national bike month is not just about biking to work...

...but you already knew that. ;-)

westside ladies was a movement in Athens, GA and i dont know if its still going on since a few of us have moved. but i try it every where i live or visit.
so the May to October bike challenge has begun and i'm using an app to log my miles. mine will be mostly commutes to work and occasional weekend trail rides. i love that there are 3 apps to choose from this year, and one of them stays on and needs no prompting, this was made for me. i mean who can remember to start stop sync and tally miles, i just want to ride. but i do like keeping up with how many miles for encouragement, so now there is an app that will take care of it all. Moves. that's what its called. Moves. try it out.

yes, you can still sign up, it just started and runs all summer. http://nationalbikechallenge.org/

if you are in Decatur, you can even click our local team as the one you want to tally miles with, 'i bike decatur'. this will surely require that we bike to coffee or tea or beer to compare at several points. see you out there on the quiet neighborhood streets, looking at flowers. roll on.

p.s. if you're in decatur or pass through, get energized with us on bike to work day at our refreshment station. https://www.facebook.com/events/296380970520691/

Meet the woman who kick-started the Georgia Trail Summit: Tracie Sanchez

A blog for Rails to Trails Conservancy March 2014

All my life, I’ve been riding bikes, hiking mountains, paddling rivers and seeking those activities every place I visit on the planet. Being on a trail makes for wonderful escapes, new adventures and challenges, new friends, maintained health, fresh air and increased botanical knowledge.  And great photo albums.
            Earning my Masters of Public Administration late in life allowed me to focus on which public policy I wanted to champion.  Clearly, alternative transportation solutions which often include recreation are my passion.  For me, active living is all about the intersection of health and mobility.  Trails offer both.  So with a background in graphic design (first career), leadership development (second career), public transportation policy, and some spare time during the job search, I reached out to all the trail gurus I knew in Georgia.  

Public data from traillink.com revealed there were 82 trail and greenway projects proposed or underway in Georgia.  I was familiar with many of them simply because I sought them out where I lived and across communities where I served as a mobility manager for a regional commission. Occasionally I heard about a few others while attending Smart Growth conferences, Transportation Camp, the Georgia Bike Summit and transit/mobility workshops. But something was missing.  No one knew about anyone else’s project or seemed to be sharing lessons learned.  Why wasn’t there an easy opportunity to convene this important community of trail experts statewide?  There was so much to learn from each other.

One snow day last year during the National Bike Summit in DC, I hoofed it over to the RTC office to see what I could learn.  RTC Development Director Kelly Pack inspired me with great advice, “Round everyone up and hold a summit.”  So in April 2013 I pitched the idea and have been recruiting and collaborating with numerous trail, greenway and blueway partners ever since, designing and planning the inaugural Georgia Trail Summit.  We got our start with a generous $5,000 donation from MillionMile Greenway and raised an additional $8,000 in sponsorships in six months, attracting 30+ trail groups to also endorse the idea. 
                It’s been an amazing team effort.  Join us for this timely conversation April 11 and 12 in Athens.

Tracie Sanchez, MPA, Trail Champion
“I love the outdoors, so I go out in it.”

Time to talk alternative transpo...finally, i hope.

Snowjam I-285 David Tulis/AP

Sometimes, often times actually, it takes a crisis to address the topics on the back burner, like transpo solutions for ATL.
Well surely Snowjam '14, or ClusterFlake '14, or Snowjob '14, whatever you want to call it, has triggered the topic of transpo for ATL. I sure hope so.

Gridlock by JeffK

And although most of you know me from my myriad postings on facebook and blogs about bikes and pedestrian advocacy, I'm also devoted to transit and trails. I view the combination of adding transit, trails (check out this commute), and bike/ped facilities as a holistic approach to improving transpo alternatives in ATL.
These choices align with the Complete Streets philosophy and policy that is sweeping the nation and that GDOT has signed on to offer/support.

Urban Trail options by JeffM

Guidance from Georgia Bikes!, PEDS, Georgians for Passenger Rail, BeltLine and Streetcar, BikeShare, and Georgia Trail Summit, MARTA, and Sierra Club Rail Chapter are available and they should all be at the table helping leadership see how these solutions WILL improve our community if they can just find the political will to pursue them.

MARTA rail running

Many friends and advocates already blogged about the 2014 snowstorm that paralyzed Atlanta and so I've clipped and linked to some of the ones i agree with and shared them here in case any of you appreciate a primer on how to move forward from this moment. I wont spend one second on the blame game because for me the issue is and has always been ATL infrastructure and lack of transpo options. (See all hyperlinks.)

If Snowjam '14 leads us to talk about a new serious approach to transpo in Atlanta then all will not be lost on those who suffered in their cars overnight, stranded on frozen ice highways in the middle of a huge international city.
At least there is a feeling that humanity is restored by numerous stories of southerners helping one another in a crisis. My favorite was Michelle Sollicito from Marietta who used social media to create a forum where everyone needing help could reach out and those offering it could connect; then someone added a map to show all the homes where citizens were offering shelter and POW within hours 55,000 Atlantans were connected via a facebook group called SnowedOutAtlanta, collectively solving issues one by one. Good press on that here too. Regional collaboration has always been my ulterior motive and it remains so. Feeling inspired and hopeful.

Bike commute by RajB

p.s. no i wasnt caught in snowjam '14, i bike to work, which is next door to transit, and within a 2.5 mile radius from my home (intentionally), and can walk anyday if needed. my choice gives me quality of life and i'd love to see others make informed housing + transpo choices and see our metro area step up to build them.

Photos by friends and from facebook group Bike Commuters of Atlanta.