Healthy Living on the Beltline

The staff at Atlanta Eats is constantly … you guessed it, eating! In order to keep our good looks up and weight down, we are always searching for ideas that combine our passions for food and exercise. Luckily for us, the Beltline offers both.

The Beltline, for those who don’t know, is a revolutionary project which found its start as a graduate thesis by Ryan Gravel while at Georgia Tech. Over the years, the proposal has become a reality and is aiding in the city’s efforts to revitalize communities and encourage a healthier well-being. The project targets brownfields, unused railroads, and vacant industrial areas to be repurposed as new pedestrian transit and multipurpose trails.  The Beltline, when completed, will extend over 33 miles, connect more than 45 of Atlanta’s metropolitan communities, and opens the opportunity for new restaurants, cafés, and retail shops to attract customers.

We love Atlanta Beltline Bicycle, a great shop that provides bike rentals for those wanting a faster way to explore than the usual walking or jogging. The rate is twelve dollars per day, includes a helmet, and allows customers to travel as far along the Beltline as they wish.  You can then stop at one of the loop’s many restaurants to grab a quick and healthy bite, and finally return the bike at the end of the day.

Here’s what our ideal Saturday looks like:

• Grab a light bite for breakfast at Highland Bakery, then head down Samson Street to Atlanta Beltline Bicycle to park your car, and rent your bikes.
• Access to the Beltline trail is right there.
• After a quick, pre-workout stretch, hop on and travel north along the Beltline towards Lindbergh Center.
• You’ll go for 2.5 miles and land at Monroe Drive and 10^th Ave., and you can head across the road and continue on the unpaved BeltLine, or spend some time in Piedmont Park. Or at the Park Tavern.
• If you plow ahead to Lindbergh Center, it’s a great place to freshen up. Public restrooms are available and there’s a water station, too.
• After catching your breath from the first seven miles, head back towards Midtown.
• If you take a left at the rhino sculpture near the Old Fourth Ward Skate Park, and head up onto the Freedom Trail, then take another left to cross over the BeltLine, you’ll land back up at Highland and Samson, right next to Parish: Food and Goods.
• Then take a final break and reward yourself with a sandwich or salad from Parish: Foods and Goods, then roll back down Samson to drop off your bike and pick up your car.

Located in Inman Park, Parish: Foods and Goods is exactly where you want to be on a summer afternoon.  This historically restored restaurant is the perfect spot to sit on the patio and sip an iced lemon tea.  Our menu recommendation is the Spinach Salad.  Baby spinach dressed in pistachio vinaigrette, gets a bright taste with segmented oranges, salty shards of ricotta salata and toasted pistachios.

You’ll feel great after that light and healthy lunch, and be ready to return the bikes or if you’re feeling really adventurous, you can keep riding until evening time.