I think definitely! You can do it. In six weeks you will get in much better shape. After only a couple of weeks of swimming every day I noticed my arm muscles changing. The body is resilient and strong!

The thing about getting rid of your car is that once you get rid of it, you just HAVE TO deal with it. A 7-mile ride will seem less and less like an ordeal. And, for what it's worth, I have been car-free in Los Angeles for a year now, which must be pretty comparable to Atlanta, and it's been fine. It does depend hugely on which part of town you live in, and it actually took me kind of a long time to figure that out. I was living on the deep west side, and finding it difficult to get anywhere, and feeling pretty isolated. But then I moved to a more central location, and suddenly I am right by all these buses that go EVERYWHERE, and even late at night and stuff. So I don't know where you live, but that makes a difference. And actually, I felt pretty immediately relieved to NOT have a car here. The parking and the tickets and the driving in traffic and the worrying about the car and the insurance...once that was gone, it was like I realized for the first time how much it all weighed on me--not to mention the guilt of driving a car in the first place. When my car died, it was actually incredibly liberating. I totally recommend it!

Then you just get in the mindset of not having a car. Everyone will be shocked, over and over again, when you tell them you don't have one, but after awhile all your friends will get used to it and will offer you rides when you are going to similar places. Also, not having a car provides an amazing excuse for not doing shit you don't want to do.

One thing: I bet Atlanta is just as horrendously car-culturey as LA in terms of how much people loathe pedestrians and cyclists. So be super, super careful when biking around. These people in LA, I swear to god they would ENJOY killing me. I've developed a complex about the crosswalk right by my house. People actually SPEED UP when I'm trying to use it. And then they'll even honk or flip me off. A legal crosswalk! "It makes you want to sacrifice yourself just to ruin their life," said Andrew, which is a terrible sentiment but I admit to having felt it. The thing about being car-less in a shitty city like LA (or Atlanta, I assume) is that you have to be monumentally defensive, much more so than in Portland (in my opinion, having biked/walked in both). So be careful, careful, careful. Assume every single person in every single car hates your guts and/or doesn't see you at all.

Maybe this is not helpful but I just wanted to give some solidarity as a fellow car-less huge-metropolis-dweller!!

YOU CAN DO IT!

Thanks guys! Aside from everyone trying to kill me, I'm pretty pumped to get a bike. I'll let you know how it goes.

Fair warning to bikers. The police have set up sting operations right off broadway before the broadway bridge off flint and off broadway when you turn on Williams. They are waiting for you to blow past stop signs whether there are cars or not. This is a pretty high bike traffic area so they are loading up on tickets. The tickets are for $245. I haven't been biking that much in town but as a general rule most bikers don't stop at stop signs right?

I got a ticket last friday coming home. Not sure if this is a reaction to anything but be on the look out. Are there other intersections to look out for?

It's in the news:

Oregonian:

For the second day in a row, Portland Police officers swarmed a popular cycling thoroughfare during the morning commute, issuing warnings to cyclists for traffic violations.

yeah i wish i got a warning.

zing!

(NO PUN INTENDED!)

OK, that was quick. Here are my Atlanta colleague's responses:

1. What neighborhood do you live in? That will help him give you a reading on how easy or hard the carfree life will be.

2. Bike shop recommendations: The best local shop for commuting and transportation is Intown Bicycles on Monroe Dr near Piedmont Park. They're good people. There's a great volunteer bike co-cop/bike "kitchen" called SOPO in East Atlanta Village, near the corner of Glennwood and Flat Shoals -- they're the only folks in town who do used bikes.

3. You can get maps from the Atlanta Bicycle Campaign: www.atlantabike2.org

4. That's also the place for you to find out about commuter breakfasts, bike skills courses, and other resources. You may want to become a member. He says you can always just stop by the office to chat or ask questions.

There's also a low-key social riding group called the Intown Touring Club that's friendly to new riders. He says, "I think we're similar to an Urban Adventure League or something like that in Portland."

PICS PLEASE

Profile:



Awesome rear water bottle holder mount (3 total):



This bike was meant to go so fast. Like 60 mph fast (the frame builder, Skip Hujsak, built the fastest bike in the world, which went 153 mph like 20 yrs ago...drafting behind a racecar)...look how big of a chain ring would be needed to reach the front derailleur braze-on:



Also note the sexy asymmetrical rear dropout.

Front:



I love it so much. It is scary fast. I dont know how to describe it really, but it feels like the bike is going to leave you behind? So comfy too.
Retired frame builder is mailing me new decals for free soon!

No way you're going to have to pay that ticket. They should offer you the chance to take a $35 share the road class instead.

John, you live in the roughest part of town for bike theft in a city that is one of the worst in the country for bike theft. You have a nice bike. Maybe you should bring it inside at night.

John, what was your ticket for? That's harsh...

