Atlanta Intown Cycling

Establishing New Norms

2008-04-30T20:02:00.003-04:00

Once you've immersed yourself in cycling, the old way of getting around seems so backward.

I guess if you have a convertible, you can get some feeling of what it is like to be outside with the wind pushing you around, the sounds of the birds in the trees, and the smell of blossoms in the air, but rolling the window down on a sedan just doesn't compare. And what if it starts to rain? Who wouldn't put the top up or roll up the window?

If I'm in a car, I still get the urge to take the back roads or to take detours, but I almost never do. Maybe I should give in to that urge more often and become more deeply immersed in that norm.

When I do take the car, I get this awful feeling thinking about the extra 3500 pounds of glass, rubber and steel I'm carrying around with me. I don't think that norm will leave me now that I know the alternatives.

Thinking as a cyclist instead of a motorist is one norm that has shifted for me. My mileage is another example of adjusting expectations.

This past month I rode 465.8 miles. I rode more miles in January and March and was disappointed I didn't ride more in April. If I look back however, I find that in the last three years, there are only 5 months where I rode more than 465.8 miles and two of those were when I rode on BRAG at 450 miles in a week. Compared to recent months, 465 isn't a lot, but looking back over the past 3 years, I see that I've gotten accustomed to this many miles in a month.

Will cycling become the norm? For many people, no, but as more people grow in their awareness of cycling, learn what cycling can do for them, and discover the sheer fun of cycling, their norms will shift.

Commute Summary

Round Trip Distance: 17.4
Number of Cyclists seen: 22 (1.3 per mile)
In-bound Route: Lullwater/PATH trail
Out-bound Route: Emory via Clifton
Weather: Had to break out my jacket one more time, but still wearing shorts.

TdG - High Road Express

2008-04-27T17:04:00.001-04:00

Race leader Kanstantsin Siutsou (#28 in the yellow) is escorted by members of his High Road team starting into the 9th of 10 laps. They are at the front of the pelaton and about 40 seconds back from the breakaway at this point.

A group of us rode from Aurora Coffee over the the race course and got to 5th and W Peachtree just as the second lap came by. There was already a breakaway group of about 8-10 riders at this point of the race.

The rain wasn't falling when we got there, but the weather was certainly a factor. Numbers of spectators were down, the speed was down, but the excitement was still there. It's impressive what these athletes can do day after day of hard riding. The only riders I saw with a smile were the ones crossing the finish line ahead of the pack.

The race was fun even though the crowds were thin. Corners were where we found most people and they were enthusiastic. I would have been more enthusiastic if we weren't forced to ride on the sidewalks. Still, riding a bike was a good way to see different parts of the course. I recommend this again next year.

Put a Smile on my Face

2008-04-23T19:48:00.003-04:00

As if everyone realized Earth Day means get up the next day and get on your bikes and ride, the cyclists were out everywhere today. I counted 47 cyclists today over 29.6 miles (average of 1.6 cyclists/mile) which is a new record.

I felt like I had been dropped into the future when I stopped at an intersection that already had one cyclist waiting and two pulled up behind me, while another crossed our path in front of us.

Five random bikes at a location I'm used to only seeing the occasional cyclist. It was an impromptu bike party, but we acted like it should happen all the time.

Commute Summary

Round Trip Distance: 29.6
Number of Cyclists seen: 47 - new record
In-bound Route: Lullwater/PATH trail (with extensions)
Out-bound Route: Emory via Clifton (also with extensions)
Weather: The best.

This is Spring in Atlanta

2008-04-22T20:31:00.001-04:00

Taken around the front yard in the middle of the day.

GPS Consideration

2008-04-21T21:39:00.000-04:00

I'm not a big gadget person. I recognize when I'm spending time with gadgets that don't further my other goals, and avoid the temptation.

My Treo is an example of something that walks the line. I needed a phone and I'd been carrying a Palm Pilot for contact and calendar, so it was nice to combine the two devices into a single hand-held. I'm also aware that it could make a pretty good GPS device with the addition of a Bluetooth GPS receiver.

