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.

First Silver Comet Trail ride

Usually I don’t like to drive my bike somewhere to ride it. It just seems a little wrong. But there’s only so far I can ride to ride. So Monday I packed up the bike and drove up to the beginning of the Silver Comet Trail in Smyrna. After looking at the maps and mileage online, I decided to go for the Rambo trail access, 22.22 miles away. Yeah, that’s right, RAMBO. Okay, I didn’t pick it because of the name but because the next one was another 11 miles which would’ve put me over 60 miles. That’s a bit too ambitious. Nick came with me despite repeated warnings about how slow I am.

When I do rides like this, I like to go mostly without stopping to the halfway mark, then if I want to take pictures, do it on the way back. And that’s how it worked this time except in this one place. We headed onto a bridge over a railroad track just as a train was approaching. We stopped to watch it pass under and they give us a couple of honks and they pass under. Yay!

See, Rambo Trailhead. Not even making that up.

The trail is downright luxurious compared to the crappy city streets I’m used to. Okay, driving to ride has its merits. We were lucky in that it was overcast which kept the temperatures down, but the trail is largely shaded too.

After 44.4 miles, it’s time for victory pizza at Maddio’s!