As just about everyone who lives in Atlanta can agree, the time it takes to get places is 100% dependant on when and where you are trying to go. If you are trying to go into town at 8am on a highway, forget it, it will take a while. If you are trying to go out of town at 5pm, same thing. Keep in mind this is talking about cars too. Tell me another city with a population of 6+ million people where this isn't true.
Actually, I do ride from my apartment to Stone Mountain, as I stated in my earlier post. Many of my riding buddies do the same, although mostly on weekends. I see plenty of people riding their bikes every single day on my way home from work as well, and know of many group rides that individuals ride into also.
As far as the crime rates go, I agree Atlanta has a high crime rate, but I'm not sure that its any higher than any other large city with an extrmemly mixed population. I don't speak Spanish and I get along just fine, and I have never been approached by anyone while on a ride, and really havn't had many problems to speak of, and I even consider myself an asshole when I ride in traffic.
Jeff