Now, my odometer on the bike gives me most of what I need: distance and time. Routes I plan out using bikely.com. If I get lost, that just makes it more fun. So, having the maps in the device is not a big deal for me. Being able to track elevation would be nice. I can get a fairly good estimate from bikely.com routes, but I've also seen some inaccuracies. The GPS could give me a better picture of my climb and also would tie it to my speed on the various hills.

There's also the ability to track and then download to bikely.com so I wouldn't have to hand enter my routes.

So, the solution I was considering was the Visiontac VGPS-500 Bluetooth GPS for about $40, and a freeware app for the Treo called CotoGPS that captures tracks. There's also some analysis software that is available for the desktop.

I could substantially improve my data gathering capability for about the price of a bike computer.

Commute Summary

Round Trip Distance: 17.4
Number of Cyclists seen: 28
In-bound Route: Lullwater/PATH trail
Out-bound Route: Emory via Clifton
Weather: The best; cool in the morning and pleasantly warm in the afternoon.

Uncharacteristic Rudeness

2008-04-20T22:03:00.000-04:00

Sunday morning as we were finishing up our usual group ride, we were harrassed by two vehicles, one behind the other, moving well above the speed limit. The second driver was laying on their horn as they passed.

This happened in Ansley Park which has very broad streets. There was plenty of room to get around us. At that point, there were only five riders remaining and we were riding no more than two abreast. There was no reason for the hostile horn.

As I caught up with the car at the next intersection, the driver closed out the space to the right making it easy to approach the driver-side window. I politely but pointedly asked the driver for an explanation of the horn. She ignored me and intended to move on as if she had done nothing.

Another rider quickly arrived and was also ignored so he popped her side mirror. At this, the gentleman in front pops out of his car -- the first car that came around us -- and tells us to stop threatening his wife. The other three riders came up at the same time and soon everyone but the lady driver was arguing back and forth.

The gentleman who jumped out of the first car announces he is a lawyer and wants to get the cops involved and sue everyone, but bluffing only works when no one can see your hand. In the heat of the argument, he mentioned we should have gotten off the road and thus revealed his ignorance of the law. Of course, we were only too happy to get the police involved and it was maybe 30 seconds before the lawyer thought it might be best if everyone returned to what they were doing.

One by one we educate those who don't know how to treat cyclists.

Found me some Bike Parking

2008-04-17T21:44:00.001-04:00

I did some wandering around and located this beauty of a bike rack. This is the real deal here.

The rack is visible and away from where people would normally walk to/from their car so anyone near the bikes would draw attention. There is a nice separation between the traffic and pedestrians too which you can see below. This is nice.

(I switched my bike to the other end to try that out).

The garage can be reached either from W Peachtree (bike lane) or 5th Street (bike lane) or from Cypress (which is the street I've been using). This spot is one I can recommend.

I'm surprised the property managers weren't able to tell us about it, but that's OK. My bike has a new home.

I think I'll still bring it upstairs from time to time. I can't step into an elevator without it automatically starting up a conversation about cycling. I wish I had brought my bike into the building years ago.

Commute Summary

Round Trip Distance: 17.7
Number of Cyclists seen: 18 - all on the way home; most of them rec riders
In-bound Route: Lullwater/PATH trail
Out-bound Route: Emory via Clifton
Weather: We're in Atlanta's sweet spot now: sunny, mild and fragrant.

Next Chapter of Bike Rack Story

2008-04-16T20:27:00.004-04:00

I learned the stated reason the Bike Rack had been moved. A bike rider had sent an email describing how he was afraid of being hit by a car while ascending the ramp that leads into the parking garage.

It is hard for me to imagine any cyclist would navigate the 35+ MPH streets surrounding this building and then find fault with the rack location because they were afraid of getting hit by a car going 10-15 MPH.

This cyclist hasn't been using the rack's new location. No one is using it.

This situation is an educational opportunity. There are a number of things that can be brought out:

What makes a good location for parking a bike.
How to appraise the safety risks and any liabilities that may ensue.
What can be done to encourage leaving cars in the driveway and taking a bike into the office.

