After many weather delays and even the remnants of a category 4 hurricane, we finally pulled off an August ride. On the 29th, Dave and Larry (seen off by Richard who couldn’t break his day plans) took advantage of a break in the action to enjoy a route of “old favorites”. Their day started in tropical soup – that fine line between 99% and 100% humidity where you can’t tell if you’d be more comfortable in rain gear or mesh gear! Mesh won the day. They leisurely headed to the mountains using Grandview, Sunrise, and Doublehead Gap roads, all favorites indeed. Hwy 136 through the Burnt Mountain elevations was completely “in the clouds” and visibility dropped to only 50’ at times. But the power of our Lord’s sun raised the ceiling and broke up the soup.
Our lucky streak of great weather rides continues! July 11th, four riders (Dave, Dennis, Larry and Mike) met in Hickory Flat for a tour of some of our favorite sights in NE AL – Little River Canyon (LRC) and Desoto Falls. Our trip started on a cool summer morning with absolutely no forecast of afternoon pop-ups - a real treat for July riding. We took the serene Hwy 140 west to Armuchee, then 27 to Summerville and Mentone, an old-timey getaway town on a ridge top in the AL mountains. At the south end of town is Desoto Falls which drops into large (several acre) pool with an adjoining 8-story sheer rock wall.
After months of “COVID cooped up”, the guys were eager to get out of town for an overnighter, so… Seven riders (Larry, Dave, BobK, Dennis, Mel, Dan and Chuck) and one driver (Richard’s still recovering from a minor surgery) left Ball Ground for the beautiful Cherohala area near Tellico Plains, TN. We took the fast lane to Blue Ridge, then 5 to McCaysville, before enjoying the scenic Ocoee River Rd to Chilhowee Mtn to enjoy a beautiful overlook above Ocoee Lake.
After riding 3 sides of Chillhowee Mtn, we headed N on a lightly traveled backroad to our home for the night – Cherohala Mountain Trails Campground (CMTC) a few miles W of Tellico Plains. We quickly set up camp (yay, lighter bikes!), then headed to TP for lunch before our Skyway trip. Katz Deli right on the Tellico River served some fine sandwiches (come hungry or consider splitting them!).
So what do you get when you combine an easy-paced pre-Christmas ride with deserted backroads you never knew existed? – a Gawker’s Special! Why? Because at low speeds and with no tree cover, these remote areas offer lots to see. My head was on a swivel moving from one sight to the next. With temps only in the forties, we planned a late start and early finish. Larry, Dave and Mel met in Ball Ground, then meandered west along Long, Friendship and Salacoa roads. The light pace provides plenty of gawking opportunities… at properties, Christmas decorations, farm animals, the $1M mansion on the hill with the septic truck parked in front. The leisurely pace gave us time to stop and watch a slow-moving flock of turkeys cross the road. After a brief warmup in Fairmont, we enjoyed more of the same in the Henderson Mountain area before stopping for lunch at Davis BBQ a few miles south of Jasper on Refuge Road. Very enjoyable and I’d go again, but…
