Arabia-to- Panola Mtn Midday Bicycle Outing + Optional Picnic

IN A NUTSHELL:  Celebrate the return of fall by joining us for this leisurely 2- to 3-hour bicycling outing on the beautiful paved trail that connects Davidson-Arabia Mountain Nature Preserve and Panola Mountain State Park.  Our parking lot for the ride is about a half hour drive east of downtown Atlanta via I-20 and about 15 minutes from the east-side I-20/I-285 interchange (see directions below).  We'll have free parking at the preserve's Nature Center.
  The trail is 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 please join us.
  Everyone is encouraged to bring a picnic lunch and an iced-down drink or two in a small cooler or bag, which we can leave in our vehicles during our ride.  After the ride we'll gather for about a half hour in the shady picnic area near our vehicles to enjoy and share our picnic items and refreshments.

WHEN & WHERE?  We’ll gather with our bikes at 10:00 AM at the Nature Center's bulletin board kiosk—detailed directions below. Look for me, Charlie, wearing my green & white Atlanta Outdoor Club T-shirt, blue-green helmet, and with my grey "Marin" road bike.

EVENT PLAN:  After introducing one another and making sure our bikes are trail-ready we’ll depart from the Nature Center kiosk at about 10:15 AM and head SW via the "Arabia Mountain" paved trail to Panola Mtn State Park.  We'll stop occasionally to regroup and to enjoy and photograph the scenery and wildlife.  Feel free to split from our group whenever you like, but please let me know if and when you’re splitting.
   We'll return back to the Arabia Nature Center via the same trail and expect to ride only about 15 miles total, but en route may explore a couple of the short connecting spur trails.  After our optional picnic at the Arabia Nature Center (roughly 12:30 till 1:00) some of us may wish to ride a bit more or enjoy a little hiking - see below.

POST-PICNIC ARABIA OPTIONS:  Extra-mileage cycling options:  From the Nature Center you can ride northward on the same Arabia Mtn Trail or southward on the "Klondike Spur Trail" which is chiefly a big new boardwalk trail on the opposite side of the road from the Nature Center.  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.

FOR MORE on the ARABIA MTN BIKE TRAIL:  If you're familiar with the Silver Comet Trail (NW of Atlanta) the Arabia Mountain Trail is a similar (though generally hillier) multi-use paved scenic trail about 10 miles in total length and also built to the high standards of the "PATH Foundation."  It extends from the town of Lithonia and Stonecrest Mall on its northern end (near I-20 Exit #74) and Panola Mtn State Park on its southern end.
The below-linked Path Foundation website features downloadable maps of the various paved trails, connecting spurs and parking lots.  The Arabia Alliance website has info on the Davidson-Arabia Mtn Nature Preserve and its programs, hiking trails, etc.
http://pathfoundation.org/trails/arabia-mountain/
http://arabiaalliance.org/explore/plan-your-visit/

RAIN OR SHINE EVENT!  If showers are forecast for a paved-trail ride such as this, we'll normally still go ahead with it, and simply carry lightweight emergency rain gear along.  For AOC events in general, if the event has to be canceled for any reason the leader will normally email everyone by the night before and post "cancelled" beside the event posting on the AOC home page.  

FROM the I-20/ I-285 INTERCHANGE on ATLANTA'S EAST SIDE (This interchange is about 10 miles east of downtown Atlanta):

1.  Proceed eastbound on I-20 about 5 miles (outside I-285 toward Augusta) and exit to your Right at Exit #74 ("Evans Mill Rd/Lithonia").

2.  Take the 1.3-mile-long exit ramp and access road STRAIGHT AHEAD to its end at the second traffic light where Evans Mill Rd crosses underneath I-20.  (AVOID BEARING RIGHT off the ramp at the first "Evans Mill" opportunity!)

3.  Turn Right at the traffic light onto Evans Mill Road and go just 0.1 mile to another traffic light.

4.  At that light continue straight ahead onto Woodrow Drive and continue another 0.8 mile to the stop sign at Klondike Road.

5.  Turn Right onto Klondike Road and in about 1 mile you will pass through a traffic circle at Rockland Road.  Stay on Klondike Road for another 0.25 mile beyond the circle and look for the" Davidson-Arabia Mountain Nature Preserve" nature center on your right.

6.  Turn Right into the Nature Center's gravel parking lot where we can park for free and unload our bikes.

7.  We'll gather with our bikes by the roofed bulletin-board kiosk between the parking lot and the Nature Center building.

FOR a MAP of our DAVIDSON-ARABIA PARKING LOT VICINITY:  Click on the above red "Event Location" icon.  You can also use MapQuest, Google.com/maps, or your vehicle's GPS System for custom directions from your point of origin.  Use as your destination the following Nature Center address or Lat/Lon coordinates:
3787 Klondike Rd, Lithonia, GA 30038
33.6723, -84.1161

Free Event with Free Parking!  Just bring your own bike, helmet & optional picnic lunch.