Some of us didn't dodge the rain on the way in to meet at the shop, but the ride from the shop to the distillery was graced with clear skies!! The ride consisted of leaving from the Spindle ( you gotta pregame whiskey with beer, right?!?) and highlighted the unfinished part of the Beltline. The trail portion on the south side of Piedmont Park is hard packed dirt and gravel but as it extends past the backside of Ansley Shopping Center, it's riding along abandoned railroads on top of plum-sized, granite stones. 

After pushing through the large, loose gravel we were rewarded with the sweet smell of mash as we rolled into the bustling distillery. Greeted at the door by Chad who graciously dialed us into the goings on of the distillery that day. The days activities included tasting their line of aged and unaged whiskeys and a new apple brandy utilizing apples from Mercier Orchard in North GA, a tour of the Distillery with hospitable owner, Charlie Thompson and S'MORES!!!! My sweet tooth and whiskey tooth were in heaven! 

After sipping whiskey by the outdoor fire pit with our judgemental palettes, exchanging anecdotes with distiller Justin Mangalitz and his Red Man belt buckle he's had since middle school (arguably longer) and a group photo we were off to explore some new construction and back down the rough terrain that we love so much.

Look for rad new releases from American Spirit Whiskey ( www.americanspiritwhiskey.com/ ) later this year and be on the lookout for our next pursuit of "Gettin' Toasty!"

Rapha, a name synonymous with roadies, spandex, tights, and..well, you get the idea. However, they've started to sneak in a couple of commuter friendly offerings over the past few years; from sleek button ups to jeans, they've been tossing us commuters a bone here and there, and the bone landing at our feet was the Merino Button up.

The shirt has no pockets, more of a dress shirt in disguise with a basic flat front. This minimalist look is in line with Rapha's other commuter designs where they are very well thought out, straight to the point designs. Which is a nice change of pace from some other gear you'll find and keeps your wardrobe diverse.

In the past we've tested other 100% merino shirts, and over time they tend to wear holes after continuous use, not the case here, the merino has held up very well for over a year of commutes, long day rides, as well as a few hikes. The shirt gets softer as well, but doesn't sag as other merino shirts may do.

The Rapha team added some nylon on the shoulders, which beads water during a light sprinkle. If you get caught in a heavier rain, you'll at least have piece of mind when your shirt is soaked but you are warm and toasty until you reach your destination, and as merino does, it dries pretty quickly.

The shirt is solid, it's no frills, as most commuter shirts have pockets on the chest or on the lower back, Rapha keeps it simple, it's a great layering piece that does a great job of keeping your core warm, and when coupled with a wind/waterproof jacket, you'll find yourself reaching for it often in various weather.

As most cyclists have learned, riding in your run-of-the-mill cotton shorts can be fine, but after a few longer rides you can start to feel that seat start to wear, then more rides are taken and you're basically either back at the store or cutting off another pair of pants that probably didn't deserve it at the time!  This is a cyclists dilemma, Is it possible for me to continue cycling without having to: A. Spend tons of cash a year barreling through casual cotton shorts, or B. Break down and just buy a kit, and just have a change of clothes in a bag.  Well as a teacher who's life didn't go as planned and always liked throwing curve balls on pop quizzes and will ever-test your mental limits, the answer for those questions is, C. Buy Swrve durable cotton shorts.

I know what you're going to ask, "Why Spindlero, you just said cotton was a horrible monster to ride in, all you did was throw the word 'Durable' in front of it, what is this chicanery?!?!"  Well the Swrve team has developed a tough, resistant-abrasion cotton with an added 4-way stretch that allow superior movement that can handle light city rides with ease, but these baddies really shine on longer rides.

I received my pair in October of 2013, having already had the regular cotton shorts from Swrve, I was interested to see what additions/upgrades had been made.  So I met up with some buddies and took a 35 miler ride keeping it around 15-20 mph.  After a 30 minute break-in period the shorts really let loose, the stretch on these are amazing!  They'll move nicely along with your cadence without rubbing or irritating your skin, and they bounce back into form, there's no droop, no sag in these babies at all, that impressed me the most in the durable cotton material, even after owning them for this long and with continuous riding, the shorts are in the same form as they where when I ripped them out of the packaging!

Swrve has included standard additions that most of their bottoms have, the reflective belt loops for added visibility, the pen holders along both side pockets, the zip pocket, and the phone pocket under the right back pocket.  What I would like to see on these is to deepen the back pockets like the OG cotton shorts Swrve had that you could fit a U-Lock in, the durable cotton's have a pocket sized for a wallet but not really much else.  In the case of the phone pocket, while it holds my iPhone with Speck phone case just fine, I couldn't put it in there while riding, and even while standing the phone will protrude out of the top some, making it easy for those with sticky fingers to swipe it with ease.  It would be cool to maybe widen the phone pocket a little, deepening it slightly so the whole phone fits, and add a zipper/Velcro/button snap for extra security.

These shorts are really great for any conditions, except obviously the freezing cold, (unless your one of those guys that wears shorts all year long...ya crazy!).  They stand up well on those steamy hot days, they remain swamp free and comfortable while they breathe very well.  What I found surprising is how they performed in very strong rains, the shorts on the outside were of course soaked, but none of the water penetrated the material keeping me nice and dry!

But, as in a marriage, you brush the faults to the side and only look at the positives, Swrve has done a remarkable job in not only designing extremely bulletproof material, but making sure Men of all shapes and sizes enjoy them, the cigarette fit for the slimmer gents, the regular fit not only for heftier riders, but also for those with swollen quads from many years of riding, and finally the regular fit trouser shorts, which has a 9" inseam for those who like a little thigh with that biscuit!!  These shorts are not only Spindlero approved, but approved by every single customer that has come into the shop and purchased them, these are a top seller at The Spindle, we've already had people come back in not only to buy more pairs in Swrve's assortment of colors, but also speak of already riding 700+ miles in them without any sign of wear in sight!!

