Fifty Plus (50+) - 2011 Georgia Rides to the Capitol - Tues. March 22

Anyone here planning to participate? I'll be joining the BRAG group in Stone Mtn and riding with them to the Decatur start.
http://www.georgiabikes.org/index.php/events/grttc
http://georgiaridestothecapitol.org/routes.php

I drove up to Stone Mountain this morning to ride in to the Capitol via Decatur with a group from the BRAG organization. We rode much of the way in on bike paths, some nice, some a bit hard to navigate. We met up with one of the two main starting points at the East Lake MARTA station in Decatur and rode in with several hundred cyclists and dignitaries with a police escort. Once in Atlanta, we met up with the other large group of riders coming in from Roswell. As always, it was an incredible sight to see so many cyclists on the road at once. The fantastic Spring weather made for a good turnout. I heard reports as high as 2000, but I think that was a bit high.

At the Capitol we got refueled and hydrated at the rest stop set up by the MS society and we listened to speeches by cycling advocates, a few area Mayors, the Governor, the Sec. of Transportation and others.

I saw several friends from BRAG, other rides and advocacy meetings on the road or at the Capitol. It was an inspiring day and a very different riding environment than what I am used to out here in the sticks where I live. By the time I finished the 35 mile round trip ride and the 180 mile round trip drive, I was pretty much spent. :p

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bluesdawg/sets/72157626204273729/show/

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5187/5551765036_389ccb2773.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bluesdawg/5551765036/)
DSCF0838 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bluesdawg/5551765036/) by BluesDawg (http://www.flickr.com/people/bluesdawg/), on Flickr
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5268/5551768024_4e1ae1fdd0.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bluesdawg/5551768024/)
DSCF0863 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bluesdawg/5551768024/) by BluesDawg (http://www.flickr.com/people/bluesdawg/), on Flickr
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5061/5551772400_ce7e29dea0.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bluesdawg/5551772400/)
DSCF0895 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bluesdawg/5551772400/) by BluesDawg (http://www.flickr.com/people/bluesdawg/), on Flickr
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5254/5551189227_7d2b885de2.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bluesdawg/5551189227/)
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5146/5551775946_f2019417fe.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bluesdawg/5551775946/)
DSCF0921 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bluesdawg/5551775946/) by BluesDawg (http://www.flickr.com/people/bluesdawg/), on Flickr
http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5058/5551192049_544eb0e16c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bluesdawg/5551192049/)
DSCF0922 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bluesdawg/5551192049/) by BluesDawg (http://www.flickr.com/people/bluesdawg/), on Flickr

I was a member of the Southern Bicycle League when we lived in Atlanta 25+ years ago - no advocacy activities like Georgia Rides to the Capitol in that time period. Very nice to see. Hope it was helpful for the cause.

Thanks BD. wish I could have been out there. still in recovery mode. no bikes. looked like there were quite a few riders. hope it made an impact. I hear from people at work all the time that they are really beginning to notice the increase in bike riders. I hope they'll give them more room and be much more vigilant while driving. :-)