I've found the bicycle facilities in Atlanta to be very inadequate. Therefore, I learned early on to do without them. But there are plenty of ways to get anywhere I want to go, so I'm not limited. For example, if the traffic is heavy on the way home and I don't feel like huffing fumes in the summer heat, I'll take a detour and meander through local neighborhood streets, which adds a few miles to my route but also adds pleasure. I live about 14 miles to the east of Atlanta, so that's my regular commute. But I've covered many other areas in and around the city, without the help of bike facilities. There are many really neat neighborhoods and towns to ride through.

The weather is hot and humid in the summer. The winter is fairly mild, and we almost never get any snow--if we do, it's big news. Today, I was able to ride in just shorts and a t-shirt (I guess it was about 60 degrees at 6 a.m.) and it will get up to 85 degrees today.

I see plenty of bike commuters, but none where I work. The bike shop I frequent is run by a guy who is a regular bicycle commuter and who understands the mindset.

As for recumbents, I've seen them, but I'm not sure about groups. Personally, the only reason I don't ride a recumbent is because I haven't come up with the cash, yet. You can bet I will be riding one as soon as I do, I've test-ridden one and it was a total blast.

Stone Mountain is a nice place to ride if you are a recreational cyclist, costing nothing to enter if you do so by bike. I don't do it much, though, even though it's only 3 miles from my house, because I usually need the weekends to recover from riding to work all week.

Cheers!