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Cooler weather means, for some, time to dust off the bicycle and embark on a fall colors ride.
But for others, particularly the year-round enthusiasts, it is time to slow the pace but stay conditioned for warmer days ahead.
Some folks see fall "as an opportunity to ride," said Steven McNeilly, who belongs to area bicycling group ISI Cycling, "(while) others are starting to shut it down for the wintertime, and they pick it back up in the spring."
Year-round cyclists engage in "base-building rides" over the winter, he said.
"We slow our pace, we do longer mileage, but we don't really hit it as hard, and we try to build that base mileage up so that we can really come out of the spring with a good season."
Mike Bennett, owner of Adventure Cycles in Flowery Branch, said he has seen that cycling picks up in the fall.
"Enthusiasts ride through the hot weather, but people who just ride for recreation and get a little bit of exercise will generally ride when it's better weather conditions, better temperatures," he said.
"A lot of people take bikes with them camping and ride (at places such as) Cades Cove (valley in Tennessee) or something like that," Bennett said. "And then, a lot of people ride their bikes up in the mountains."
McNeilly mentioned many local spots toward the mountains.
"Rides up in the mountains, up in the gaps, like north of Hall County, up in Dahlonega and Cleveland, become attractive," McNeilly said.
With many cyclists on the roads in fall, along with motorists out for fall drives, the two groups become especially wary of one another.
"What a lot of people don't understand is that cyclists have the same rights as motorists on the road, but you have to be just as respectful to them as they are to you," McNeilly said.
"That means riding single file, stopping at stop signs, yielding to traffic that gets there first. We have just as much a responsibility for safety as (motorists) do."
McNeilly, who is director of Northeast Georgia Health Partners, has a few tips for those gearing up to hit the road.
"The best thing is to be familiar with your bike, obviously know how to clip in your pedals and shift your gears," he said.
McNeilly advises new cyclists to browse the Web or read a biking magazine to learn about cycling etiquette.
"You obviously want to ride single file on high-traffic areas, you want to be able to use verbal and hand gestures to signal debris in the lanes or when you're going to change lanes or slow down or stop," he said.
"You need to make sure you are maintaining a consistent pace when you're riding with a group. You don't want to be hitting your brakes or swerving or jerking around, because that could cause another person to have an accident."
Col. Jeff Strickland, spokesman for the Hall County Sheriff's Office, said that while fall might be prime time for cyclists, "we see them year-round."
"I would encourage the public to remember that a bicycle does have the right to be on road, and to use extreme caution when passing a bicycle," he said.
Bennett said there's an alternative for cyclists who don't want to go toe to toe with automobiles.
"You don't have to compete with traffic around here," he said. "We have several good (off-road) mountain trails."
He cited, particularly, ones at Gainesville State College in Oakwood.
"We have a trail (there) that's great for beginners," Bennett said. "It's as easy as mountain biking gets."