Phil Smith, who travels widely for his job with a bipartisan group that pushes for responsible federal budget policy, has been amazed at how familiar people as far away as Portland, Ore., are about Atlanta's $2.8 billion Beltline Project.

"People's opinion about Atlanta isn't always the greatest, but they know about the Beltline," said Smith, who lives near downtown and considers it a great concept. "When I heard people in Portland asking me about the Beltline, that's when I knew this thing had some legs to it."

Todd R. McQueen/AJC (ENLARGE)

Riders on Sunday's Beltline Bike Tour traveled 22 miles along a loop that would connect a number of city neighborhoods. About 100 riders took part in the tour.

Todd R. McQueen/AJC (ENLARGE)

A rider on the tour passes through the Krog Street tunnel. The Beltline will follow old railroad rights of way and include parks, trails and new and commercial development. Construction of some parts along the Beltline has already begun.

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On Sunday, Smith joined about 100 Atlantans who took a closer look at the 22-mile loop of new green space and transit and the city neighborhoods it will connect.

The inaugural Beltline Bike Tour, sponsored by the Atlanta Bicycle Campaign in cooperation with the Beltline Partnership, took cyclists on a journey stretching from a parking lot along North Avenue behind City Hall East, the future site of a Beltline park, to Rose Circle Park in the West End, where Beltline construction has already begun.

One of the largest public works projects in the city's history, the Beltline will follow old railroad rights of way and touch 45 neighborhoods. The corridor will include parks, trails, travel corridors and new and commercial development.

Riders on Sunday pedaled through parts of Grant Park, Peoplestown, Old Fourth Ward, Capitol View and Cabbagetown on the 2 1/2-hour tour that also exposed many to the city's rich history, as well as before-and-after details of elements of the Beltline plan.

"I bicycle the neighborhoods all the time," said Clifford Kuhn, a Georgia State University history professor and expert on Atlanta history who served as a tour guide. "I think the bicycle view gives you a perspective you can't get from a car or bus."

Sara Gottlieb, 35, of Morningside, said the tour took her through areas of the city she had heard about but never visited.

"It was great," said Gottlieb, who rode all 22 miles. "It definitely gave me more of a feeling for how it will connect all the neighborhoods."

Bike tour organizers were inspired by the partnership's popular weekly public bus tour of the Beltline.

"They are just wonderful," said Rebecca Serna, executive director of the Atlanta Bicycle Campaign. "We organized this ride for many people to see the neighborhoods from the seat of a bicycle. We want this to be a ride that grows with the Beltline."

The partnership, the Beltline's fund-raising arm, couldn't be happier to have as many as possible learn more about the project.

"Whether on a tour or via an event like the bike ride, the Beltline is already connecting Atlantans in ways they have not previously been connected," said Beltline Partnership executive director Valarie Wilson. "The opportunity for Atlantans to begin to get a sense of how they will one day soon be able to travel around the city, through 45 neighborhoods, is invaluable."

The tour drew cyclists of all experience levels and interests.

Some, like Monique and Joseph Brown, made it a family outing. The Browns and their two children typically bike in the downtown area where they live but saw the tour as away to explore other parts of the city.

"To do something, to see another part of the city from a bike, was a good idea and we thought we'd have fun on a beautiful sunny afternoon," Monique Brown said.

After hearing so much about the Beltline and its connection to the city's railroads, 23-year-old Matt Harper was happy for Sunday's quick lesson on the project, but came away hungry to learn more.

"It was great to see the different neighborhoods the Beltline will impact," said Harper, an Old Fourth Ward resident. "Next, I want to take the bus tour."