Brasstown Bald Reverse Ride March 22, 2014

The promise of springtime temperatures brought ten TLCMC riders out for the ride up to Brasstown Bald on a route that took them up the Richard Russell  Scenic Highway  before going up the Bald, rather than the usual trip down, after the Bald (thus the "Reverse"). The ten riding were Melinda, Larry, Mike, Bob K., Dennis, Jack, Mark, Abby, Richard and Bob S.

The group took off from Ball Ground at 9:45 a.m., passed through Tate on SR 53 and then worked its way north to SR 52 on backroads. Rather than ride through Dahlonega they rode Clay Creek Road past the falls and up Black Mountain Road, past R-Ranch, to Stone Pile Gap. After a quick ride over to Turner's Corner they stopped at the General Store for a break and refreshments and a chance to look over (and hear) the Sport Bikes heading to Neal's Gap. In stead of following them the group turned east to pick up SR 75A and its connection to the bottom of the Richard Russell. As usual the road was a delight, hampered only by the flatlanders in cars that freaked at every turn. Unfortunately the no-passing double yellows are prevalent on this highway.

The ride up the Brasstown Bald spur road was a bit of a disappointment as again overtaking slower cars often broke the left/right cadence of the riders. The view potential was not enough to entice the majority to hike or take the shuttle to the peak observation post. Rather, they opted to ride down and over to Helen and have lunch at The Meeting Place on Helen's northside. They found a covered outdoor table that accommodated the group. Lots of banter and laughs accompanied the food (not bad) while the slow moving passing traffic, with horses, motorcycles and cars provided a constantly changing background.

The group passed through Helen (slowly) and headed down to Cleveland where they picked up SR 115 and headed west. Part of the group split off at SR 400 to get home the "fast way", to participate in activities that would start at 5 p.m. The rest worked their way through Dahlonega and over Sassafras Mountain on SR 136. From there they rode south through Jasper and back to the start point in Ball Ground (205 miles R/T).

There were a lot of "great ride" comments and this writer agrees. There's more to come next month.