Visiting my family and friends in Atlanta is great, but nothing offsets my fun index more than having to drive EVERYWHERE. When you live in Atlanta, you don't know any better and the 45 minute drives seem like nothing. On the flip side, when you have lived the past 8 years riding your bike, walking or taking mass transit for transportation, you get extremely spoiled.
You see, unlike traveling by car, when you bike, walk or use mass transit, the time is your's. No worries about traffic jams and even if there is one, there's always a book to keep you content on a bus or subway. Additionally, there's the health benefits, sense of community and opportunity to be outside....not to mention the environmental impact.
Kyle and I are renting a Prius to drive down to Atlanta from Boston, mostly because we want to bring the dogs, but even more because we get to bring our bikes and his guitars.
I cannot wait to visit the city now that I know I won't be held hostage by our car. Especially in Newnan, GA.
Towards the end of our week there, Kyle is driving down to Mobile, Al for a wedding and I get to go see my friends, Sara, Julie and Tracy. Like any big city, they live pretty far from one another. Unlike other big cities, the mass tranportation system (MARTA) is underutilized. This is my perfect opportunity to ride my bike, use the bus and ride the subway in Atlanta.
My trip is as follows:
1) Ride my bike on Thursday from Newnan to Palmetto (13 miles)
2) Ride MARTA bus #180 from Palmetto to College Park train station (35 minutes)
3) Ride MARTA subway from College Park to North Springs (30 minutes)
4) Ride Marta bus #85 or 185 from North Springs to Roswell Shopping Center (15 minutes)
5) Ride Bike from Roswell Shopping Center to Sara's (8 miles)
6) On Friday, Bike from Sara's to Julie's (19 miles)
7) On Saturday, Bike from Julie's to Tracy's (20 miles)
Woo-hoo, then Kyle picks me up from Tracy's on Sunday to make the road trip back to Boston! Now I will be relaxed with my friends.
When: Thursday, February 5, 6:30 pm
