Unbeknownst to me, my 82-year-old mom purchased and generously donated a copy of my book, Traveling at the Speed of Bike to her local library in the booming metro-Atlanta suburb-city of Alpharetta, Georgia. I believe the intention was to make it available for her fellow citizens as that city is embarking on an ambitious bike-friendly network for all ages and abilities beyond its wooded greenway, and the story I tell may help in some small way. (It’s also a story about trusting the journey no matter what your passion or calling — you don’t even need to be a bike rider to enjoy it, or so the kind reviews say.)
The Alpharetta Library has made the book available to a wider audience, and you can purchase it here (click the one that says alphalibrary, if still available). The sale of the book benefits the library so my mother’s intention of helping her community remains intact. (Note: If you are a buyer for libraries, academic institutions, or book sellers, Traveling at the Speed of Bike is available for purchase through your wholesaler — ISBN-13: 978-1985600768.) (Fun fact: I also distributed a handful of books at Little Free Libraries around metro- Atlanta but they are long gone now.)
If interested, here is what it looked like when I rode my bike back to my suburb-city from my mom’s home a couple of years ago (through a total of four metro-Atlanta suburb-cities: Alpharetta, Roswell, Sandy Springs, and Dunwoody), and then when I did it last year with BikeNoodle* (which cut the time significantly as I had better/safer access).
If you’d like to benefit a local author directly, please consider purchasing Traveling at the Speed of Bike here. I am an indie publisher and your support is greatly appreciated. A portion of proceeds from the sale of all books is donated to help more women and girls ride bikes. Currently, that means funding my ability to do “Pedal Power with Pattie” Basic Bike Skills Classes for Women. I already contacted the City of Alpharetta** about doing a class in their lovely Rock Mill Park (which connects to the greenway), where they offer easy, free access to Zagster bikeshare (pictured).
If you have read and enjoyed Traveling at the Speed of Bike, please consider posting a review on Amazon (here is the USA link). It helps in more ways than you can imagine. And yes, my mom posted one. (Thanks, Mom.)
*See Chapter 6: Noodle Lady in my book for more about BikeNoodle. You can also see photos of it tagged on Twitter and Instagram as #BikeNoodle.
**Additional fun fact — the head of the Alpharetta bike advocacy group, BikeAlpharetta, was my presentation partner at our League of American Bicyclists’ Cycling Instructor training. You can read more about that in Traveling at the Speed of Bike. Here is my favorite project I’ve seen BikeAlpharetta do.
Traveling at the Speed of Bike 