Ridge and Valley Ride

18 December 2011 Hits: 4270

Four of the core riders (Bob K., Larry, Scott and Bob S.) braved the chill and dark cloudy skies to meet at Williamson Brothers BBQ's parking lot at 10 a.m.to begin the ride out to Floyd and Walker Counties and the scenic area around Johns Mountain.

Going out on SR 140 at "five over" numbed some toes and fingers, but the slower speeds on backroads in the Johns Mountain area, and the welcomed arrival of the sun, helped a lot to warm things up.. The ride north to Villanow through the Chattahoochee National Forest and along side of Johns Creek was pleasant and worthy of a return trip in the Summer, with time to explore the side roads and the creek. The group tackled the one mile gravel road up to the Keown Falls information center but opted out of the mile or so climb to the falls itself, as they were judged "probably dry this time of year"(besides hiking in motorcycle boots is not high on their list of things to do).

In Villanow they turned south at the Country Store (dates back to 1840) headed for Gore and US 27. Didn't happen. Somehow, in the area of Subligna, they took a wrong turn (my bad) and, after many miles, came across SR 136 in the area of Maddox Gap, a good deal further north than planned. Not to worry. With the help of Larry's GPS and a few more turns here and there and they were on US 27 headed south to Summerville, and the planned lunch stop at Jim's Family Restaurant.

After a good meal at Jim's (cash only by the way) they headed down SR 100 to Coosa and SR 20 headed for Rome. Traffic in Rome can give a headache so they bypassed it by taking Loop 1 around the city and over to the start of SR 293, a pleasant alternative to continuing on SR 20. SR 293 allows easy access to US 41 which they took down to Cartersville. There Scott peeled off to make a donation at the local Harley shop (warmer gloves) while the rest took the loopy-loop back on to SR 20 headed to Canton.

The rest of the ride was largely uneventful with the exception of one rider's tricky maneuver to avoid hitting a left-feinting, right-turning, no-taillight pick up, just short of the Butterworth Road turn off. Remember, they're out there to get you. Lesson relearned.

The mileage was more than the 160 mile estimate (more like 200) as the unplanned foray into north Walker County, pleasant though it was, ate up some miles. Still, the three made it home by 4 p.m. No telling when Scott got back. You know the lure of those Harley stores.

A cool ride but warm fellowship .Great trip.