I had mentioned the newspaper writer I've worked with before. We'll have to see how to shape this.

Commute Summary

Round Trip Distance: 17.6
Number of Cyclists seen: 18
In-bound Route: Lullwater/PATH trail
Out-bound Route: Emory via Clifton
Weather: Still cool in the morning (low 40s) but sunny and warm by afternoon. Glad to see some sun.

Spring Break 2008

2008-04-12T21:24:00.002-04:00

I wasn't able to post from the villa we stayed in over Spring Break in Panama City. Just as well. Except for the beach itself, the roads were not cyclist- or even pedestrian-friendly. This place was built for the car. Great place, if you like tacky, though.

Interestingly enough, the Florida section of highway from Dothan, AL into Panama City, FL (US 231) had room for a bike lane. Although I saw no one using it -- and maybe 8-10 bikes total the entire 5 days we were there -- it does do a good job raising the awareness of cyclists. Each turn off the 4-lane onto a side road had signage and road markings to tell motorists to yield to cyclists when making the right turn. Perhaps some of the repetitive right-turn message will seep into the motorists subconscious thoroughly enough that it might pop back up to the level of awareness when a cyclist is on the road.

Fortunately, the health spa had good equipment and I was able to get in a few miles on the indoor cycles overlooking the tennis courts.

Unrelated to cycling, we played miniature golf at a couple of different places, but each of them had LOUD frogs, apparently drawn by the water hazards. Here's a picture. The frog is about 6-8cm.

Bike Rack Located

2008-04-07T21:25:00.001-04:00

On Wednesday there were three bikes on the rack for only the second time I can remember. On Thursday, there were three bikes on the rack for two days in a row. On Friday, the bike rack was gone. On today, with help from the property managers, I found the rack.

It got moved for safety reasons and it was a bike rider who suggested there was an issue. I'm all for improving safety -- cyclists are vulnerable -- but I haven't learned yet what the issue had been.

I'll tell you what I do see:
- The new location is less beginner-friendly to get into, although getting out is about the same. This is because the new location sits on a block that is surrounded on all four sides by one-way streets. Two of them carry traffic above 35 MPH at that point and Spring Street carries few cyclists.
- The new location feels less secure. The entrance and exits are not as well controlled in the new location -- I showed no one my badge -- and the clutter near the rack provides numerous alibis for being spotted near the bikes.
- The rack obstructs a handicapped spot. I don't know what this does to the lot's standing regarding the code for providing handicapped spaces.
- The entrance is confusing, but I think you can get used to it. However, reaching the rack from the entrance goes against normal traffic flow and presents a significant opportunity for unpredictability and thus accidents between cyclists and motorists. I'd have to go into the entrance again to sort out the safest way to make the entrance while avoiding exiting traffic -- even though that was probably the intent of switching the left and right.

On the positive side:
- Bringing my bike into the office jump-started a number of conversations about riding the bike to work. I had gotten a few bike questions in the old parking deck location, but nothing like bringing the bike up the elevator. I'll probably bring the bike up and down the elevator even if I plan to lock it up in the garage.
- I think I may have found the person with whom we can have a conversation about showers. I've got one pod-mate who would ride to work if there were showers. I know this is a barrier for others as well.
- This has made an interesting story for my blog. It would probably make a good story for the Atlanta Journal Constitution as well. The AJC writer I had worked with on other cycling stories had pitched a few ideas that never came together, but this one has potential.
- Since the old rack was the wheel-bender type, we've got an opportunity to put in some good racks.
- The effort to publicize the new location will help to organize the cyclists who currently commute to AT&T.

The story is getting better.

Commute Summary

Round Trip Distance: 17.1
Number of Cyclists seen: 16
In-bound Route: Lullwater/PATH trail
Out-bound Route: Emory via Clifton
Weather: More cold clouds. At least I could wear shorts. A little rain as I arrived at the office.

Train Connections

2008-04-06T15:35:00.003-04:00

One story often leads to another and so it is with one story about a passenger line called the Palmetto. Both passenger trains and cycling went into decline with the rise of the automobile, and so it is fitting that the stories I'm about to tell connect the two.

