Kirkwood resident Nedra Deadwyler tellingly names June 7 of this year as the birthday of her company, Civil Bikes. It was a day of pop up shopping along Auburn and Edgewood Avenues to celebrate the Atlanta Streetcar route. Like those rails linking Centennial Olympic Park and its Center For Civil and Human Rights to the MLK National Historic Site, her vision is transformational. "My goal is preserving history through tours. It's a passion that pulls many things that I love together. Riding my bike puts me in a good mood automatically, keeps my body healthy and builds relationships with people."
With help from Neil Walker of Cycles & Change, Deadwyler obtained funding for sixty-eight Raleigh Talus mountain bicycles. She then distributed half of that bounty among youth programs in metro Atlanta. The remainder became her business fleet, either for rent or guided tours. "Right now it's Old Fourth Ward and downtown, concentrating on civil rights."
Other days find her studying historic preservation at Georgia State University. "I like to ride downtown on Peachtree Street. Motorists are mindful and don't go that fast. More people are riding and acknowledging one another. A stranger called to me, 'Have a nice ride!' I ring my bell all the time and people ring back." Civil behaviors, indeed.
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