Any Atlanta commuters?
11-16-04 | 08:34 PM
#26
Easily distracted...
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From: Decatur, Ga
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Ron,
I saw you work with the ABC. Thanks for being so proactive on biking issues in the city.
Those bulb out on McLendon are insane. I'm glad to hear that the bikers in the neighborhood and area have protested it. After riding home in the post-dusk hours last week, I'm ready to rent a jackhammer and take those things out myself.
I saw you work with the ABC. Thanks for being so proactive on biking issues in the city.
Those bulb out on McLendon are insane. I'm glad to hear that the bikers in the neighborhood and area have protested it. After riding home in the post-dusk hours last week, I'm ready to rent a jackhammer and take those things out myself.
11-16-04 | 08:36 PM
#27
I am not a car
Joined: May 2004
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From: Decatur, GA
Bikes: Giant Revel 1, Surly Ogre
I read in one of the neighborhood newsletters (maybe at Bike South?) that Lake Claire voted to decrease the size of the bump-outs by about 3-4 feet so there would be room for bikes. Chandler Park decided to keep the bump-out the full size, so it is a bit tight along there.
BTW, did anyone else get caught by the stopped train on DeKalb Ave and East Lake last night (monday the 15th, about 6pm)? I met another commuter from Coke and we rode over to the underpass on Ponce. It was great passing all those cars stuck in traffic!
BTW, did anyone else get caught by the stopped train on DeKalb Ave and East Lake last night (monday the 15th, about 6pm)? I met another commuter from Coke and we rode over to the underpass on Ponce. It was great passing all those cars stuck in traffic!
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11-16-04 | 09:46 PM
#28
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From: Decatur, Ga
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Map tester,
Sure did get stopped by that train. I was on DeKalb Ave. and waited for about 10 minutes. Then I spilt down a side street, up Ponce, and on into the Dec. I also met another guy who was going that direction. We had a great chat about the Beltline while we breezed by all cars. Bad day for speed, but good day for metting other bike commuters.
One guy that pulled up behind behind me tossed his bike on the train, climbed up, dropped his bike over the other side, jumped off, and continued on down DeKalb. I didn't think that was such a bright idea so I went on over to Ponce. That was a freaking long train.
Sure did get stopped by that train. I was on DeKalb Ave. and waited for about 10 minutes. Then I spilt down a side street, up Ponce, and on into the Dec. I also met another guy who was going that direction. We had a great chat about the Beltline while we breezed by all cars. Bad day for speed, but good day for metting other bike commuters.
One guy that pulled up behind behind me tossed his bike on the train, climbed up, dropped his bike over the other side, jumped off, and continued on down DeKalb. I didn't think that was such a bright idea so I went on over to Ponce. That was a freaking long train.
01-23-14 | 06:52 AM
#33
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From: Atlanta GA
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Anybody commute from roswell / alpharetta area to sandy springs? I would like to meet somebody that can show me some routes and maybe chat with on my way to work and back. Currently drive to work but I hope that can change soon.
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01-23-14 | 09:41 AM
#34
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From: Alpharetta, GA
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I've ridden to Sandy Springs only a couple of times and it was a few years ago, but I recall crossing under 400 at Riverside Road. Roswell Rd/hwy 9 did not inspire much confidence for me, maybe you'd like it better but I took Spalding Drive for a good chunk of it, I guess crossing again on Northridge.
01-23-14 | 10:35 AM
#35
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I've ridden to Sandy Springs only a couple of times and it was a few years ago, but I recall crossing under 400 at Riverside Road. Roswell Rd/hwy 9 did not inspire much confidence for me, maybe you'd like it better but I took Spalding Drive for a good chunk of it, I guess crossing again on Northridge.
Atlanta is a little of a toughie when it comes to traffic and alternate routes. I wish I had the testies to just ride down 400
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01-24-14 | 06:12 PM
#36
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From: Atlanta, GA. USA
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I depends on where in Atlanta you want to bicycle. I commute from Stone Mountain (east side of Atlanta) to downtown Atlanta. I enjoy it, but there are many who would think my route is not for them, since there is almost no bicycle-specific road design. I just got a map and created my own routes.
Atlanta and surrounding towns are not paved grid-like. You really have to map out your routes and explore them in your spare time.
One thing you'll almost never get around here: snow. I don't know if that's good or bad in your opinion, but that's the way it is. I don't think summers are really any hotter than, say, Washington DC, for example, and suprisingly, they can be slightly less humid. Summers are just longer and winters are shorter and milder.
Atlanta and surrounding towns are not paved grid-like. You really have to map out your routes and explore them in your spare time.
