Rusty Rides: On Two Wheels…The Sights from the Azalea City Trail

On Two Wheels…The Sights from the Azalea City Trail

by Ben Pitchford

Guest Blogger

Pedaling the Valdosta, Georgia’s Azalea City Trail on a May afternoon with temperatures expected to reach triple digits, I had a song that I just couldn’t get out of my head. Robert Earl Keen, talking about the sizzling heat of Arizona, nasaly croons “You can fry an egg out there on the city sidewalk.” A fitting song for this south Georgia scorcher. Sure it would have been more comfortable to travel around town in my car with the air conditioner running full blast. But if I had chosen that mode of transport over my bicycle then I probably wouldn’t have gotten to see the kid in the cul-de-sac trying to fry an egg on the black asphalt. If he had heard my 4000 pounds of German engineering made in Mexico City barreling down his quiet street, he would have scurried to the safety of his yard waiting for me to pass by. From the comfort of my car I never would have seen the yellow yolk sitting atop the black asphalt. The vantage point from my bicycle not only allowed me to see the boy’s experiment in thermodynamics, but allowed me to see so much more.

Driving by at 35 miles per hour with the windows rolled up and the radio on I would have missed the boy’s expression of impatience. The egg was just not frying fast enough for a 10 year old expecting everything to be done at warp speed. I too am accustomed to everything being done instantly, so cruising by on a bicycle helps me to slow down and take it all in. I didn’t smell any roses on the trail today but I did slow down enough to notice that there is more going on along this 2.7 mile trail than I would have ever realized had I driven the same distance in my car.

The Azalea City Trail meanders through Valdosta passing by residential areas, two parks, and the edge of the Valdosta State University campus. I started my ride at my house and pedaled about a mile and half to the eastern end of the trail. I rode the length of the trail and back and then added another mile and half in the neighborhoods between my house and the trail and rode a few more miles in the neighborhoods adjacent to the trail. Only a half mile into the trail I came across an unexpected sight in the large open field of Vallotton Park. While football is king in these parts, cricket apparently is trying to establish itself here. A large group of Indian cricket players, some dressed in the traditional all white uniform, spend Sunday afternoons at Vallotton Park playing their favorite sport. The gyrating motions of the bowler, the swinging of the bat by the batsmen trying to guard the wicket, and the chatter of the fielders in a language I do not understand makes for quite a unique spectacle.

About half way along the trail is beautiful Drexel Park which is full of azaleas and large shade trees. The trail runs along the edge of the park where a group of medieval re-enactors, dressed for the part, where gathering to do battle medieval style. At the other end of the park birds chirped and children laughed as they played chase and swung in the swings. Drexel Park led me onto the Valdosta State University campus. The trail runs along the edge of campus but it’s enjoyable to hop off the trail for a spin through the heart of campus. Lush lawns, Spanish mission style architecture, fountains, and large oak trees provide a beautiful back drop from atop a bicycle that motorists zooming down Patterson Street often fail to notice. After riding through campus the trail traverses a wooded area with a babbling brook providing a soothing symphony for the rider.

Slow down, take your time, enjoy the sights, listen to the sounds, and say hello to the kid frying an egg on the street. This is hard to do from behind the wheel of our cars. Just getting out of our cars, which we are often so attached to and dependent upon, and taking in the sights and sounds from a slower pace atop a bicycle makes for a nice ride on the Azalea City Trail.