Reporting from Buckhead

It's probably been for two years that various cyclists have complained that we always do the bicycle commuter breakfasts somewhere along the routes between Decatur and Midtown/Downtown. Certainly this is where I see the most cyclists, but because commuter cyclists' numbers have more than doubled since I began counting a few years ago, I thought perhaps it is time to expand our repertoire.

The logistical problem was how to cover long distances without being too late for work. The obvious solution was to take advantage of MARTA. The expeditionary party of Stephen and myself met at the Decatur Station and boarded the train over to Five Points to catch the northbound train headed to Buckhead.

It was fitting that Bradley met us at the Flying Biscuit. Not only is he well-practiced in the bike/bus commute (Lawrenceville to Vinings four days a week), but he had also suggested our meeting spot. (I'll need to spend more time in Buckhead before I can suggest breakfast spots.)

Bradley did well to choose the Flying Biscuit. Although there is a bike rack in the parking deck, we found a convenient covered spot for our bikes right in front of the Flying Biscuit's windows. This was sufficient for our four bikes, but we'll use the bike racks now that we know where they are.

Kevin lives in Buckhead and also commutes out to Vinings. He has been involved with the striping of the bike lanes that criss-cross Buckhead. I was quite pleased to find these along the stretch of Peachtree just south of the Buckhead MARTA and the Terminus Building at Piedmont where we met. Although there were a number of vehicles making right turns across this bike lane, the motorists gave us adequate consideration when making their turn. Their speeds were a little higher than what I'm accustomed to between Decatur and Downtown/Midtown, but I found the motorists were polite and considerate. It seems Kevin's work is paying off.

Now that we've tested out the schedule and know where everything is, we plan to run this again on Friday March 19.

Commute Summary

One-way Cycling Distance: 11.0 miles
MARTA Departure/Destination: from Decatur (E6 - Blue line) to Buckhead (N7 - Red line)
Number of Cyclists meeting for Breakfast: 4 (2 Decatur/Midtown delegates, 2 Buckhead delegates)
In-bound Route:
- Bicycle: Virginia-Highland to Decatur
- Blue line MARTA train: Westbound Decatur to 5 Points
- Red line MARTA train: Northbound 5 Points to Buckhead
- Dining Room: Breakfast at Flying Biscuit
- Bicycle: Down Peachtree into Midtown
Weather: 100% sunny, finally getting above freezing
What I ordered: Oatmeal pancakes with Peaches (4.5 out of 5 stars)
What I'll order next time: French Toast

3rd Friday Commute experiments with Multi-Modal

How many good things can happen at the same time? On Friday, we're going to see.

Here's a list of good things we think can happen:

• Breakfast with cycling friends at a new location for most of us,
• Check out putting a bike on a heated train (right about the time we're getting tired of 11-layer-cold-weather cycling),
• Have fun instead of going to work (well, we end up at the office eventually).

On January 15th, a group of us will be scoping out the details of a Breakfast in Buckhead. We've had a few guys ask if we could do this. This is our first attempt to meet with our Buckhead Bicycle Brethren (I'm not sure if we have any Cycling Sistern up there).

I used A-Train to plan out the transit connections.


So we'll get on the train in Decatur at 7:07, ride over to 5 Points to catch the train headed north (2 minutes between trains, nice). From there, we'll head over to the Flying Biscuit in the Terminus 100 Building.

Many of the cyclists work in Buckhead, but after filling our bellies with warmth, a group of us will ride down Peachtree to Midtown/Downtown.

There will be four places you can catch up with us:

• Meet station side of Decatur Square at 7AM to catch the 7:07 train.
• Northbound platform of 5 Points station to catch the 7:24 train.
• Breakfast at the Flying Biscuit shortly before 8AM (Terminus 100 bldg on the corner of Piedmont and Peachtree)
• 9AM or so, ride down Peachtree from Piedmont into Midtown/Downtown.

We'll be keeping score of how many successful things happen as we also note any failures we want to correct before trying this again in March.

Putting the money where my bicycle is

It isn't often that anyone asks me to "put my money where my mouth is". I don't take bets and it is not very often I make financial contributions to any organizations.

I just made an exception.

The Atlanta Bicycle Coalition -- Atlanta's oldest and largest cycling advocacy organization -- is in the middle of a fundraiser for 2010.

Now, I've been helping out with ABC's Courteous Mass, participate in the bicycle counts, and I serve as an Atlanta "Bike Buddy". Donating my time for the cycling cause has been easy because I can see the results. With a financial contribution, it isn't always so clear. A big reason I've given money to this fundraiser is the list of ABC projects I know I'll be supporting in 2010:

• Starter Bikes is getting ready to offer low-cost working bicycles to those looking for a good value. I like this project, not just because Georgia Tech students are involved, but because I frequently find myself recommending people to get an inexpensive bike to start with so they can learn what they like and don't like before spending too much money. I can find a good deal on CraigsList, but for the less-experienced cyclist, Starter Bikes is the way to find a good deal. My contribution (and yours too) will help provide the funds needed to get this project rolling.
  
