Misadventures in Buckhead

It started innocently enough with a plan to meet the Beau at a nice men's clothier in Buckhead, and keep him company while he shopped. I planned to take the train there and ride from the station, since I remembered that it was pretty close. I got directions, but since I had already left my office (and I don't own one of those nifty smartphones) I didn't have a map to look at. No problem, right?

Thirty minutes later, I was lost in office park purgatory. The train ride was quick and convenient but I took a wrong turn somewhere. The directions were a little confusing - left? right? does it matter? And in a normal city setting, I could have recovered quickly by heading towards landmarks. But in the land of office megabuildings, apartment complexes, and culs de sac, there was just one long, hot, never-ending four-lane road. At least traffic was light after business hours, and a handful of people were out jogging.

Eventually I called for directions, backtracked by about 15 minutes, and wound up on a bike lane headed toward recognizable landmarks! It was still hot - c'mon people, would it kill you to plant a few trees??? - but convenient and direct.

Minus the detour, the store would have been about 5 minutes from the station. Not only was I late, but I had to sit down for a while and cool off (literally and figuratively - I hate getting lost)! Of course, there were no bike racks at the store, nor even a decent bench to sit on. Grrr.

It was a hot and frustrating experience, but I tried to think of it as a chance to see new scenery and learn the area. I also have to say that Buckhead drivers are very civil. Everyone passed with plenty of room and waited to make turns safely. Overall, I have been having good relations with motorists lately, from the woman who yelled 'Thank you' when I motioned for her to pass (safely) to the guy who waved me in when I needed to merge out of a turn lane. Awesome! I did see one other cyclist in Buckhead, on Peachtree Street.