Some of this is going to sound like heresy, but here are my recommendations for rides. Sugarloaf Parkway has bike lanes on both sides enough space that is allows for a reasonably safe ride. Traffic will be really moving though and you have to be prepared for the "bow waves", the good thing is that it is about 10 miles long and the bike lanes are clearer of gutter trash than many routes. I don't have a problem riding some of the four and five lane stuff on the weekend, with the exception of route 20 or Buford highway.

For nice easy spinning, you can't beat the Silver Comet Trail, with 38 miles of mixed used rail/trail. The problem is that it is just about an hour away and the Cobb county end can be pretty busy. But if you are looking for a fast flat up to 80 mile workout, it's tough to beat. Its also a great place to take the real newbies. Almost anyone can spin 15 to 20 miles there first time out.

Back to Gwinnett county, I like taking 124 to Braselton and then 11 south and wander around in the back roads in the country on the way back, or any number of back roads east of Hamilton Mill and 324. Old Peachtree all the way to Dacula isn't really bad either.

For ATB folks, there is some nice easy singletrack at Tribble Mill Park and Fort Yargo State Park in Winder, and more MTB stuff at Yellow Creek.

The Atlanta Path organization has a mixed use trail that goes from Stone Mountain to Georgia Tech. But it really suffers from slow walkers and an inordinate number of stop signs. Stone Mountain can be fun to ride around, but stay out of the cruisers on the weekends.

The Georgia Department of Transportation publishes a state map with some recommended bike routes. But I think that somebody just drew lines on a map. Collins Hill Road is a recommended north south route, but it's combination of fairly narrow two lane and steep short hills just blows my legs to rubber.

Being from Cinci, you have seen some hills, but we have more than our share, and some pretty rude drivers. The heat and humidity can be problemmatic, but evening or morning work can help a lot