Thu, Apr 26 2012 - Urban Bike Adventure + Jazzfest (View Original Event Details) Trip Leader(s): Amy, John L Participants: Amy, John L, Charles W, Christie D, Vitorita2, Carl J, Stan, Stacey Johnson, John Christopher, Lisa Maldonado, Jaime

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Tonight's Urban Bike Adventure, led by Amy Amy and John LaBelle, took a group of 10 AOC bikers through East lake, Oakhurst and Kirkwood, wrapping up for a nice evening of Jazzfest in Oakhurst Village. All-in-all, this inaugural bike ride was a huge success!

Atlanta traffic and the weather fully cooperated with us, as we started the event on time and got through the ride quickly and safely. The bike tour started off at John's house in East Lake. From there, it was a ride of a couple of miles into the historic Agnes Scott College where we stopped at the very well hidden Bradley Observatory. This functional planetarium and observatory is open to the public for special occasions and is situated on a hill, offering a spectacular view of the college and athletic field. From there, we strolled through Agnes Scott, then made our way to the bustling Oakhurst District...a taste of the Jazzfest yet to come!

Next we made a stop in Bessie Branham Park, a central focal point of Kirkwood. The Kirkwood Neighborhood Association holds monthly meetings here, and in addition, many youth clubs enjoy this extremely large and roomy park for baseball, basketball, tennis and more. The annual Kirkwood Spring Fling Festival is also held here. Our next stop took us through the heart of Kirkwood, down Hosea Williams Drive, then over to the historic and beautiful Pullman railyard, where John gave us a brief history lesson of this impressive facility and described his sighting of Dennis Quaid at Fox Bros BBQ, who was in the area a few years ago while filming scenes from "Footloose" inside the main warehouse.

Finally, we headed back to John's house, but not before stopping by a few wonderful homes with unique architecture and riding by the old East View Cemetery. We re-convened, changed clothes, secured our bikes then headed over to the Oakhurst village where we sat and enjoyed a nice, relaxing evening of music, food and drinks on the lawn of the Scottish Rite with the sounds of Latin Jazz in the background. A few brave souls, including the trip leaders, attempted to Salsa dance to the fast rhythm of the band Salpicon!

At the end of the night, new friends were made and we all headed home with smiles on our faces, looking forward to the next Urban Bike Adventure!