Cyclerama

I had hopes of being a regular biker when living in Atlanta, but when the winter months came I knew that my health would be in grave danger if I should choose to ride my bike on the Atlanta streets during the darker hours. Bikers are not welcome on either streets or sidewalks, so I resorted to taking the shuttle instead.

Here, bikes rule the city. Every free tree trunk, guard rail, signpost, or other creative mechanism has a bike attached to it. In my daily walk to the institute, it is not cars that I am afraid of, but rather bikers. I have learned that cars will always stop for you, even when you have no intentions of crossing the street. Bikers, however, will not.

The city has an impressive structure for bikers. The sidewalks are often divided in half, one side for pedestrians and the other for bikers. There are bridges and paths throughout the city dedicated just for bikers. Every staircase has an inbuilt gutter of sorts, made for the ease of rolling bikes down, or pushing bikes up so that one does not have to carry them up and down.

It's easy to spot the bikers in the city as they always have one pant leg rolled up. At least those who wear pants do. It's not uncommon to see ladies in skirts and heels riding their bike to work or the grocery store. I have also been impressed at the amount of multi-tasking that can be done with a bike. I have seen people smoking, drinking, talking on cell phones and even hauling furniture.

Good luck to F who is courageously borrowing my bike for the year!