Chamblee54

Atlanta Streets Alive happens three Sunday afternoons every year. A street is closed to motor vehicles, and taken over by bicycles, rollerbladers, strollers, feet, and paws. PG usually walks with Uzi, but he was not available. PG had always wanted to take his bike down, and ride at the event. After determining that the rain was going to go elsewhere, PG rode up to the Chamblee marta station.
The first breeze card machine was not working, and the delay was enough to miss the first train. After standing next to his bike, and holding it upright on the train, PG arrived, at 5 points station, at 5:06 pm. It was a teaching moment. The bike got caught in the fare gate. Fortunately, the marta lady came to the rescue. She made the helpful suggestion to use the handicapped gate next time.
Riding through the Aquarium district, surrounded by hundreds of bicycles, was glorious. Once you got into the pre-gentrified part of Marietta Street, there was a semi-circle of people singing acapella, with a young man singing lead in the front. A brick warehouse church was inviting people to renew their wedding vows. On the return ride, a person in front of the church invited people to take a survey. “Tell us where you came from, we have candy.”
It started to be less fun at a couple of choke points. At the Howell Mill split, and at 14th Street, there were too many people to ride through. You had to crawl through a few feet at a time, always looking out for others. A jazz band was playing beside a building, and if you wanted to take pictures in front, you had to squeeze through as best you could.
At 6:40 pm, Chattahoochee Avenue was reached. This was the end of the course. After a little bit of the return ride, there was a table. People were writing free poems, custom designed for your prompt. PG contributed a haiku: free poems on demand, give us a few minutes now, only need a topic.
After a few minutes on the return ride, PG realized he was not having fun anymore. He was tired and hungry. The crowded spots were a pain to navigate. People took it upon themselves to carry portable music players, adding to the overall noise level. All purpose grumpiness was setting in. Will PG go to the next event, scheduled for Peachtree Road on October 25? He probably will, and might even bike again. He has learned to use the handicapped gate, and the station elevators. PG will also know to continually save the document, when working on the blog report of this event. A storm knocked out a better version of this report. PG has written about ASA before.