I grew up in Savannah, GA at a time that rail service was still more prevalent than airline travel and when my uncle from Alexandria Virginia visited he sometimes took the train called the Palmetto which ran between New York and Florida. The Palmetto conjures images of the coastal regions surrounding Savannah. The sound of palmetto branches gently catching the breeze can relax me by just imagining the sound.

Now, the Palmetto was once part of the Silver Service. At the time, it's name was the Silver Palm. Other lines included the Silver Star, Silver Meteor - both running from Boston/New Yourk into Florida - and the Silver Comet which ran through Atlanta to Birmingham.

The Silver Comet ran until 1969 and the right of way was abandoned in 1989. This right-of-way has been turned into the Silver Comet Trail and is now one of the Atlanta area's favorite places to ride a bike.

Let's follow the other end of the Silver Comet train back up to New York. Pennsylvania Station (often referred to as Penn Station) is by far the busiest train station in North America, serving 600,000 passengers daily.

The 4th Madison Square Garden was opened in 1968 on top of Penn Station when the original Penn Station was demolished. The original Madison Square Garden, when opened on May 31, 1879 by William Henry Vanderbilt, was configured for the burgeoning sport of track cycling.

During cycling's heyday around the turn of the century, there was a popular event called a six-day race. Contestants would complete as many laps as possible during six consecutive days and understandably, would sacrifice sleep for laps. This grew to be so dangerous that the City of New York passed a law that no cyclist could ride more than 12 hours in a day. To skirt this law, the six-day race became a team event with two or more cyclists taking turns. This cycling event is now called a Madison to honor the location where it was first held.

Is this not Spring in Atlanta?

2008-04-04T21:36:00.000-04:00

Commute Summary

Round Trip Distance: 11.6
Number of Cyclists seen: 9
In-bound Route: Lullwater/PATH trail
Out-bound Route: Piedmont Park
Weather: Drizzly, cold clouds, fog in the morning, rain in the afternoon.

Pink Snow

2008-04-04T21:34:00.000-04:00

Despite the cold drizzly weather, the trees continue to bloom. Here's a shower of pink covering the sidewalk at John Howell Park in Virginia-Highland.

Here's a wider angle shot.

No bikes. No RACK!

2008-04-04T21:23:00.002-04:00

Just when we had a surge of cyclists using the bike rack, it gets removed.

I haven't talked with anyone who knows why it was removed or if it is going to be replaced. In the meanwhile, I'm locking the bike to a railing inside the parking garage.

I hope there is more to this story.

Tracking Bikes

2008-04-03T18:57:00.001-04:00

Last year I posted about how you could count the number of cyclists by the tracks they left in the pollen. We haven't had quite the same weather this year -- cooler and cloudier -- so we haven't gotten the pollen quite as thick yet.

This image above is on the PATH trail next to the Carter Center. Here's what my tire is picking up:

Here's one of the commuters I came across this morning.

Two days in a row

2008-04-03T18:49:00.001-04:00

So, three bikes on the rack two days in a row. I wonder if people's New Year Resolution was to begin riding to work in April.

This is great to see them on the rack, but I'm not seeing them on the street.

Commute Summary

Round Trip Distance: 11.4
Number of Cyclists seen: 7
In-bound Route: Lullwater/PATH trail
Out-bound Route: Piedmont Park (short route so I could get home at the same time my daughter was arriving)
Weather: Rain and threat of rain, but I dodged it.

Three on a Rack

2008-04-02T18:35:00.000-04:00

It's a bicycle party.

I've only seen three bikes on the rack once before. I didn't get in early enough to get the good spot but I'm happy my bike has company.

Commute Summary

Round Trip Distance: 17.6
Number of Cyclists seen: 10 despite the fine weather.
In-bound Route: Lullwater/PATH trail
Out-bound Route: Emory via Clifton
Weather: About as cool as it can be and still get away with a single layer (upper 50s in the AM)

2008-03-25T19:12:00.001-04:00

Atlanta's Bureau of Planning has been seeking public input on the city's first transportation plan. I attended a workshop at City Hall East this evening and got to see some of the ideas they're talking about.