Important to remember, your bike is pretty cool. :)

Also, Tim--your bike looks rad.

i got a ticket for running a stop sign.

i noticed since the sting that still almost no one stops at the stop signs they had the sting at. i really don't see this becoming effective until everyone has gotten a ticket.
And yes there was an option to take a sharing the road class for $30 that meets once a month at Emmanuel Hospital. I let you know how it goes.

Thanks as always for the advice Jessica.

Mike gave me his big-ass light that he wasn't using. Thankfully I know the thing about not leaving lights on my bike.

Also, Josh made sure to impart the wisdom of using the flashing feature so people can notice you more, and you save on batteries too.

Oh yeah, and Josh has an expensive but totally awesome generator hub lighting system on his bike. My brother built it for him. It's much better than those simple generators that are just a cylinder against your wheel--those guys have a lot of drag. Josh says this one has almost no drag.

Hey guys, I am going to copy over stuff from the former UHX bike thread, so it has a permanent home. Ignore if you've read it before.

New topic: classes and rides to get you started and help you feel more confident.

Flat repair and basic maintenance classes are offered by River City Bikes and Bike Gallery (and probably others too) and the BTA offers free legal clinics and Commuting 101 workshops. The Bicycle Repair Collective on Belmont has a super-ugly website but can teach you to look after your bike, as can the Bike Farm and North Portland Bike Works (including a women/trans night). If you want one-on-one tutoring, try Gracie's Wrench.

Josh found a cool thing: Bike Gallery has a one-on-one "Urban Cycling Consult" service they offer to help get beginning cyclists up to speed. Get a buncha tips and guidance, or a ride-along with an experienced cyclist, or maintenance training, or any other expertise you want to glean from their "commuting experts". Neat service!

The City of Portland has fantastic summer programs too, including rides and classes with Portland by Cycle rides and the Women on Bikes program.

Helmets!

All helmets are equal in terms of head protection as long as they are SNELL or ANSI certified (which all real helmets are). With more expensive helmets, you're paying more for style and vents and features like adjustability.

I like to buy whatever one is on sale at REI or the Bike Gallery. Usually you can get one for around $35.

Seems like time for some more info...here are some good tutorials, with photos:

How to carry stuff by bike

How to make a left turn

How to use hand signals

Oh, and follow J.John's good example, and get fenders for your bike! In rainy Portland they're an essential accessory...especially if you don't fancy a gritty skunk stripe up your back.

I did it! I bought a bike:



As freddy suggests in the Flickr comments, I still need a rack for the back, which should be able to do double-duty as a fender. I also want to get a pair of smoother tires.

I went to Sopo bikes, which freddy and some locals recommended, and they taught me to patch and change a tire, and some basic maintenance stuff. Awesome dudes.

I took it for a spin to the grocery store last night. Not a long trip, but I successfully brought home a messenger-bag-load of groceries.

Thanks everyone for the help and advice!

Cool thing that happened:

Laura and I were going to her brother's house to hang out on Saturday night. We rode for a while then hopped on the bus. Our bikes were on the front rack of the bus. When the bus stopped at Santa Monica and Vermont a ton of people were getting on. We saw some other dudes with bikes standing over by the front. All of a sudden Laura yells "he's taking my bike." This guy took the bike of the front of the bus and started riding down Vermont towards LA City College. So I ran out of the bus and chased him. I chased him about 4 blocks and then he darted across the street into the Family Arcade. I caught him in the back parking lot and confronted him. I told him to give the bike back. Then the arcade people locked us in the parking lot. The gates were like 12 ft tall. The guy gave me back the bike and hopped the gate while the arcade people were calling the cops. The guy's story was that he thought the bike was owned by a guy who owed him a lot of money. He was saying that he thought I was the guy chasing him and he was intending to beat the guy up in the parking lot. He was sort of confused or freaked out when he saw I was a white guy. Or he said so several times. When I finally got back up to the corner where Laura was, he was standing with her apologizing and talking about killing the guy who owed him money. He was saying "that's how it is out here."

Point of the story: I can run down any man on a bike. Also, I'm a badass.

Cool tip: Lock your back wheel to your frame when putting your bike on the bus. That way no one can ride off with it. They will have to carry it and will be much easier to catch.

Oh, good point! Bikes on TriMet:

You may bring your bike on TriMet at all times for no extra charge. Thanks, TriMet!

TriMet general bike rules & guidelines here.

BUS:I know it can be intimidating to put your bike on the rack for the first time. The newer (heh, for the last 7 years or so!) racks are much better and quite intuitive to use. Here's a step-by-step guide, with photos. TriMet just told me that there is a practice rack in the PSU information center (in the Urban Center plaza) and the Community Cycling Center. Alternately, you may just try biking slowly up the bus mall or a transit center until you find a bus that’s on a break, and ask the driver if you can practice. The BTA assures me that they always say yes.

You may not bring a bike into the bus if the rack is full; you have to wait for the next bus. (Unless you have a folding bike.)

MAX: There are 4 hooks in each car; if these are free, you are good to go. Hang your bike (yes, this can take some practice, but it is a huge improvement over the old no-hook system). You may have to ask people to move, but new signs support your right to do that.

If there are no hooks free, TriMet policy says you may still bring your bike on MAX as long as you put it in a designated area (handicapped area; you must yield to disabled passengers), however, TriMet security seems to have some problems remembering this policy. So, really, it's just better if you can score a hook.

Also, if you regularly commute and want to leave your bike at a stop, look into the TriMet locker program. There may be a big waiting list, but it's worth a try.

Finally, the good/bad news is that both TriMet and bicycling are seeing HUGE increases in riders over the last couple of years, and this summer is even crazier. That's great because it means all those people aren't in cars, but it means that competition for available bike rack and MAX hook space is getting pretty fierce. It's likely that TriMet will have to make some kind of policy shift in the next few years related to bikes on transit. More info:

http://bikeportland.org/2008/06/10/trimet-releases-bikes-on-max-survey/
http://bikeportland.org/2008/05/29/trimet-grapples-with-bike-capacity-issues-on-max/

Hanging out on top of the Fremont Bridge is so excellent. Honestly, a highlight every year. This year I opted out of Bridge Pedal -- I had personally gotten tired of it, and then the last two years were just awful in terms of crowds and bottlenecks. But I'm glad to hear it went well.

Hey, speaking of ... well, actually, apropos of nothing, please be aware that PoPo is actively enforcing the cyclist exclusions in the Rose Quarter Transit Center. I advise you to avoid it for the time being, or if you ride through it, watch for the fuzz. They've stepped up enforcement primarily because, with the Steel Bridge MAX closure, there are 100 more buses every day in the TC, not to mention all the additional pedestrians and cyclists who would normally be on the MAX. More on that on the BTA Blog and Bikeportland.org.

That's the bad news. The good news is that the Rose Quarter will soon, very soon, be fixed for bikes! For good! They're planning to put a "new, two-way, green-colored bike lane (6 feet wide in each direction) on the west side of NE Wheeler Ave. from N. Multnomah St. to N. Interstate Ave" in addition to new signs and traffic signals. More on that, again, on the BTA Blog and Bikeportland.org. I have been biking in this town for over a decade, and the Rose Quarter has always rankled...but honestly, I never thought TriMet would fix it. I'm thrilled, and astonished.

So last night I went to my optional Share the Road class at Emanuel Hospital. Not as painful as I thought it would be. The room was completely packed. I got there right on time as they said they wouldn't allow people to come in late but I did see people come in after me. There were presentations put on by a Judge, Trauma Nurse, Traffic Police Officer, The Willamette Pedestrian something, PDOT, and BTA. The speakers were pretty great. You could tell they all had a passion for their respective vocation and wanted to pass on helpful information. I mean I don't think i would have gone voluntarily but I felt smarter coming out. Though I can't say I am going to stop at every stop sign. So anyway pretty cool class the officer was the funniest and made me understand that there are some complete idiots out there and even as a responsible driver/cyclist it is important to understand the rules of the road if only to look out for them and in turn be able to protect myself. The judge was a little heavy handed but you could tell he was an avid cyclists and believed in the class. The pedestrian video that was shown had a clip of jessica on it.
So other being out $30 it wasn't so bad. They even sold bike lights for below cost so I picked up one for me.

it wasn't officer pickett. I don't remember his name. He had a pretty dry sense of humor that cops have but are usually aimed at you and the ticket they are about to write so often it falls on to an unappreciative audience. Anyway so that isn't the end of the story. I go to the courthouse this morning as I have an 8:30 court time. Not surprising the courthouse has very few places to lock your bike to but I still get there at about 8:05 and the doors open at 8. So I go stand in the traffic line that is already pretty long. As I start to reach the end which is about 45 minutes later two guys try to cut in line. They start talking to someone they obviously don't know and it appears that nothing is going to be done. So luckily a police officer walks by and and the whole crowd chimes in and they successfully get sent back to the end of the line. Finally some justice. So we start to discuss our common injustices and everyone has their theory on how they plan to get out of it. Some people were not given the option to take the class and are finding out about it. They seem pretty pissed as I could imagine. I didn't tell work I would be late because I thought I would just show the person at the counter my completion certificate and be on my way. The lady at the counter says I have to actually go to court and present it. So I end up in traffic court and this elderly judge comes in unannounced and puts on his robe and explains the procedure on how we were to plead. It is 9:15 at this point and I tried to call work but you can't call out of the court house for some reason. Also we wait about 10 minutes while the judge and the clerk attempt to move the big chair that the judge does not like to another place and move a much smaller chair for him to sit on. It turns out that more than one person from my class is there and the first person is told that he has to set a court date where he has to show the certificate to the officer. Unless the police officer has written on the ticket that he has offered the class as an option the judge wants to set another court date. So it is finally my turn and I don't have a note and even though 4 people have come up with certificates I am sent to schedule a court date. What a great system we have.