Wheels and Heels: BRAG To Pedal Through Decatur

Early Sunday morning, residents of Decatur and Avondale Estates will be able to enjoy a most unusual parade of bicycles.

The 32nd annual Bicycle Ride Across Georgia will bring more than 1,000 cyclists  through Decatur. Sunday is the first day of the annual cross-state bicycle trek, and cyclists will start their day pedaling from Oglethorpe University  to Oxford, where riders will camp at Oxford College of Emory University. Previous BRAGs have passed through our area in 1989, 1993 and 1996.

Most cyclists will come through between 8 and 10 a.m. Although roads may not technically be closed, the sheer number of cyclists on the streets will make driving along the route difficult, at best. Much of the ride will be along the PATH, and there will be a rest stop at Decatur High School.

If you enjoy a parade, you'll enjoy the cavalcade of every imaginable kind of bicycle. You'll see expensive, carbon-frame bicycles, tandem bicycles (i.e. bicycles built for two), a few three-rider bicycles, and some bicycles with an extra wheel, or trailer, on the back. You'll also see some bicycles that look like a lawn chair with wheels;  those are recumbent bikes. Some folks ride adult tricycles.

You'll see all sorts of bicyclists, from elderly men and women to very young children, plump bikers and skinny bikers and everything in between. You'll see bicyclists who pedal with their hands, because they're paralyzed from the waist down, maybe a bicyclist or two with one arm, and several amputee bicyclists who pedal with an artificial leg. But they may go past so quickly you'll miss them.

BRAG counts among its devotees many, many riders from the Decatur and Avondale Estates area, so you may see familiar faces coming down the street. Decatur lawyer Ken Rosskopf serves as BRAG's attorney. Riders love it when folks come out to cheer them on.

Although I won't be riding in BRAG this year, I've pedaled all or part of more than a dozen BRAG rides. BRAG is rather like a combination cocktail party and boot camp on wheels. You'll end the ride in better shape than you started it, but there's so much food out there, you may not lose any weight.

Some participants will be riding as fast as they can, but BRAG is a ride, not a race. Volunteers from Special Olympics Georgia staff rest stops to help raise contributions and to sponsor SOGA riders for the week. Many DeKalb County teens have been part of the Dream Team, which sponsors middle school students with bikes and mentors for the week.

If you can take a few days off, grab a bike, pack a tent and join BRAG. On-site registration is available for the day, the week or half a week. The ride begins at Oglethorpe University, with overnight stops in Oxford, Milledgeville, Dublin (two nights), Metter and Hinesville before ending in Savannah.

Here's a portion of the BRAG Safety Pledge, which offers valuable lessons for riding on the road safely.

• I will ride single file when a car or truck is behind me. 
• I will never ride more than two abreast, in accordance with Georgia law.  I will not be a road hog.  I will yield to riders trying to pass me.
• I will ride as far to the right as practicable, except when making a left turn, or when going straight at a right-turn-only lane.
• I will call out “Car Back” or “Car Up” to riders in front of me.
• I will signal my intentions to riders immediately behind me by calling out:   “Slowing,” “Stopping,” “Turning.”  I will use traffic hand signals when appropriate.
• I will point out road hazards and/or call out to riders behind me:  “Gravel,” “Hole,” “Tracks.”
• I will call out to riders I am about to pass:  “On Your Left,” or “Good Morning.”  I will never pass on the right.
• I will wear my helmet at all times while on my bike.
• I will obey all traffic signs and signals. I will not call out “Clear” at stop signs or red lights.
• I will always ride defensively. I will always be aware of other riders, vehicles and pedestrians near me. I will never assume I know what they are going to do.
• I will use common sense and courtesy toward motorists and other cyclists while I am on my bike.
• I will provide immediate adult supervision to bicycling children under age 16.
• I will not ride before daylight or after dusk unless I have proper lights on my bike, in accordance with Georgia law.
• If I stop for any reason, I will get myself and my bike completely off the road.