Ride the silver comet

Southern Living, Apr 2001 by Vanhooser, Cassandra M

Pedal a bike on paved trails where trains once roared.

Don't let me go, Daddy!" shouts Fallon Prigmore as her father, Dave, trots alongside her bike on the Silver Comet Trail near Hiram, Georgia.

Fallon pedals furiously, but she is not yet ready to assert her independence. That day will come soon enough, but for now, Dave supports his daughter.

Perfect for cyclists, pedestrians, skaters, and equestrians, the Silver Comet Trail begins in Smyrna, just northwest of downtown Atlanta. It ambles through Powder Springs, Hiram, Dallas, and Rockmart, and ends at the Alabama state line west of Cedartown. There the 57-mile Silver Comet links with Alabama's 33-mile Chief Ladiga Trail, providing a paved path from Anniston, Alabama, to Smyrna.

The Silver Comet crosses towering railroad trestles and burrows through tunnels as it follows the path of the old Seaboard Air Line Railroad. The trail takes its name from the Silver Comet train that once provided service from Atlanta to Birmingham and other eastern seaboard destinations.

"It's the neatest thing in the world," says Ed McBrayer, executive director of the PATH Foundation, which has helped build the trail. "It has become a gathering place for all kinds of people."

Indeed. Today the trail is as crowded as a mall at Christmas. Moms push strollers; spandex-clad joggers pound the pavement; teenagers swoosh by on in-line skates; even a set of twin boys ride a neon blue, ultramodern version of a bicycle built for two.

Ed smiles at the sight. He moved to Atlanta from Colorado, where there are generous green spaces for outdoor recreation. Tired of riding on overcrowded highways, he and some friends started the PATH Foundation. The organization's first 18-mile trail runs from Atlanta to Stone Mountain, and there are plans in the works for others around the state.

"In urban areas, the trail is used as an alternate transportation system," says Ed, who often sets off on his bike to supervise the ongoing construction. But these rails-to-trails projects also reinforce the ideal of a neighborhood and renew the sense of community.

Villa Rica resident Beth Messer seems to agree. She brings her nieces here often. As noon approaches, the trio stops near a bench atop a gentle knoll, and Beth unpacks a picnic. "We're spending some quality family time together," says Beth. "I don't get to see the girls all that much."

"And we're staying healthy and using our muscles," Megan volunteers.

The girls swing their legs and munch on sandwiches. They watch as butterflies dance in a nearby meadow and a timid black-and-white rabbit nibbles at the shoots of the tender spring grass.

"This is a great way to spend a Saturday, isn't it, girls?" Beth asks. Megan and Tuesday smile and nod as they push their bikes back out onto the trail.

Cassandra M. Vanhooser

The Silver Comet Trail is a project of the PATH Foundation. For more information contact P.O. Box 14327, Atlanta, GA 30324; (404) 875-7284 or www.pathfoundation.org.