Check out the interview we did with our good friends at RideFixie, we look forward to many more videos from them covering the Atlanta cycing scene!  Check 'em out at www.ridefixie.com

[vimeo http://vimeo.com/84162955]

Recently, Mayor Kasim Reed proposed doubling the miles of bike lanes to Atlanta’s infrastructure in 2014, pushing to keep his goal of making Atlanta a top 10 city for commuter cycling by 2016.  We were inspired to write this post from a recent article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (http://www.ajc.com/news/ap/georgia/atlanta-moves-forward-with-bike-sharing-program/ndFYF/) quoting Atlanta officials wanting to increase the actual cycling community from 1.1% to 2.2%.

Right now, Atlanta’s cycling community is small, but vocal in educating others in the benefits of commuting.  With advocacy groups like The Atlanta Bicycle Coalition and Georgia Bikes! in addition to many volunteers pushing the government for more bike lanes and laws, the seed has not only been planted, but nourished and watered to grow without a glass ceiling in sight.  With a new Bike Share program looking to break ground this summer, many commuters hope to meet many new friends along our current routes!

From time to time we have pedestrians swing by The Spindle with an interest in getting into commuting but all have once similar question:  Aren’t you scared to ride on the main streets?  The answer for us is no, if you can gain confidence riding on main roads like Dekalb ave., Ponce de Leon, or Peachtree St., you can ride anywhere.  But that’s what it really comes down to is confidence. If you can stay to the right, avoid potholes quickly, and obey traffic laws, most drivers will notice and treat a cyclist as traffic, not traffic cones. Sometimes it is better to take main roads. They're wider, you're more visible plus it allows drivers to get used to the fact that there is a growing presence of cyclists.

It’s not only educating cyclists on the how-to’s, but also drivers.  Unfortunately, we live in a society that believes cars are the only mode of transportation that should be on the streets or the age old “Share the road” attitude where they give cyclists 3 inches from the tip of their side mirror. If they are stuck behind a cyclist, drivers must learn it is inherently dangerous to inch by us. If there is the standard 3ft space available, then by all means take it, but when the driver inches by they are putting the cyclist in severe risk.  Drivers need to keep in mind the trechorous road of the city are exponentially worse to a bicycles thin rims and we must avoid potholes just as drivers do. Even more so because they may not only have to pay the cost of a tube, but likely a whole tire or rim and at times those repairs can be costly.

Now, I know some drivers are reading this saying “Well, what about the cyclist who buzz through stop signs, or traffic lights?!?!  They’re causin’ a hulabaloo on their bikes, are they trying to set us back?? What is this the 1850’s?”  Ok, so maybe they don’t talk like that, but I do from time to time!  But they’re right, I see a lot of cyclists flying through lights all the time for absolutely no reason. Once I was driving to Grant Park and 2 cyclist ran a red light while I had a green light, I was going about 35-40 and was literally inches from killing one of them.  I definitely took the time to bark up the guy, in the end all he said was “jeez, I’m sorry” in a very sarcastic tone, what riders don’t tend to realize is that if they get injured or even killed by a driver when they don’t obey traffic laws it causes serious trauma for the driver that could stay with them for the rest of their life.  If we want respect on the roads we need to earn it as well.

We've had our fair share of run ins with angry pedestrians and drivers. The best thing to do is to keep calm and refrain from cussing up a storm. Some people understand reasoning and rationale, but others will take all their aggression for cyclist out on you. People like this are difficult to please and as much as you want to punch them through the face, you must walk away. Not to be a coward, but for people to realize that not all cyclist are maniacal. Sometimes we make mistakes but the result of our mistakes can possibly be our lives.

Police training on bike laws has definitely increased and needs to continue growing. As cyclist, stories and experiences with police have become more commonplace. And since recently being pulled over for lack of lights or traffic violations, we still appreciate the recognition. With cyclist becoming more cognizant of traffic laws, officers should acknowledge and protect at risk cyclist from aggressive drivers. If an officer sees someone driving recklessly close to a cyclist, then that driver should be ticketed severely.  This will spread the word quickly once drivers realize that endangering a rider will get you a hefty fine and hopefully get bike fatalities to nil (oh to dream!).  I believe PSA’s by advocacy groups would help tremendously, along with public forums in all counties to educate drivers and riders alike.

But what can we do to help to increase commuters here in Atlanta?  Most importantly open conversation is key, if you are a daily commuter, talk to your coworkers, friends, and family that live near their jobs and try and persuade them to ride their bikes.  You can point out the health benefits as well as the cost savings commuting by bicycle entails.  Take them on a ride on the beltline, start slow, then take steps onto neighborhood roads, and then once their comfortable, main roads.  Maybe influence your company to offer incentives for those who cycle to work?

Communication with new riders is extremely important, even experienced riders are always finding better routes and educating themselves on the rules of the road.  When rules are learned by new riders they then pass it on to others who they influence to commute, and so on and so on.  This way, they become more active in the community and vocalize our need for better, safer cycling infrastructure for their city.

In addition, social rides like The Mobile Social, Civil Rides, and Critical Mass are great ways to get a new rider comfortable with their surrounding while meeting new people.  Plus, bikes are cheap!  They can run from $50-$5000 based on whatever your needs may be, we definitely recommend you building one up so you can learn the ins and outs of bicycles and can make quick and easy fixes while out on the road.  Learning how to change a tire or make adjustments to your bike in the middle of a ride can save you time and money.

We look forward to seeing you all out on the road soon!

What are your questions/opinions?  Do you live in another city and have any suggestions? Leave your comments below, we’d love to start a conversation!!