To your health
Wednesday, Sept. 2 — Happy Wednesday!
🌳 When I first moved to Blandtown nearly 18 years ago, the neighborhood barely had any sidewalks. But that’s changed in recent years. New segments of the Beltline, dedicated bike lanes, e-bikes, and improved pedestrian safety measures have transformed the way we navigate Atlanta as a city. This week, I dive into how e-bikes and safe streets projects are changing the daily travel habits of Atlantans.
🎾 The U.S. Open is back — and so is the fashion. Check out Naomi Osaka’s walk-on outfit, designed by Who Decides War. Then read this interview with celebrity stylist Julien Farel on the art of styling competition-ready hair for Osaka, Aryna Sabalenka, and other tennis stars.
⛰️ When does an ultra-running trail race ever come down to a final sprint? That’s exactly what happened when American and former NCAA track star Lauren Gregory passed Scottish competitor Naomi Lang to win the UTMB 50K race held in Chamonix, France, last week. Watch her winning move here.
🏃🏿♂️➡️ Last Saturday, runners raised more than $50,000 during the annual Run With Maud event at Shirley Clarke Franklin Park to benefit the Ahmaud Arbery Foundation to support youth opportunities.
💆🏽 The Bodyhood, a co-working space for massage therapists and other movement specialists, is opening a second location in Sandy Springs this week.
🫶🏻 As someone holding a lot of grief this week, I appreciated this timely Washington Post story (paywalled) on how people are using running groups and physical activities to process grief and feelings of loss.
📱 Last week, Meta settled a lawsuit alleging that the social media company designed its apps to be addictive to children, agreeing to a payout of $17 billion, including up to $135 million in Georgia. Check out my story about how parents can help children build healthier digital habits.
Be well!
✨ Laura
🎒 “One more day home won’t hurt.” On any single morning, that’s true. The problem is it’s never a single morning. Jeremy Salzman, Psy.D., on how school avoidance builds and what actually helps. Intown Psychology, Free consultation. SPONSOR MESSAGE
How E-Bikes and Safer Streets are
Changing How Atlantans Get Around
🚲 In 2025, high school social studies teacher Daniel Griffin bought an e-bike on Facebook Marketplace for $500.
“I really don’t like driving, and everything in my life is in close proximity, so I can conceivably bike almost everywhere,” Griffin said.
He uses the e-bike for his five-mile commute from his home in East Atlanta to Cabbagetown, taking advantage of Atlanta’s bike infrastructure, including a new network of bike lanes installed throughout the city over the past few years.
🚦 Read my story on how residents like Griffin are finding more ways to get around without driving, as safer streets, improved infrastructure, and new programs make walking, biking, and other types of transportation more accessible to the public.
A confident school year starts now
SPONSORED BY INTOWN PSYCHOLOGY
🎒 School refusal almost never starts with refusing school: it starts with a stomachache, then a slow morning, then one day home. The day home works. That relief is the lesson. It teaches the brain that staying home was right, so tomorrow the pull is stronger.
If you have already let some days go, you have not broken anything. Nearly every parent does. Try partial instead of perfect. In the building, even late, even for one class. Keep the pediatrician in the loop.
➞ Contact Jeremy Salzman, Psy.D. Intown Psychology, for a free consultation.
Decatur Entrepreneurs Launch WKND Bikes With Limited Edition Atlanta Collection
🚲 When Decatur residents Rebecca Mobley and Mandi Oeland went looking for e-bikes that reflect their creative personalities, they came up empty. So the entrepreneurial duo decided to make their own.
Mobley and her aunt-turned-business-partner Oeland launched WKND Bikes with their first limited edition drop last weekend.
🛵WKND Bikes offers four bespoke Class 2 e-bike models with hand-operated throttles and pedal assist to help with Atlanta’s hilly terrain. As longtime bike riders, Mobley and Oeland are aiming to attract leisure bikers.
🎒 “One more day home won’t hurt.” On any single morning, that’s true. The problem is it’s never a single morning. Jeremy Salzman, Psy.D., on how school avoidance builds and what actually helps. Intown Psychology, Free consultation. SPONSOR MESSAGE
Fix-ATL Takes Aim at Broken Water Meter Covers
A group of volunteers is highlighting the City of Atlanta’s mismanaged infrastructure by covering public hazards with eye-catching art.
Fix-ATL is a grassroots effort to improve dangerous conditions like missing water meter covers, manhole covers, and other small utility openings on streets and sidewalks. By calling 311 to report issues, posting on social media, and installing artsy, temporary covers, Fix-ATL is “bringing attention to a systemic problem throughout the city, and ultimately converting art into civic engagement.”
Tactical urbanism – a low-cost intervention by residents to catalyze long-term change – has been recognized and endorsed by the City of Atlanta’s Department of Transportation. Fix-ATL has reported nearly 200 active hazards in the city.
Read more from Logan C. Ritchie’s reporting here.
The Short List
📺 I’m not sure why I missed the first season, but I’ve been binge-watching “Adults,” the hilarious Gen Z hangout sitcom. In the show’s prequel episode, “Marathon Day,” one of the main characters pretends to run the NYC Marathon to impress his co-workers. It’s a hilarious and relatable takedown of running clubs and marathon-obsessed culture.
☀️ My skin has taken a beating from the heat and sun exposure this summer. Dr. Jart+’s Cicapair Intense Soothing Repair Serum is perfect for minimizing redness and soothing splotchy skin.
The Rundown
Wind down with sunset yoga at Piedmont Park’s Active Oval on Sept. 4.
Register for a sound bath held in a Himalayan salt room at Decatur Healing Arts on Sept. 5.
Don’t miss the Atlanta Humane Society’s puppy yoga class on Sept. 12.
🌑 Register for {sacred} thread’s new moon and journaling class on Sept. 12.
Craft a lantern for the annual Beltline Lantern Parade at a free, drop-in workshop on Sept. 13 at the Lee + White Food Hall.
