Riding the Rails

Atlanta started as a railroad town, and the rails were laid out according to the existing topography, typically along ridgelines. Roads developed along the rail lines. These roads were straight, fairly flat, and generally became major routes through the city. They are a cyclist's secret advantage, because they provide direct routes with few hills, but relatively low in traffic due to the industrial (or formerly industrial) areas they traverse - Lee Street, Marietta Street, and Decatur St/DeKalb Ave are the main examples intown. I spent much of Saturday along these roads.

I started the day with a special brunch event with the Beau and a bunch of foodies at Abbatoir, at Howell Mill Road and 14th Street. It was an easy trip out Marietta Street and a few blocks up Howell Mill. Traffic was nonexistent. The occasion was ideal for wearing my pretty new sundress.

From there, I headed back down Marietta Street and straight through downtown, heading out the DeKalb Ave. corridor to the Arizona Pub. About 45 minutes in 90 degrees. It would have been a lot nicer with some more shade! I took DeKalb Ave to Oakdale Road and then LaFrance Street.

After watching the USA lose to Ghana in the World Cup, I headed up to McClendon Ave. to Little Five Points, stopped at the co-op grocery store, and headed home. At this point, I was really hot, tired, loaded down, and felt like I was going about half as fast as I had in the morning... Got some great comments about the bike though - someone called it a "Mayberry bicycle". I like that.