Spring Tune-Up Bike Ride at Beautiful Arabia Mountain

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Spring Tune-Up Bike Ride at Beautiful Arabia Mountain

The Basics:

Event Type:

Bike

Event Location:

Nature Center at Arabia Mtn, 20 mi E of Atlanta

Date(s) & Time:

Sun, Mar 7 2010 12:45 pm >> N/A

Registration Opens:

Thu, Mar 4 2010 10:00 am

Registration Cut Off:

Sat, Mar 6 2010 10:00 pm

Event Duration:

2.5 Hours (+ longer options if you prefer)

Difficulty Rating:

D2: Easy to Moderate

Trip Leader(s):

Charlie Cottingham

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Member Cost:

None

Participant Info:

Who's Invited:

Members Only, 21 And Older Only

Maximum Group Size:

Minimum Group Size:

Number Registered So Far:

14 / 0 (To see who's signed up, log in to the Member Area)

Are Dogs Permitted:

Itinerary:

OVERVIEW: The weather is shaping up nicely for a sunny springlike Sunday afternoon—a perfect time for a "tune-up" bicycle ride suitable for riders of all experience levels and bikes of all styles. If you have (or can borrow) a road-style bike or mountain bike or perhaps an inexpensive “hybrid,” by all means dust it off, pump up those tires, and join us this Sunday for a leisurely 2.5-hour ride (or longer if you prefer!) on the beautiful paved trails in and around the Davidson-Arabia Mountain Nature Preserve just a few minutes east of Atlanta.
If you're familiar with the Silver Comet Trail northwest of Atlanta, the Arabia Mountain Trail is a similar multi-use paved scenic trail about 20 miles in total length built to the high standards of the "PATH Foundation." It extends from the town of Lithonia and Stonecrest Mall on its north end (both just off I-20 Exit #74) and Panola Mountain State Park on its south end.

WHERE & WHEN: We’ll gather with our bikes at 12:45 PM at the Nature Center -- detailed directions below. Look for me (Charlie) with my bike by the bulletin board kiosk adjoining the free parking lot. I'll be wearing a white Atlanta Outdoor Club T-shirt and white bicycle helmet.

RIDE PLAN: After introducing one another, signing our AOC waiver forms, and making sure that all our bikes are trail-ready we’ll depart the Nature Center at about 1:10 PM and head southward to Panola Mountain State Park and back to the Nature Center via the same route, with perhaps a couple of short spur detours—about 20 miles total. We'll stop occasionally along the route to regroup, adjust clothing and to enjoy and photograph the scenery and wildlife. Feel free to split from the group and head back to the Nature Center whenever you like, but please let Charlie know if and when you’re splitting. For those who want a bit more of a workout after we return to the Nature Center, we can ride northward from the Nature Center to the Stonecrest Mall vicinity and back—about 6 miles extra.

POST-RIDE OPTIONS: After riding if there's enough interest we may regroup for refreshments and a light early dinner at a nearby pub. Another great option, esp. if you haven't been to Arabia Mountain before, is to hike one or more of the scenic free trails which fan out from the Nature Center.

RAIN OR SHINE EVENT! The forecast calls for great weather all weekend, but if things should unexpectedly change for the worse (e.g., high likelihood of strong thunderstorms) I’ll email everyone by Saturday night and post “cancelled” for the event on the AOC website. If there are a few showers we'll plan to ride with rain gear.

FOR a great DOWNLOADABLE MAP of RIDEABLE PAVED TRAILS & CONNECTING ROADWAY LOOPS in the ARABIA MOUNTAIN VICINITY go to:
http://georgiabikes.org/Portals/57ad7180-c5e7-49f5-b282-c6475cdb7ee7/Arabia-Davidson%20Cycling%20Routes.pdf

FOR the PATH FOUNDATION'S official ARABIA MTN TRAIL MAP go to:
http://www.pathfoundation.org/pathfoundationfiles/ArabiaRockdale.pdf

FOR more on the DAVIDSON-ARABIA MOUNTAIN NATURE PRESERVE go to:
http://books.google.com/books?id=wi-aHmpX9xkC&pg=PA217&lpg=PA220&ots=AQW90Onz9D&dq=arabia+%22south+lake+trail%22&ie=ISO-8859-1&output=html

Required Items to Bring:

1) Bring your Bike of course. (Please check it out before the day of the ride to ensure that it’s in good mechanical shape, tires fully inflated, etc.)

2) Plan to wear your Helmet.

3) Hydrate in advance and carry a filled Water Bottle or two (or “Camelbak,” etc).

4) Wear comfortable light-weight tight-fitting Clothing appropriate for the 60-degrees+ weather.

Recommended Items to Bring:
Use our Event Checklists to make sure you have everything you need.

1) Consider attaching a small Pouch-Pannier to your bike seat post with a Spare Tube & light Tool Kit, in case you have a flat-also consider carrying a compact Bike Pump on your bike frame.
2) Consider printing & carrying the GeorgiaBikes.org Trail Map whose link is included above—in case you get separated from the group.
3) If showers are forecast consider carrying some Light-weight Raingear.

How to Get There:

Event Directions:

We’ll meet at 12:45 PM at the Nature Center (north) parking lot of the Davidson-Arabia Mountain Nature Preserve. The detailed directions below begin at the I-20/ I-285 Interchange about 10 miles east of downtown Atlanta. If you prefer to prepare "custom" directions from your point of your departure (e.g., with Google.com/maps) use the following Nature Center address as your destination:
3787 Klondike Road, Lithonia, GA 30038

FROM THE I-20/ I-285 INTERCHANGE on ATLANTA'S EAST SIDE:

1) Take I-20 East about 7 miles and get off to your right at "Evans Mill Road," Exit #74.
2) Turn Right onto Evans Mill Road and go just 0.1 mile to the traffic light.
3) At the light go straight ahead onto Woodrow Drive and continue another 0.8 mile to the stop sign at Klondike Road.
4) Turn right onto Klondike Road go about 1.2 mile to the "Davidson-Arabia Mountain Nature Preserve" Nature Center gravel parking lot on your right (2nd driveway past the caution light at Rockland Rd—the STAR on the map below).
5) Look for me (Charlie) with my bike at the roofed bulletin-board kiosk between the parking lot and the Nature Center building.

Notes:

* We encourage all members to follow our Etiquette Guidelines while participating in AOC events.

Cost Includes:

Free Event with Free Parking! Just bring your own bike & helmet.

Cancellation/Partial Attendance: Please review the AOC cancellation policy.