The Third Friday Bike Ride is this coming Friday, August 16. Join Decatur Active Living staff for this 6 mile ride around Decatur neighborhoods. After the ride we will visit a local restaurant for refreshment and time to chat and make new biking friends.
Details: Where: Ride Starts at the Decatur Recreation Center, 231 Sycamore Street. Meet out front of the center. There is free parking in the deck behind the library.
Time: We put wheels down at 6:30 pm
Other: Wear your helmet and bring a water bottle.
This ride is not recommended for children.
Georgia Bikes will hold the 2019 GA Bike Summit on September 27-28 (Friday/Saturday) at Georgia State University in beautiful (and bike/walk/roll/transit-accessible) downtown Atlanta.
Panther Bikes, the student-run/lead bicycle organization, will be hosting this year’s summit at GSU and the events of the Georgia Bike Summit will be a great way to kick off Atlanta Streets Alive and Six Gap Century weekend. Many thanks to Panther Bikes!
For more information on the GA Bike Summit visit georgiabikes.org.
When you are riding on the sidewalk, you also have to deal with many hazards: pedestrians, street furniture, signs, newspaper boxes, etc… These items don’t just make riding inconvenient; they also can make you invisible to drivers.
The fact is, a lot of crashes happen when someone on a bike is using the sidewalk. For more information on bicycle safety and resources, visit The League of American Bicyclists.
The right way to ride on a multi-use path, from Bicycling.com:
Multi-use paths are being added to cities across the country at an exciting rate and more people are using them. That’s a great thing. But crowding can lead to conflict. To stay safe, and make the experience more enjoyable for everyone, here are a few guidelines for blissfully sharing bike paths with fellow cyclists, joggers, dog walkers, and everyone else.
1. Get out of time-trial mode, duh. It’s fun to go fast, but a bike path isn’t the place to race. Yes, you can crank things up a bit if you have clear sight lines and few other users but, as a general rule, keep it under control.
2. Ride right, pass left. Act like a car in these situations. Right for travel, left for passing. And, of course, obey all traffic signals.
3. Slow down—and be prepared to stop—when there are others around. People are unpredictable. Kids and pets especially, but the truth is, anyone can be so involved in a conversation or wrapped up in their own thoughts that they’ll make a bad choice even if they hear you coming. Slow to a walking pace and keep your hands on your brakes.
4. Make some noise well before passing.A bell is more charming (and less startling) than an “on your left!” but either is preferable to a stealth pass. Make noise—be sure you’re heard—well before you reach the person you’re passing.
5. Look around (and signal!) before passing or stopping. Just because you’re doing it right doesn’t mean everyone else is. Before you swing left to pass or hit the brakes to stop, throw out a hand signal, and take a look behind you for oncoming traffic.
6. Don’t stand in the path. Sometimes it’s nice to stop and look around and take a drink. Pull off the path when you do so, otherwise you’ll block the way for everyone else.
7. Be nice. It’s the most important thing. You’re representing cyclists as a group. Don’t be a stone-faced automaton hell-bent on maintaining your 19.5 mph pace. Treat people the way you want to be treated. Be friendly. Wave. Say hello. It will make all of our time on these super paths a little more fun.
Silver Spokes is a *pilot* senior tricycling program using adult tricycles that help maintain good balance and support those with mobility challenges. Several cities are starting these programs with their active adult and senior populations. We also invite patrons with their own bikes or trikes to come and ride with us each week. We’ll begin on May 17 and bike together on Tuesdays at 10am.
So, now’s your chance! If you’re an active adult or senior and want to try a new thing (okay sort of new, you probably all did this way back in the day), riding a tricycle, then join us! And if you are a little rusty and just want to get back on your own bike and ride with friends on a path, join us. Both groups are encouraged.
NOTE: We require that each person prepare for Silver Spokes by attending a FREE bike-to-basics refresher course May 14 @1PM here at the Rec Center. Sign up here to let us know how many Georgia Bikes safety booklets to provide and our instructor will be the 2016 national women’s bike education award winner Nedra Deadwyler of Georgia Bikes!
p.s. even if you arent planning to join Silver Spokes but just want to take a bicycling refresher course, join us, this special session on 5/14 is FREE, compliments of Georgia Bikes bike safety outreach program.
After the refresher course, and starting on May 17, our Silver Spokes class will meet Tuesdays at 10am. The tricycles will stay here at our gym, so please reserve 1 of 3 tricycles with Tracie (678-553-6559) to ride on our adjacent PATH during class. We bike with you and revisit the rules of cycling and go out for short path rides to practice our skills and get back in the flow of biking. Join any week and we’ll keep it simple and basic until next Fall at which point we might try something new once we see how the pilot goes.
Helmets are provided. $5 fee is due each week you come to ride. Limited enrollment of 3 tricycles, and a limit of 6 friends with their own bikes can attend for free and ride along with us, in fact we encourage you to bring a friend.
The Third Friday Bike Ride is this coming Friday, August 16. Join Decatur Active Living staff for this 6 mile ride around Decatur neighborhoods. After the ride we will visit a local restaurant for refreshment and time to chat and make new biking friends.
Gael Doyle
Greg White
jones9095
saraeholmes
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