Streets Alive: Peachtree

Atlanta Streets Alive

Roll Model: Malia Mask

Like many, my love for biking began in my youth. I have many fond memories of navigating the neighborhood on my red bike, beads on my spokes and the wind in my hair. All that joy came to an end when my little brother got old enough to take my bike apart... but lacked the skills (and intelligence!) to put it back together. It wasn't just my bike. My two sisters got the same treatment. What is it about little brothers!?

Fast forward quite a few years and I am in Paris for my honeymoon. We sign up for an urban bike tour and fall in love with navigating the city via bicycle. It is amazing what a different perspective a bicycle can give you. Not just touring a city but just running an errand. When was the last time a trip to the store made you happier, healthier and better looking?

Anyway, on my honeymoon, I fell back in love with biking and got a baby blue cruiser with a basket as soon as I got home. How cliche is that?! At the time I lived in Buckhead and could be seen cruising sidewalks on the regular. It was liberating and invigorating, but something didn't feel quite right. I wanted to be on the streets. I wanted to play by the rules. I wanted legitimacy, and I wasn't going to get there on my cruiser.

So, I moved to midtown and solved my own problems. I founded MBIKES, which designs fixed gear, single speed bikes that are light and fast... perfect for intown riding. Now, I ride almost every day. I lose my car keys on weeknights and weekends and I love it. With my fixie, my bike has become the ultimate fashion accessory. My bike, The Twain, was originally white on white but I switched out one of the rims to add a hit of the world’s most regal color, purple! That way, when I am on my bike killing it down 10th Street, I feel like the queen of the streets. Since we ride hard, my fashion accessories usually include my Vans and my favorite pair cut offs, but I am not scared to dress it up for a concert in the park or a date night with my hubby.

At MBIKES we say we want to rid the world of cars one bike at a time. We believe in biking as the solution for many of our intown transportation issues, and we want to be part of that solution. From a brick and mortar showroom to one day manufacturing our bike frames in Georgia, we have big plans for MBIKES. When Mayor Reed says he wants Atlanta to be a top ten biking city. We say what can we do to help?!

Oh, and remember that story about my little brother? Well, he was our first MBIKES customer. So, he turned out alright. Funny how things work out.

Malia Mask

Street Scene: Her Ride To Work

The month of May is themed all things bicycle. Today we ride with Mayor Reed from City Hall to Piedmont Park and next Saturday, the much missed Heels on Wheels resumes with a tour of Decatur.

Roll Model: Taoran Le

Taoran Le acquired her taste for city cycling as a student in France and Italy. "In Paris, I really enjoy the citybike there to see the amazing city and beautiful people." Memories of Vélib’ followed her to New York, where she found Citi Bike "surprisingly cheap and convenient." Today the Midtown resident commutes to Georgia Tech for her PhD studies in Electronic Engineering aboard a Schwinn Point Beach cruiser. Improvements like the cycle track on Tenth Street and the 'Amsterdam Left' at Fifth and West Peachtree Streets make her "glad that midtown becomes more and more bike-able and Georgia Tech as well."
A romantic at heart, she and other Georgia Tech Ph.D. students who "love biking, are free spirited, and enjoy the amazing breeze in late night Atlanta" have formed a night riding group, who last July "decided to bike to Decatur for not wasting the beautiful night. We biked through the BeltLine and Poncey-Highland Playground. The moon had an amazing blue ring with very few clouds. We were really enjoying the cold beer under the huge moon in Decatur."

Wednesday Sightings

Isn't is fun the way themes sometimes appear all by themselves?

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."

Street Scene: Tenth And Peachtree

What a morning for cyclists. Having just finished with the men in Piedmont Park, I was riding to a noon appointment on North Avenue when she crossed my path. Should I risk being late?
The choice was an easy one.

At Georgia Tech: 5th Street Redefined

Why are east and west-bound traffic flows so restricted in Midtown Atlanta? The north and south rivers move in one-way arteries called Juniper, Piedmont, Spring and West Peachtree. Turn ninety degrees and your paths over the Downtown Connector become the two-way veins of 17th, 14th 10th and tiny 5th, which makes a constricting dogleg turn where it crosses mighty West Peachtree. Georgia Tech brings a significant volume of pedestrian traffic to the mix there and was a key player in the solution unveiled today, which included the efforts of City Hall, the Midtown Alliance and a grant from Bikes Belong. Now we have a "Copenhagen Left", beautifully illustrated by Joshuah Mello in this facebook album. Riders will have to adjust to turning left from the right lane, but do have a traffic signal for that purpose.
There is more to come. Both Mayor Kasim Reed and colorful, fixie-riding City Councilman Kwanza Hall affirmed their commitments to cycling infrastructure as a way of keeping Atlanta in the vanguard of American cities. Georgia Tech has risen to the occasion by developing an application for smartphones that will track urban cycle commuting so leaders and planners can see who rides when, where and why. Get yours from Cycle Atlanta.

Street Scene: Peachtree Street

In Midtown: A Fixie Rider

At Rhodes Hall: A Stylish Commuter

Please see her again on Atlanta Street Fashion.

On Piedmont Road

'Tis safe to say that without the Atlanta Bicycle Coalition and Heels On Wheels, this blog would not exist. Thanks for encouraging me to participate in the People Powered Movement Photo Contest. Please follow this link to see Atlantans among the winning images.

In Midtown: A City Cyclist Dresses For Work

Her mum fashioned the pleated skirt back in the 1970's and the blouse is another old friend by Jaeger. On this side of the pond, J. Crew provided the shoes and cable knit cashmere sweater. The groovy bead bracelet is a souvenir of Asheville.

A Designer And His Fixie