Country bike ride

I don’t really think of my mom as living in the country. But turn to the left out of my mom’s neighborhood and this is what you get – country.

A different kind of "share the road" sign

With the exception of a few short stretches, this is the kind of road I had to work with. No shoulder. And sometimes no white line on the edge. These roads have a speed limit of between 45-55 mph. I was a little concerned, but didn’t need to be. South Chesterfield County, VA drivers were very respectful of my space and didn’t crowd me or yell redneck things out the window. I even had someone stop to make sure I was okay while I was eating a snack.

Rolling hills
Horsies

Road into the park

The temperature and humidity was about perfect. I wasn’t even sweaty at the end of the ride. The hills made my knees a little cranky. Probably because I forgot about my granny gear until the last half of the ride.

Lots of animals … goats, a chicken in the woods, chicken houses (sad face), and a bunch of horses. At one point a turkey vulture flew towards me and then over my head. So huge! I was glad he was alone, though. A group of them might’ve made me wonder if they were waiting for me to become a tasty snack.

There are a few more pics here.

And here’s the route and a flyover view!

Bike ride on a day off

A few weeks ago I took a day off and spent part of it taking about a 20 mile bike ride around town.

Grave stones among the trees

Mirrored fence in Oakhurst

Springing trees in Oakhurst

PATH just south of Agnes Scott

Flowers in Decatur

Water break on the Candler Park PATH

In Little Five Points

MLK on Freedom Pkwy

Atlanta from bridge over Freedom Pkwy

Bunny at the Krog tunnel

Picking up a banh mi in East Atlanta at We Suki Suki. It fits perfectly in a bottle cage.

About to destroy that banh mi with some leftover kale salad.

 

Tipsy Bike Ride to Occupy Atlanta

Friday evening I made myself a double Manhattan after a long stupid week and enjoyed it while watching Game of Thrones. Afterwards I decided to go for a night-time bike ride. A slightly tips bike ride to the Occupy Atlanta encampment downtown and back. That seemed to be about the right amount of riding to do. The encampment was pretty quiet. That might’ve been the night they were marching over to the Peachtree Pine shelter.

Along the way I took a few pictures.

 

A couple of months ago, I saw them filming The Walking Dead at this building. So look for it this season.

Hiram to Rockmart

Time for another 44 miles on the Silver Comet Trail. This time I started at Hiram and continued west to Rockmart. After passing Rambo, the next trailhead is 11 miles away. So it’s pretty much out in the country. It was hard to get going this time. Within the first 5 miles my saddle came loose and then I had a flat. No fun! It was my first time using a CO2 cartridge which went okay I guess.

Rockmart. There’s apparently a downtown area but I didn’t go there.

 

 

 

The trail around Rockmart follows this river/creek.

Tunnel

It was not just wet but muddy in that tunnel. You could tell who on the trail had been through it.

Sheriff’s office caboose at Hiram.

No victory pizza.

Saturday eats and bike ride

How have I lived in Atlanta for 13 years without ever having gone to Ria’s Bluebird? Well, I fixed that Saturday morning. Got there bright and early to mostly beat the crowds and tried the Bionic Breakfast with a side of spicy tofu. It was delicious especially topped with sriracha. The tofu was good, but ended up making it too much food for me. It made me sad to leave some behind but we were headed out for a bike ride afterwards and I didn’t want to carry leftovers.

After eating, just outside, we found this. Looks like something that could be explained by alcohol.

Jared and I headed out on a bike ride. We kept out Memorial towards downtown, then headed North, took Marietta St., cut back across 17th St. and headed to the new section of Piedmont Park. Looks like it is no longer a secret.

It was HOT, so a visit to King of Pops was sounding good. Except he wasn’t on the corner yet. We thought about heading to the Ponce festival, but headed to The Porter instead. They open at 11am on Saturdays. Yay! Apparently beer makes a great recovery drink because I felt awesome the rest of the ride home. I ended up riding a total of about 24 miles. I forgot to set my bike computer and only got a few legs on map my ride. I really wish that app didn’t eat so much of my iPhone’s battery.