I was encourage by a few things:

One of the guys I spoke with had worked in Portland.
A willingness to entertain ideas that other cities have found helpful (sharrows and bike boulevards for example).
Increased designation of routes through the city (they have a good feel for what makes a good route).
Good understanding of the needs of both experienced cyclists and inexperienced cyclists.
A candidate list of roads that could go on a diet (take away lanes to turn over to cycling and pedestrian facilities).

The plan looks as far out as 2030, by which time Atlanta expects to add another 300,000 residents (city proper, not metro). They expect density to increase and understand that a shift to non-automobile modes of transportation will be critical.

I'm quite encouraged by what I saw and heard at this workshop.

The workshops are winding down, but Atlanta cyclists can still participate. There is still time to complete the online survey.

Nutritional Cravings of a Cyclist

2008-03-23T21:09:00.000-04:00

When my body needs something, it usually craves some food that would meet that need. Based on this picture of what I ate, I'm not sure what conclusion I can draw from my craving. I do know that this met my body's need pretty well because I was mighty satisfied.

First, some context: I rode about 65 miles over four hours and burned around 3500-4000 calories this morning. I had my normal recovery smoothie immediately after riding, and this evening enjoyed my wife's shish-ke-bobs (chicken, tomatoes, peppers, mushrooms, pineapple). I had a well-balanced diet for the day, but after supper, I needed just a little more. Well, about 1000 calories more.

Let me describe what is in here:
3 Fig Newtons
1 banana
4 large Marshmallows
1 C Frozen Yogurt (chocolate)
1/4 C walnuts
1 T Chocolate syrup

Underneath, hidden by all the other stuff is:

1 Multigrain waffle
1 T Peanut Butter
1 T chocolate cake frosting

Everthing but the frozen yogurt was warmed in the microwave long enough for the marshmallow to puff up and the peanut butter to melt. Fig Newtons and banana are wonderful when they are warm. The fruitiness really comes out.

I've got a big smile on my face now. I hope the next time I ride 65 miles I'll get the same craving.

Panorama Surprise

2008-03-21T21:30:00.001-04:00

I hadn't taken a panorama in a while and my timing brought me across the Jackson Street Bridge right as daylight was creeping over town. I thought I would try pulling in some low-light images that weren't too blurry although I had to leave the shutter open for a while.

At first I wasn't too pleased because the captured light was significanty darker than what my eyes were experiencing. Looking at the spliced result, I didn't think I would find much of interest until I noticed the panes of glass missing on the Westin Hotel. This building is the tall cylinder with a white circle of light at the top. The smaller cylinder on the right side of the larger cylinder is a glass elevator. The elevator shaft lost more panes than the hotel rooms did.

If you hadn't heard, a tornado came through downtown one week ago tonight. It disrupted the SEC tournament that was being held (out of view) on the other side of these buildings at the Georgia Dome. The fabric roof was torn during the storm. Although a lot of windows were blown out and some cars were damaged, no one was seriously hurt.

Commute Summary

Round Trip Distance: 22.2
Number of Cyclists seen: 8 (it is a holiday)
In-bound Route: 3rd Friday Commute via Decatur
Out-bound Route: Emory via Clifton
Weather: We're getting the good stuff now

Jigsaw Puzzle

2008-03-18T17:06:00.001-04:00

This has nothing to do with Cycling.

Can you find 9 carpenter bees in this image? Hint: 3 of them are airborn.

If you're having trouble, you can go to this Picasa site to see blow-ups of each bee taken from the main image.

Our Carolina Jasmine in the backyard was being visited by a couple dozen bees.

Poor Etiquette

2008-03-18T12:33:00.002-04:00

Over the past few days I observed poor etiquette on the part of both drivers and cyclists. The motorists first.

In two separate incidents, a motorist pulled into the left lane as we were stopped to turn left at an intersection with a main road. The first time it happened, we weren't sure if the driver was turning right or left. There was no signal. I hope they realized their mistake when a car approaching from the left tried to turn onto the street and found this motorist sitting in their lane. At least it blocked traffic from that direction so it was easier to get across.

The second time, I heard the car coming around in the left lane and signaled our left turn. It didn't matter. They were still thinking they could pass us. When the traffic cleared, we made our left and the motorist just stayed in the left lane until they were around us.

I would guess the second motorist thought they had time to get around us and mis-judged our speed. In the first case however, we had been waiting for several seconds at the stop sign for traffic to clear. Not sure what was going on inside this head (or maybe it's being generous to assume something was going on inside their heads).

Yesterday on my way home, three cyclists came up behind me at the light. They were chatting amongst themselves and seemed to be OK cyclists except for one guy who pulled up to my right on the sidewalk. I watched him as the light changed to see if he intended to come around me on the right or just use the crosswalk to remain on the sidewalk. There was a bike lane at this point, so I didn't see the point of using the sidewalk.

Two blocks down the street, the bike lane has ended and a line of cars are waiting at a 4-way stop. Two or three of them are signaling a right turn, so I pull up behind the last car in line to take my turn. The three cyclists are still behind me until the sidewalk guy makes his move to pass the line of cars on the right. I told him the car was about to make a right as if he missed their turn signal. He replies "It doesn't matter", and proceeds to pass the motorist just as he was about to make his right turn. The motorist slams on his brakes and is clearly perturbed.

Perhaps this cyclist had his brain switched off, but I failed to see the point of this. Were they simply trying to get in front of me or is this how they always ride? I didn't find out because we turned different directions at the next intersection.

I guess the right approach to handling this is to try to set a good example. People need situations like this to learn what is accepted behavior and as long as no one gets hurt, I guess we're OK.

Why I feel SO Good

2008-03-17T19:18:00.002-04:00

There is nothing that makes me feel as good as exercising. Well, a few things, but exercising is right up there at the top. Now I know a few more technical terms explaining why my brain likes exercise.

John Ratey, the author of the book "Spark" talks with an LA Times reporter in the article "Exercise is good for the Brain". Not only does exercise make the brain work better and release "feel good" neurotransmitters, but it can delay the onset of cognitive decline.

I often think my cognitive decline has already started, but it could just be my mind is slipping and fooling me into thinking that.

The "linchpin" of this research is a chemical called "brain-derived neurotrophic factor" (BDNF). This is what helps the brain make new neural connections and exercise releases BDNF. I'm going to be needing that stuff when I'm 94 and I'm down to my last six brain cells.

There's more in this article too: exercise treats depression, attention deficit disorders, and helps us avoid cravings except maybe for food. I don't mind craving food because I like food about the same as exercise.

Thanks go to Two Tom for sharing this article with me.

"I feel good. I knew that I would." -- James Brown

Commute Summary

Round Trip Distance: 17.6
Number of Cyclists seen: 5 inbound and 19 coming home
In-bound Route: Lullwater/PATH trail
Out-bound Route: Emory via Clifton
Weather: Chilly in AM, but warm enough for shorts and a T coming home.

Storm Damage

2008-03-17T19:08:00.000-04:00

I expected to find more damage this morning than what I saw on my ride in today. Tornadoes came through downtown within a mile or so of my route on Friday night, but by Monday morning, my route only looked like we got a nice thunderstorm.

There was pea-sized hail at our house and I expected some old limbs to come down, but all I saw was a pine tree that came down near Clifton and Ponce.

I didn't go near Cabbagetown or the Oakland Cemetery, but I hear this area and downtown took the brunt of the tornado. Typical for tornadoes, the damage was confined to a rather small area.

Man's Search for Meaning

2008-03-16T22:35:00.003-04:00

May you find your life passion. Discover what makes you feel most alive.

Until we are fully alive, we are only wandering, half-awake, and half in a dream, a dream of becoming wholly human.

Your life passion will engage your heart, mind, and soul as well as all of your best talents. When you find your passion, your struggles will give you energy instead of taking your energy. And then, even your weariness will bless you with good sleep.

Unless you find your passion, you may be handed one that isn't really yours.