Shout Out

A shout-out to ShoutOut Atlanta for the shout-out! Here’s an excerpt from a feature about me and my work that they published recently. You can read the full article here.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.

We would do a bike tour of Metro Atlanta. I actually created the original Sustainability Tour of Atlanta for Bicycle Tours of Atlanta, so I would take them on my personal version of that (but I also highly recommend Bicycle Tours of Atlanta’s excellent offerings). It’s a fabulous 10-mile loop (almost entirely on protected and separated bike infrastructure — bravo to The City of Atlanta and Propel ATL for that). It takes in the Atlanta Beltline, the Freedom Parkway Path, Georgia Tech’s Kendida Building (one of very few Living Building regenerative buildings in the world), Piedmont Park’s fruit orchard and so much free public fruit throughout the city, the Old Fourth Ward Park’s flood mitigation brilliance, and more. Bonus points if it’s an Atlanta Streets Alive day! We’d toss in the Museum of Design Atlanta, the High Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Art, and the ever-changing graffiti in the Krog Street Tunnel (plus murals on Wylie and throughout Atlanta). Did someone say vegan donuts at Revolution Donuts on Edgewood? We’re there.

Another day we’re riding out to Decatur (the only silver-level Bicycle Friendly City in the State of Georgia — although Atlanta deserves it as well) and onward to Clarkston — have you seen the great bike infrastructure things happening in that little tiny city? My friend would also get the full tour of several refugee gardens there — Jolly Avenue, Global Growers — plus see the first Tiny Home community in Georgia (I believe). Of course we’d stop at Refuge Coffee and some of the other locally-owned places for food.

Gosh, I could go on and on (and often do on my blog TravelingAtTheSpeedOfBike.com). Each day we could ride buses and trains to other cities to check out their sustainability attributes. We might even pop onto Greyhound with our folding bikes and shoot down to Macon for the day. Ride the trail. Pay respect to the Native burial mounds. Attend a BikeWalkMacon event. Amazing things are happening there — and if the cherry blossoms are blooming, we’d do some beautiful photo shoots.

Okay, maybe most people would not think this is fun, but it’s important and necessary and my friend would want to be a part of it — attending a city council meeting to advocate for safer access for all in our shared public space. We could do this in any of the Metro Atlanta cities because they all are working on improvements. They need to hear more from people who have rubber-hits-the-road expertise. Small changes can save lives.

Did I mention helping out at a food pantry? The one where I tend a garden each week — Malachi’s Storehouse in Dunwoody — has the most fun, kind volunteers you can imagine. I also love chatting with the clients and their children when they harvest peppers, okra and more. Someone always has a question about some growing technique, and I try to model growing practices that cost little to no money and are easily replicable. Plus, planting a seed is an act of faith in the future — and maybe we need that now more than ever.

Oh, we’d also go to the Dunwoody Nature Center and the Chattahoochee River, both fabulous local treasures. Regarding food, we’d probably cook from my garden and pack picnics. I’m a sucker for a picnic, plus I usually have a hammock in my bike basket so afternoon hangs with good books are a must during this week with my friend. Buy from local bookstores when you can! I especially like Scholar and Scribe in Trilith. Consider buying my books, Round America with a Duck and Round Ireland with a Duck. Ask your local bookstore to carry them if they don’t already. I’m an indie author and your support is greatly appreciated.

Thank you to Shout Out Atlanta for this opportunity to share my life traveling at the speed of bike with you. I look forward to crossing paths with all of you other small business owners, artists and creators! I’m the one with the duck on my handlebars 🙂.