One thing you'll almost never get around here: snow. I don't know if that's good or bad in your opinion, but that's the way it is. I don't think summers are really any hotter than, say, Washington DC, for example, and suprisingly, they can be slightly less humid. Summers are just longer and winters are shorter and milder.
01-24-14 | 08:04 PM
#37
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From: Alpharetta, GA
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01-25-14 | 01:23 PM
#38
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From: Atlanta, GA. USA
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But the advice did actually apply then and now!
01-25-14 | 02:14 PM
#39
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From: Alpharetta, GA
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01-26-14 | 02:53 PM
#40
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From: Atlanta, GA. USA
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But I've been very pleased in recent years to see a lot of activity near the city anyway. Maybe it will spread to the suburbs. I hope so. But I live near the Stone Mountain trail. Sometimes I go ride that and the Beltline on a (meandering) commute from Decatur to Sandy Springs. Recently they've cleared more of the beltline trail, beyond Piedmont Park (still unpaved) behind Ansley Mall and thru the golf course. Then it hooks up with a railroad track that I'm sure is destined to be pulled up - I went scouting and that goes all the way to the 75/85 interchange north of town and then some. Lot's of progress on trails and I recently read about specific 2014 plans for significantly more bike lanes in the city.
01-26-14 | 09:12 PM
#41
rebmeM roineS
Joined: Jan 2006
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From: Metro Indy, IN
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OK. I'll join in on the Zombie Thread.
When I lived in Hot 'Lanta from 79-86, my commuting was from Virginia/Highlands and then from Ormewood Park to Crawford Long Hospital (now Emory Midtown). Didn't have to deal with those suburban traffic issues. The only trail that I was aware of was the Stone Mountain trail, although can't say exactly where it lead to in the city, but I did ride on parts of it at least a couple of times.
I was an everyday bike commuter while living there - not so since moving back to Central Indiana. Good times riding bikes all over the city.
How steep is Kennesaw Mountain? - rode up it a couple of times long ago.
When I lived in Hot 'Lanta from 79-86, my commuting was from Virginia/Highlands and then from Ormewood Park to Crawford Long Hospital (now Emory Midtown). Didn't have to deal with those suburban traffic issues. The only trail that I was aware of was the Stone Mountain trail, although can't say exactly where it lead to in the city, but I did ride on parts of it at least a couple of times.
I was an everyday bike commuter while living there - not so since moving back to Central Indiana. Good times riding bikes all over the city.
How steep is Kennesaw Mountain? - rode up it a couple of times long ago.
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01-27-14 | 07:07 AM
#42
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From: Atlanta, GA. USA
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I don't completely disagree with the previous two posts, but they've painted an overly grim picture. I've been biking around the city for a while now and enjoy my ride every day. I'm coming from Decatur, on the east side like everyone has recomended, and have about a 8 mile commute to school. I know about a dozen people that do that everyday, mostly from Candler Park, Edgewood, Reynoldstown, and Decatur.
Atlanta has developoed a lot of traffic problems over the past few decades, but a lot of positive changes are in the pipeline. The new Beltline project should be underway in the next few years, connecting most of the intown neighborhoods with a paved bike path and eventually light rail. And the boom in intown housing and infill, along with some progressively minded developers, should start to update the neighborhood street systems and increase routes for commuters.
Bike commuting in Atlanta is great year-round, though it often takes some creative and dedicated route finding. Email the Atlanta Bicycle Campaign to find some local biking groups or advice on routes. Try to live on the east side of town in the the Ponce de Leon or Dekalb Avenue corridor neighborhoods and you'll be all set.
Atlanta has developoed a lot of traffic problems over the past few decades, but a lot of positive changes are in the pipeline. The new Beltline project should be underway in the next few years, connecting most of the intown neighborhoods with a paved bike path and eventually light rail. And the boom in intown housing and infill, along with some progressively minded developers, should start to update the neighborhood street systems and increase routes for commuters.
Bike commuting in Atlanta is great year-round, though it often takes some creative and dedicated route finding. Email the Atlanta Bicycle Campaign to find some local biking groups or advice on routes. Try to live on the east side of town in the the Ponce de Leon or Dekalb Avenue corridor neighborhoods and you'll be all set.
East/West the Stone Mountain trail is great. North/South, the Beltline. More and more offshoots keep getting built. Significant improvement just in the last year with more in the plans for 2014. The mayor wants us on the top ten cities list.
I've commuted here for 20+ years. It gets better all the time.
01-27-14 | 08:11 AM
#43
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From: Raleigh, NC
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Since you're dredging up a 10-year-old thread about Atlanta, do you want to hear about my experiences living there in the mid-1980s?
