I'm outside the perimeter, but I'll toss in a bit of information.
First, I do most of my long rides on the Silver Comet trail. From the 4th Ward, you're only about 10 miles from the Cobb Trailhead (http://www.silvercometga.com/). It's 61 miles from the Cobb trailhead to the state line and is a fully-paved, rails-to-trails with many miles through WMAs and the like. No cars to contend with and, accept for the first 2-3 miles at the start of the trail, very little congestion at all, even on busy weekends in the spring and fall. There are facilities at some of the trailheads and several places in rural areas where there is convenience store within site of the trail. Also, downtown Rockmart (mile marker 37) has a bike-friendly downtown with some food options. If you really want to go long, the Silver Comet trail hits the Chief Ladiga trail at the Alabama line and continues on to Anniston, AL - a total of 99 miles one way. You'll see plenty of cyclists and triathletes on the trail, although as mentioned, there are several sections where you are miles from a trailhead and deep in the woods, if that is a concern for you.
Second, there are the rides near the Budweiser plant in Cartersville. This is about 30 miles from downtown, but with lots of open country, rolling hills (and a few decent little climbs) and mostly-friendly country drivers. The Budweiser plant is quite friendly to cyclists (you can park there) and even hosts a couple of Fondos/Century events each year and there are a variety of common rides there, from 15 miles to 100 or more. You can find more info here: https://rootsrated.com/...d-plant-ride-cycling .
You can ride on the Beltline trail (and it is a great, safe running trail intown) but on spring and fall weekends, it would be impossible to really train there due to the crowds it draws. ( https://beltline.org/visit/trails/ )
Hope this helps you a bit, although it doesn't directly answer all of your questions. I'm just laying down some of my favorites. Oh, and welcome to Atlanta; I think you'll like it.
First, I do most of my long rides on the Silver Comet trail. From the 4th Ward, you're only about 10 miles from the Cobb Trailhead (http://www.silvercometga.com/). It's 61 miles from the Cobb trailhead to the state line and is a fully-paved, rails-to-trails with many miles through WMAs and the like. No cars to contend with and, accept for the first 2-3 miles at the start of the trail, very little congestion at all, even on busy weekends in the spring and fall. There are facilities at some of the trailheads and several places in rural areas where there is convenience store within site of the trail. Also, downtown Rockmart (mile marker 37) has a bike-friendly downtown with some food options. If you really want to go long, the Silver Comet trail hits the Chief Ladiga trail at the Alabama line and continues on to Anniston, AL - a total of 99 miles one way. You'll see plenty of cyclists and triathletes on the trail, although as mentioned, there are several sections where you are miles from a trailhead and deep in the woods, if that is a concern for you.
Second, there are the rides near the Budweiser plant in Cartersville. This is about 30 miles from downtown, but with lots of open country, rolling hills (and a few decent little climbs) and mostly-friendly country drivers. The Budweiser plant is quite friendly to cyclists (you can park there) and even hosts a couple of Fondos/Century events each year and there are a variety of common rides there, from 15 miles to 100 or more. You can find more info here: https://rootsrated.com/...d-plant-ride-cycling .
You can ride on the Beltline trail (and it is a great, safe running trail intown) but on spring and fall weekends, it would be impossible to really train there due to the crowds it draws. ( https://beltline.org/visit/trails/ )
Hope this helps you a bit, although it doesn't directly answer all of your questions. I'm just laying down some of my favorites. Oh, and welcome to Atlanta; I think you'll like it.
Last edited by:
thickasabrick51: Jan 29, 19 7:09