Hi. If this is your first time visiting this blog, welcome. If you’ve been here before, welcome back. My name is Pattie Baker (aka Sustainable Pattie, per a nickname someone gave me years ago). I am a professional writer and a League of American Bicyclists Cycling Instructor. My most recent book is titled Traveling at…
Stay in the streets
Riding a bike can be a political statement — it is a transportation vote, an environmental vote, and a health vote. It is a community vote as you meet and grow to understand people with whom you may not have crossed paths otherwise. It is also a vote for freedom-for-all as your mere presence in…
Seat and pedals, handlebars, handlebars
I came upon this cute scene while Traveling at the Speed of Bike today and was reminded of the version of that Mommy-and-Me classic Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes that I made up to teach our Earn-a-Bike students last year, as well as to the little boy who came with his nanny to my…
New Bicycle Friendly Communities
As I was zipping down the 2-way mostly* protected bike lane (cycle track) on the south side of Atlanta’s Piedmont Park yesterday on Relay Bikeshare, I did not know that the good news was about to be announced — the City of Atlanta has finally earned official Bicycle Friendly Community certification from the League of…
View from the handlebars
I’ve just added some new photos to my A View from the Handlebars photo album, if you are interested. At almost 900 photos strong now, it showcases a wide range of bike infrastructure (and lack of) in our public spaces known as streets. For more about bike riding in the USA, see my book, Traveling…
A new beginning
In the past two weeks, famous writers Tom Wolfe and Philip Roth both died (may they rest in peace). It’s no wonder I’m thinking about their contemporary, Gay Talese, the famed New Journalism mastermind I met while Traveling at the Speed of Bike. As far as I can tell from the last note I received…
Summer classes announced
I’ve announced my free “Pedal Power with Pattie” classes for the summer. I’ve chosen to only offer classes that have easy access to bikeshare. One of the upcoming classes is in a metro-Atlanta city named Alpharetta, and the other three are in the City of Atlanta just 15 minutes away via train from where I…
Mid-wash
I mention in my book how I buried some friends. Every year when the hydrangeas bloom (as they are doing right now), I am reminded of one of them and this poem I wrote afterwards. Mid-Wash White-centered, Fringed by petals Tinged with blue, Hydrangeas bloom Again, Like last year When death came And took you…
