Piedmont Park Bike Tour and Picnic with Touch the Earth

On Wednesday, April 23rd, GSU hosted seven students on our 10-mile Piedmont Park Picnic and Bike Tour! I was joined by Daniel, TTE’s road biking expert, for the entire trip, and our boss Hailey met us at the park to join in the fun.

We kicked off the tour at Touch the Earth and biked down the road to the Atlanta BeltLine—a former railway corridor turned multi-use trail that winds through the heart of the city. From there, we rode just under five miles to Piedmont Park, a beautiful and iconic green space located right in the center of Atlanta.

At the park, Hailey greeted us with a picnic lunch featuring a charcuterie-style spread of fruit, veggies, chips, dip, and more. Originally, this trip was planned as a collaboration with the Comic Book Club, but some last-minute changes meant that we opened most of the spots to other GSU students. Fortunately, two Comic Book Club members were still able to join us!

When we arrived, the pavilion was occupied, so we threw down a tarp and made ourselves comfortable on the grass. Over lunch, we shared conversations about classes, hobbies, sports, city living, our opinions on exercise, and the feasibility of commuting by bike. Some students lived on campus, while others, like me, commuted in from farther away. Our group was wonderfully diverse, and it was amazing to hear so many different perspectives and lived experiences.

I loved leading this trip because it was a great reminder of how many hidden gems exist around our city, and how infrastructure like the BeltLine makes it safer and more enjoyable to recreate outside, even in a big urban setting like Atlanta.

The weather was a bit of a gamble: the forecast had predicted heavy rain, but luckily it only started to drizzle at the end of our picnic. After we finished eating, we biked around Piedmont Park for a bit before hopping back on the BeltLine to return to the Rec Center. About ten minutes into the ride, thunder and lightning suddenly rolled in! We raced to take cover under a pavilion outside Ponce City Market and waited about fifteen minutes for the storm to pass. Once it cleared up a bit, we hopped back on our bikes and made a quick dash back to GSU—just in time, because it started pouring about a minute after we arrived!

This was a fantastic trip that showed all of us how feasible and fun commuting and moving around the city by bike can be. It also introduced some students to the BeltLine, which is a perfect spot for walking, biking, or running right near campus. Plus, TTE rents out bikes at very affordable rates, making it even easier for our student body to get outside and explore!

This was our final National Park Trust outing of the semester. Thank you to everyone who made this a fantastic semester and an amazing year overall!