MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR TIME AT HOME

Get outdoors to spin away some stress on these six bike trails around the metro.

Could getting back on the saddle be the perfect solution to some of your COVID-19 qualms? Well, according to this husband-and-wife cyclist pair, the answer is yes.

“The beginning part of the year started out with so much stress: kids not being in school, families trying to balance and most people avoiding the gyms,” says Kris Dunbar, who owns and operates Aztec Cycles in Stone Mountain, along with his wife, Michelle. “Cycling is something you can do when you need to get out, and you can still socially distance.”

Even in the midst of the pandemic, the couple have witnessed a significant increase in demand for their in-shop and mobile bike shop services, which they say is a result of more people turning to cycling as a means of socially distant exercise and family fun.

“Mentally, it is the best stress reliever you can have,” adds Michelle Dunbar, who has also been helping teach virtual bike courses with the Atlanta Bicycle Coalition. “It clears your mind, and you can enjoy the nature around you. It keeps you emotionally balanced. Personally, it has saved my life.”

Michelle, who underwent surgery for congestive heart failure years ago, says cycling was key in restoring her heart health. With a slow return and gradual modifications, she’s now able to enjoy long rides with her husband and kids — sometimes even as far as 40-mile outings. And her cardiologist praises the remarkable difference, too. So for the Dunbars, there’s no better endurance activity that is also fun for all ages, effective against stress and scalable for nearly every fitness level and capability.

The bike shop owners, who service a range of customers from avid mountain bikers and competitive athletes to leisure riders and first-timers (and even some celebrities), say the trick is finding the right space to cycle. And with roughly 600 miles of bike-accessible paths around the metro, there are plenty of places to ride out. So with their help, here are a few great trails to hit around the city.

Above: Bill Clineburg bikes on the Silver Comet Trail Connector in Smyrna in March. CHRISTINA MATACOTTA / FOR THE AJC Top: Cyclists cruise along the Beltline past a mural under Virginia Avenue. BEN GRAY / FOR THE AJC 2015

JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM The Atlanta Beltline’s Eastside Trail (above) is more popular, but the Dunbars of Aztec Cycles recommend the 3-mile Westside Beltline route as more kid-friendly since it’s relatively flat and usually far less populated than the Eastside Trail. The Beltline boasts public artworks, open green spaces and 33 miles of mixed-use trails.

CONTRIBUTED Kris and Michelle Dunbar of Aztec Cycles say demand for their in-shop and mobile bike shop services has increased since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.