Wow, where to begin? I’ll simply start with… this was the coolest thing I’ve done in years! I think the best way to tell this story is to give a brief rundown of the trip followed by individual rider comments, then “let the pictures do the talking”.

So here goes… Last spring, Dan, Dave, Larry and Mel decided to make this trip and purchased two camping plots (20’ x 20’ ea) and three-day passes to attend what has to be the best vintage motorcycle festival in the country. They left early on a beautiful fall Friday for Barber Motorsports in Leeds, AL (just outside of Birmingham). Upon arriving, they quickly set up tents and dining fly in the rapidly-filling camping area before touring the expansive “vendor swap meet” area which is combination of parts, projects and bike sales. Breakfasts were prepared in camp allowing them to get a jump on the day, lunches were around the venue, and dinners were off property in Leeds – Rusty’s BBQ gets eight thumbs up from this group!

Even though four of us just camped two nights a couple weeks earlier at the Barber Vintage Festival, we just couldn’t pass up a trip to our fabulous N GA mountains in their fall peak. So three riders left Hickory Flat (BobK, Dave, and Larry) and met Mel in Cleveland, then headed to the mountains. Although it was a very brisk mid-30’s start, it warmed rapidly into a gorgeous day. After a trip up the Richard Russell and across Wolf Pen Gap, they landed at Wildcat BBQ N of Suches where they met Dan and his daughter Pres (they drove up to join in the camping fun, her first!). The location was picked to strategically view the 50cc True Grits scooter rally/race pass by. It’s always a hoot watching this group flog their small bikes for all they’re worth. Wildcat’s front porch and “staightaway” makes a great place to watch them try to pass each other before the curves quickly return.

By mid afternoon, layers were peeled off and the group (now six) headed to TWO in Suches for our camping. Although the rally had around 60 bikes, it seemed we were among the very few tent camping! 

On a wonderfully crisp September day (yes, fall IS coming!), Larry and Dave rendezvoused with Mel from Athens at the Chick-fil-A in Cleveland, GA. From there, it was only a short hop N thru the mountains to Unicoi Gap where temps were only in the mid sixties! As they descended the gap, they peeled off onto Indian Grave Gap Rd and quickly arrived at a wide water crossing. