Tuesday, February 19, 2013
The Decatur City Commission will hold a work session at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, then hold the regular meeting at 7:30 p.m.
The Decatur City Commission will talk about a bike share feasability study during a 6:30 p.m. Tuesday work session. The city has taken steps to encourage cycling, such as creating bike lanes and painting sharrows on streets. Decatur was designated a bike-friendly community in October by the League of American Bicyclists. Bike sharing, according to the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, is "a membership-based system of short-term bicycle rental. Members can check a bicycle out from a network of automated bicycle stations, ride to their destination, and return the bicycle to a different station." Locally, a bike share programs can be found on Georgia Tech’s campus, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Many European …
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Seven months after Paul Taylor was killed in a cycling accident, his widow donated his old hybrid bicycle to become a "ghost bike."
Dave Mathews of Decatur has placed five "ghost bikes" beside roads in Georgia. These are bikes painted white to memorialize cyclists killed on the roadways, usually in collisions with autos. He placed one bike on North Decatur Road in honor of Paul Taylor, who died the morning of April 30 while riding his road bike. Mathews just received a special bike. Taylor's widow, Barbara Taylor, donated his hybrid bicycle to the cause. Patch asked her why she did it. She sent these words by email. I gave the bike to Paul for his 40th birthday. It was the bike he rode on family vacations and around the neighborhood for many years until he became interested in triathlons and upgraded. I have fond memories of both of our girls riding on the back of …
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Avondale Estates teenager has a love affair with wood.
Remember the Patch story about Collin Graver of Avondale Estates, the teenager who built a working bicycle from a single sheet of plywood? He's not standing still, according to 11Alive, the Atlanta television station. The station said, A second generation wooden bike is underway in the basement. "I'm building it out of much higher quality wood and I'm using a different gearing system as well as computer controlled tools. This one has gearing for 18. Who knows if I'll feel safe riding it that fast?" The television report also has good video of Collin riding the bike. His first wooden bike still gets plenty of attention when he rides it down the streets of Avondale Estates. It also earned him an appearance on "Figure It Out" on Nickelodeon.
Sunday, November 18, 2012
CNN used the ride organized by Houndstooth Road bike shop to illustrate the "cycle chic" trend.
Dozens of organized bike rides are held around Atlanta each year, but one that took place in Decatur last weekend caught the attention of CNN. About 70 riders showed up Sept. 11 for the "Tweed and Vintage" ride put together by Houndstooth Road, the bike shop on Church Street in Decatur. Riders were "encouraged to dress in the spirit of the occasion with your finest autumn tweed or vintage looks." The article on CNN noted that Style-themed bike rides are just one way in which advocacy groups are hoping to shed bicycling of its strict association with competitive racing and make it more appealing to casual riders and potential commuters in the United States, especially in communities such as Decatur making bike-friendly strides. Bike …
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
The League of American Bicyclists designated Decatur a Bronze Level bike-friendly community, thanks to bike lanes and other improvements in the city.
The City of Decatur made changes to encourage cycling, and the work paid off. The League of American Bicyclists recently named Decatur a "bike-friendly" city at the bronze level. The Decatur Minute blog on the city webpage noted, Over the past several years, the City of Decatur has added bicycle lanes, bicycle racks, and sharrows. Two new bike stores have opened. and there are group bike rides that occur on a regular basis in Decatur. Bike Valet parking was added to the two major festivals, the Decatur Arts Festival and the Decatur Book Festival. Walking and riding bikes around the city has become more commonplace as people feel safer and more comfortable on their bikes. Decatur is new to the list. Other Georgia cities that previously …
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Taylor, killed April 30 in a cycling wreck in Decatur, was "boss hog" at the Oak Grove United Methodist Church's annual barbecue.
Oak Grove United Methodist Church's annual barbecue will be held Saturday, Oct. 20, but it will go on without chief organizer and "boss hog" Paul Taylor. Taylor, 53, died April 30 after being struck by a pickup truck on North Decatur Road in Decatur. Michelle Hiskey, a writer for the Saporta Report, looked back at Taylor's life in a recent story. To use a bicycling term, most of us draft off neighbors like Taylor. In our hesitation to volunteer, this father of two teenaged daughters and two adult children would have already stepped up to coach the soccer team, go on the mission trip or train for a triathlon. After a work day as a physician’s assistant at Grady Memorial Hospital, his service to others was just getting going. His tough …
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Avondale Cycles sells mostly used and vintage bicycles.
If you have a limited budget but need a bike, consider Avondale Cycles. Benjamin Stimis said 80 percent of his bikes are used or vintage models, many from the 1980s. He purchases used bikes in bulk and Johnny Turner cleans them up and puts them into running condition. About three-quarters of his customers are young women who just need two-wheel transportation, with many hailing from Oakhurst, he said. Men, on the other hand, usually want more mechanically sophisticated bikes. The average price for a used bike is around $150 though some cost several hundred dollars more. He carries one-gear cruisers -- a big favorite during beach season -- but also offers models such as a 1982 Peugot road bike for $299. Stimis, 38, grew up in France and …
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Paul Taylor's wife said he'd taken a position with a pharmaceutical company.
Paul Taylor was primed for a big day on Monday, April 30. After decades as a physician's assistant, he was going to start a new job in the medical affairs department of a Smyrna pharmaceutical company, said his wife, Barbara Taylor. "He had been in a clinical environment a long time and I think he was ready for a change," she said. Paul Taylor's life ended abruptly that morning. The 53-year-old youth soccer coach took a bike ride before dawn and was struck and killed by a pickup truck on North Decatur Road. The wreck left the Taylor family reeling and shook the Decatur area biking community, many of whom reached out to Barbara Taylor. "People came up to me at the funeral and said, 'I didn't know your husband but I'm a cyclist,' " she said…
Stop by the First Christian Church for coffee, pastries or just to see and meet other bike lovers.
May is National Bike Month, and Decatur has sponsored many community events such as the Bike Valet Service at the Decatur Arts Festival. To wrap up the month, Georgia Interfaith Power & Light (GIPL) will hold a Bike for Breakfast event from 7:30 to 10 a.m. Thursday, May 31, in the parking lot of the First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) at 601 W. Ponce De Leon Ave. in Decatur. GIPL will have coffee, pastries, give-aways and a mobile bike repair tent provided by Bicycle South. It's free and the public is invited, whether they're riding a bike or not. GIPL is an interdenominational group that helps religious groups become energy efficient and knowledgeable about natural resources. What have you done to celebrate National Bike Month?
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
This white bicycle can be found close to the location of his fatal accident.
Someone in the biking community has placed a "Ghost Bike" near the site of bicyclist Paul Taylor's fatal accident. According to the website ghostbikes.org, Ghost Bikes are small and somber memorials for bicyclists who are killed or hit on the street. A bicycle is painted all white and locked to a street sign near the crash site, accompanied by a small plaque. They serve as reminders of the tragedy that took place on an otherwise anonymous street corner, and as quiet statements in support of cyclists' right to safe travel. Taylor, a physician's assistant, was killed about 6:20 a.m. April 30 on North Decatur Road in Decatur. Police said a truck struck him near the intersection with Willivee Drive. The truck driver told police it looked like …
Virginia Sowell
10:02 pm on Thursday, November 29, 2012
Barbara's thoughtfulness in this tragedy is remarkable. She is a woman of gracious intelligence. more ›