Atlantan Leslie Caceda

Location: Wall Crawler Rock Club

Date taken: September 17, 2012

If you are interested in discovering new parts of Atlanta, Leslie Caceda highly recommends biking to work. As she tries out quicker routes, navigates around road construction and works to avoid automobile traffic congestion, Leslie often stumbles upon new places in city.

“I’m a different person when I bike,” said Leslie. “When I drive to work, I feel myself becoming impatient and angry. But, on the bike, I take more time. I see things I didn’t see before. I actually enjoy getting to work.”

A native of Peru, Leslie spent her teenage years in Newnan, Ga., and then graduated from Wesleyan College in Macon, Ga. Although she fondly recalls the yellow bike of her childhood, Leslie didn’t start seriously cycling until she attended Georgia Tech for graduate school. With the high price of a parking permit and shortage of spaces, Leslie decided it would be more cost efficient and effective to bike to class. She’s been biking around town ever since.

Now, Leslie works as program manager for the Atlanta Bike Coalition. You might find her managing bike valets at Atlanta events, helping teach bicycle safety, demonstrating how to install a bike rack or working with the city’s transportation officials to improve and increase the number of bike lanes. According to a report by the Alliance for Biking and Walking, the number of cyclists in Atlanta increased by 386 percent between 2000 and 2009. Leslie is not only one of those new cyclists, she’s an advocate for all of them.

Interested in biking around Atlanta? Check out the upcoming Atlanta Streets Alive on Oct. 7. There’s also Mobile Social, Heels on Wheels, Java Lords rides, Atlanta BeltLine Bike Tour and lots of events and workshops offered through the Atlanta Bike Coalition.