me I could do that." Commuting by bicycle finds her "energized and ready to start the day. Riding straight up Peachtree Street every day makes me a tourist in my own city."

Sunday At The Skatepark

BeltLine Art: Beneath Freedom Parkway

While Atlantans await Phil Proctor's assemblage of rail hardware in the shape of a Corithian column to adorn the Eastside Trail, they are today pausing in numbers to view this framed visage beneath the Freedom Parkway overpass. It was my good fortune to meet the artist last Friday while he unloaded the elements from his bike trailer. At once both confident and modest, he promised that those bits of industrial waste and glass shards would coalesce into something memorable. Bravo!!!

Roll Model: Corny de las Alas

"My super hero bike name," explains the outgoing Decatur resident, single dad and long-time cycling commuter, who finds that "people on bikes seem to be happier and more approachable, which fits my personality." While his daily commute to Midtown could be spent reading or listening to NPR news aboard a MARTA train, enjoying cool mornings and connecting to people and savoring natural beauty along the way can only be accomplished on two wheels. "I get to go through some great neighborhoods, shop if needed, and see some great art. It’s a safe route with little car traffic and what car traffic there is, are use to bikes on the road. And I get to ride with, wave, say hi, ring my bell at some awesome folks who are enjoying the outdoors on their bikes or walking on the BeltLine or the PATH."

Corny calls his commuter bike "a SoPo franken-bike made up of all different parts". That building experience is one he is happy to share with others. "I was lucky enough to have discovered SoPo when I first started bike commuting and I have been involved with them ever since 2008. It’s great to see where SoPo’s donation bikes have gone and the stories behind them."


Fortunate are the children who can claim a super hero for father. The family portrait came from a chance BeltLine encounter on their way to Piedmont Park for the Atlanta Icecream Festival. "Now my favorite memories are seeing my daughter and son ride at 3 ½ years old. With no training wheels he is already pushing his boundaries in cycling. She has been gaining confidence learning to ride. It’s great that they want to ride with me whenever they see me riding."

On The BeltLine: Fixie Riders

Heels On Wheels: Bike America

Winner of the 2013 Alliance National Graduate Playwriting Competition, Bike America tells the story of restless millennial generation riders on a cross-country road trip. Before Saturday's matinée, the ladies of Heels On Wheels explored the Northside BeltLine through Tanyard Creek Park. If bonding over bikes appeals to you, have a look at their facebook group page.
Heels On Wheels is a service of the Atlanta Bicycle Coalition.