• ABC's Bike Classes are already one of the best resources for cyclists in Atlanta. Your contributions will make these classes more available. I've got a rule about not recommending anything I haven't tried myself, so I'm walking the line here. My financial contribution allows me to ask you to contribute to ABC, but I guess I'll have attend the class this year so I can start asking you to take the classes ;).

This is just a sample of the projects ABC is working toward. A more complete list can be found on their website.

And now, I'll ask you to put your money where your bicycle is. Go to this page and make your donation. There have been 3-4 people who have donated in the half hour since I started putting together this post.

Solstice

Piedmont Park on the Winter Solstice:



2 years and nine months ago, I captured and posted the same scene for the 2007 Spring Equinox. The sun is closer to due east in that picture and at its most southern extent above.

Now I need to capture Summer Solstice and Autumn Equinox.

Commute Summary

Round Trip Distance: 5.7
Number of Cyclists seen: 3
In-bound Route: Piedmont Park (I was riding without a spare tube and took the shortest path)
Out-bound Route: Piedmont Park via Intown Bicycles to get a patch kit.
Weather: Frosty morning with gloves and long pants.

Dreaming Out Loud

Riding in this morning, I noticed a long poem written along the PATH trail, but I was riding right-to-left and this wasn't in Hebrew. I thought if there was enough light coming back home the poem might make a nice video.

Once again, bike speed is the right speed.

This isn't far from the Chicken Feet sculpture I wrote about a couple of weeks ago.

Commute Summary

Round Trip Distance: 18.6
Number of Cyclists seen: 12
In-bound Route: Goofin' 9.6
Out-bound Route: Emory via Clifton
Weather: Chilly enough to pull out the gloves for the first time this season.

Santa and his Elves -- on a Bike

By group ride standards, the number of cyclists was modest, but for a group of Santa Clauses and Elves, we had a good turnout. Atlanta isn't quite as chilly as the North Pole, but with the wind, we gained an appreciation for the fur-lined clothing that Santa wears.

Motorists and passerby gained an appreciation for how much fun it is to ride around town on bicycles decorated like Christmas trees. The merry-making pulled happy beeps out of car horns and cheers out of pedestrians. Who can resist Santa on a bike?

Warren Bruno got us together to kick off fund-raising for the Georgia Chain Gang. The Chain Gang entered the Race Across America (RAAM) as a four-man team last year, finished second in the fund-raising and has set a goal of $120,000 for next year's race. The beneficiary is the Leukemia Lymphoma Society.

Ride Summary

Round Trip Distance: 11.6
Sponsored by: Georgia Chain Gang (RAAM 4-man team)
Beneficiary of the Fundraiser: Leukemia Lymphoma Society - goal is $120,000.
Weather: Chilly going into the wind, but pleasant coming back
Number of Jaegermeisters: either counting by the shot or by the bottle, too many to count.
Number of Santas and Elves: 20+
Number of mechanical problems: 1 boa caught in the spokes

Recycled Sculpture

The first thing I noticed was the crushed pavement, but cyclists usually notice crushed pavement. It becomes hard to hold onto the handlebars. Someone had driven something really heavy onto the Freedom Park trail near Euclid and North Avenues. The trail is made of concrete, but it is bicycle-strength pavement instead of 18-wheeler-strength pavement.

The next thing I noticed was a set of large granite boulders sitting within a loop formed by the trail (so that was the heavy thing). It looked like the little park was gaining an adornment. At the time, I thought it was curious that someone would be adding a rock sculpture, but mostly I wondered when the trail would be repaired.

It didn't take long to repair, fortunately. I guess they had expected to be crushing pavement. It was a few months however, before these showed up.



I had a vague impression that I had seen these before, but I had trouble placing them until Jeff, a fellow bicycle commuter, and I were riding past them last week. Jeff had read the plaque that mentioned the sculpture had been commissioned during the 1996 Olympics held in Atlanta. I may not have stopped to take pictures if another cyclist Barry had not asked me what all of this might mean.



Cut into the granite steps are the words Walton Spring Park. This was sitting in Freedom Park and was close to Goldsboro and Candler Parks. I had not heard of Walton Spring Park. The story got a little more interesting.

Through the wonder that is the internet, I found that Walton Spring was Atlanta's first public water source. For the 1996 Olympics, this sculpture "New Endings" had been located near that first public water source, but had been moved to the Freedom Park when a new sculpture was placed in Walton Spring Park. Curtis Patterson's website presents images of the Andrew Young Tribute and Plaza now occupying Walton Spring Park.

Commute Summary

Granite Boulders: 3
Crushed Pavement: None
Round Trip Distance: 18.6
Number of Cyclists seen: 3 inbound and 5 outbound
In-bound Route: Goofin' 9.6
Out-bound Route: Emory via Clifton
Weather: Drizzly on the way in and barely warm enough for shorts (upper 40s), drier on the way home.