Training/Racing in Atlanta?

theres a big cycling scene in ATL. the terrain is moderately hilly in/around
town. and there are some decent mountains (6 gap route, 100 miles and 6
major climbs used in the tour de georgia) about an hour north of town in
dahlonega. Traffic can be a [censored] at times, but if youre living/working
intown it isnt too bad since you can avoid interstates for the most part.
there are good group rides pretty much everyday (most days actually have
multiple rides all over the place for various ability levels) of the week in
town on fairly lightly trafficed roads around intown neighborhoods. group
rides range from moderate/social to pretty much full blown race/sufferfests.
there are a bunch of local teams in town as well if yorue into the racing
scene. check out www.aaronscycling.com which is one of the larger ones (im
also involved with we have people from rec riders to pro1/2s)
good shops intown include outback bikes, peachtree bikes (closer to
lenox/buckhead area), freeflite's also up in that neck of the woods though
ive never been in there.

"Chris Wiggins" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:2006030620242916807-cwiggins@maccom...

Quoted message said:

I'm considering moving to Atlanta soon, from Minneapolis. Excited about
the change in climate but wondering what the cycling situation's like. How
hard is it to get out of town? What's the terrain like? how hard is it to
find hils? I'll be working near Lenox Square Mall if that means anything
(north of downtown). Any real mountains within driving distance? Healthy
racing scene? What are the good pro bike shops?

Chris Wiggins said:

I'm considering moving to Atlanta soon, from Minneapolis. Excited about
the change in climate but wondering what the cycling situation's like.
How hard is it to get out of town? What's the terrain like? how hard is
it to find hils? I'll be working near Lenox Square Mall if that means
anything (north of downtown). Any real mountains within driving
distance? Healthy racing scene? What are the good pro bike shops?

Ryan summed up the scene in Atlanta pretty well; you might want to check
out http://www.sadlebred.com for a listing of group rides in the area as
well as a racing calendar for the surrounding area. Also, I have spent
time riding/racing in both Minneapolis and Atlanta, and I will say that
Atlanta is harder to "get out of" on your bike than Minneapolis is. From
where I was in Minneapolis (at the UofM), I remember being able to get
to roads with corn growing next to them within 20-30 minutes of riding
(I think anyway; you would probably know better than me since I was only
there three months). In Atlanta it takes a lot longer to get to roads
that anyone would consider remotely rural, and most of that time is
going to be spent on busy 4-lane surface roads. It's not all bad,
though, because some of the best riding in the Atlanta area is within
the city limits, in the neighborhoods in the buckhead/vinings area.

As for racing, the season is a lot longer and thicker than in Minnesota.
You can find a race within three hours or so drive (and most are going
to be less than two hours) on pretty much any weekend from mid February
to mid October, and 'cross lasts until mid December if you're into that.
Also, unlike in Minnesota, there is usually racing on both Saturday and
Sunday, and many events are run as omniums. There's also a lot more road
races. The turnout at most events is large enought that there are
separate cat 3, 4, and 5 races (as opposed to having a 1/2/3 race and a
4/5 race, which I saw a lot in Minn.) One thing that is missing is some
sort of sanctioned mid-week training race, but to make up for that there
is the "Marietta Crit," which is a completely unsanctioned group ride in
an office park that is run in a crit format.