Stuffed

Not only does Thanksgiving involve eating lots of food, it also calls for a remarkable lack of physical activity. The simple act of transporting food to the meal (a pan of gingerbread in my case) complicates travel by any means other than a car or taxi. Then people want to sit around and talk or watch TV. I had to insist on an evening walk last night.

Both of my bicycles currently have limited carrying capacity. I'm looking into a large front basket for the Takara, and just having a rack on the back. Currently I have a small basket - about 8"X14" - mounted to the rear rack.

The Takara

Travel Safely

According to the local paper, "The Georgia State Patrol is predicting 3,570 traffic crashes with 1,398 injuries and 16 deaths from 6 p.m. Wednesday to midnight Sunday." Most of those will be motorists, some may be pedestrians, cyclists, or simply bystanders.

Many people think of bicycling as being a particularly dangerous activity, and that they are safer in a car. But traveling in a motor vehicle is extremely dangerous. I'll talk about that more at some point. For now, however you travel, do it safely. If you are driving, do not exceed the speed limit, be alert and focused on driving, and don't even think about going anywhere if you might be intoxicated.

Thanks.

National Attention

Between lack of funding sources and entrenched political resistance, most Georgia cyclists think it will take an act of Congress - literally - to make metro Atlanta bicycle-friendly. While the city of Atlanta itself has a fairly decent transportation plan (the Connect Atlanta Plan, enacted in the past year) it still contains many compromises, plus the city has absolutely no money to implement it.

But bicycling as transportation is starting to get some national attention. A number of trends, including high gas prices, a progressive administration, and the Cycle Chic phenomenon, are working in our favor. And now the Brookings Institution is having program on "Cities, Bicycles, and the Future of Getting Around."  David Byrne, Janette Sadik-Khan, and Rep Earl Blumenauer will be presenting - the current trifecta of bicycle infrastructure advocacy superstars.

Congressman Blumenauer (credit www.selectism.com)

I think Brookings does great work, although they don't always leverage the national media as effectively as they could. Hopefully this event, by combining policy with 'pop', will get on the radar. According to the website, "The event will launch Cities for Cycling, a NACTO project to break down barriers to bicycle-friendly street design in municipalities around the United States." Wish I could spirit up to DC for a couple hours to attend! Maybe there will be a webcast afterwards?

Atlanta, a College Town?

I was intrigued by a recent op-ed that envisioned Atlanta as an unusually large college town. Let's make that a "college city". It's true that we have a lot of universities in the region, concentrated in the core of the city. GSU, Georgia Tech, the AUC (which includes Clark-Atlanta, Spelman, Morehouse, and Morris Brown), and Emory University a few miles out, plus some technical colleges.

A Georgia Tech student heads back to campus:

The article states, "College towns are some of the most pleasant in the nation — human-scaled, walkable and bikeable — and filled with eclectic shopping, restaurants, sports and arts venues attractive to students and adults. Instead of trying to lure big corporations and chain shopping centers back downtown, let’s concentrate on developing downtown as a series of safe, walkable and bikeable campuses threaded with shopping, housing and parks."

Doesn't that sound nice?

The universities are starting to get bicycle programs and more parking on campus. Here are Emory, Georgia Tech, and GSU. I haven't been in the AUC area in a while.

Girls' Night

Friday night was more fun than I expected. This was the "Heels on Wheels" ride put on by Atlanta Bicycle Coalition.

It was a small, manageable group, about 9 people. I was definitely wearing the highest heels! My precious copper maryjanes with slightly tapered 3" heels and grippy rubber soles. It was dark out by the time we met up, so most of my photos turned out completely inscrutable.

We rode for about an hour, which was plenty for me. I spend at least 40 minutes a day in the saddle anyway, just commuting, not to mention errands, meetings, etc. But there were some women who only get to cycle for leisure or social time, so it was particularly enjoyable for them. It was a little weird for me since I ride alone a lot. There are apparently a bunch of group ride habits that have evolved, such as yelling out your turns rather than signalling them, or telling people that there is a car behind you. Isn't there always a car behind you? Being Friday night, there was a lot of traffic, mostly cars and trucks. We got stuck in a traffic jam at one point. Oddly enough, being in a group felt more isolated than riding alone - it seemed to make it more obvious how few bicyclists there were on the road. After a while we stopped for some drinks and a bite to eat at TAP, which has a very good beer list.

A couple of my friends were there, and some of the folks I met for the first time turned out to be wicked cool. Here's the whole group - thanks to Rebecca. Some of the participants were very shiny. PS - can someone please teach me how to pose gracefully!?

"Heels on Wheels" tomorrow

I'm really looking forward to Friday, not just because it will be Friday, but because of "Heels on Wheels". Atlanta will showcase its growing cycling culture with a group ride to demonstrate the ease of riding in ordinary clothes, including skirts, dress shoes, high heels, and whatever other fashionable items one wants to wear. I'm not a fan of group rides but I will certainly show up to support the cause, take some pictures, and have a beer!

If you're a stylish woman with a bicycle, you should come along.

Friends on Bicycles

Many of my closest friends cycle on a routine basis. In fact, our outings are often made by bicycle. And my beau not only travels by bicycle most of the time, he also has a job related to bicycle infrastructure.

Sometimes I have to wonder - is that what brought us together? Would my social life be completely different if I lived in a cycling culture such as Copenhagen or Amsterdam? Is there something unique about Atlantans who have all chosen the bicycle as a preferred mode of transportation?