I Meet the Cobb County Bike Patrol

Imagine my surprise to learn the Cobb County now has a bike patrol for the Cumberland Galleria area. This makes perfect sense because this area probably has the highest density of mixed use development in Cobb County. So I ran into these officers today riding home from Borders (still no bike rack) and guess what, they were having a great time. In fact one them pulled behind me and made the wooo-wooo siren sound while laughing.

Yeah life is better on a bike.

Ride Review: Rottenwood Creek Multi-Use Trail

The Rottenwood Creek multi-use trail runs from the corner of Interstate North Parkway and Cumberland Boulevard to the Chattahoochee Palisades West Parking lot near Hwy 41 and Paces Mill Road. I rode it today and took some pictures.

The parking lot at Palisades West.

It runs right under I-75

There's lots of dog doo so you have to be on the look out.

Rottenwood Creek looks pristine here.

But don't let that fool you.

Hey here's a hill.

Evidently there's a dispute between the feds and Cobb County about who is responsible for trash pickup.

Under I-285

With graffiti

The parking lot at Cumberland Blvd & Interstate North.


So how was the ride? Short. It's actually not a bad way to skip riding on Cumberland Blvd and 41 in Cobb County as it dumps you right by the river. They seem to have built it as cheaply as possible, instead of the smooth concrete it's made of the rough stuff you see in the dog doo picture. But if you want to practice climbing a hill on a mup I'll doubt you'll find a better opportunity in Atlanta. One word of advice, unlike the Palisades West parking lot, there's no charge to park at Cumberland & Interstate North.

I Get a GA DOT "Motorist" Survey

So I got this survey from the Georgia Department of Transportation. They want to know what I think of the quality of our roads, the DOT's performance in managing traffic flow and congestion, assuring highway safety, and what I think about possible DOT priorities. You're probably not surprised to find bicycles weren't mentioned once. At least they had a question about building more sidewalks. Of course they had three different questions about adding more lanes to existing roads, which we all know is only a temporary fix.

Today's Rides

Well I'm unemployed so I decided to take a ride on the local MUP. It's officially called the Rottenwood Creek Multiuse Trail. What it should be called is practice your dog doo dodging skills. I've never see so much crap in such a small area and I've been to Congress.

After returning home my wife called and asked me to go to Macy's and pickup some things for her. So back on the bike and off to the mall. There was a bike rack right outside Macy's but it was one of those old fasioned wheel benders. Then on the way home I decided to swing by Borders where I saw many books I wanted but since I'm still unemployed I thought I had better wait.

Carfree?

My wife and I are having a difference of opinion about whether or not our family could go car free. Since we don't live in-town, I realize it would be difficult but with flex-car now in Atlanta I think it could be done.

What do you do with an unemployed commuter

I've just passed one month of unemployment. So there's been no commuting but I have been doing the usual errands by bike. In fact I just back from publix where I decided I really need an xtracycle. Filling the panniers just isn't working anymore.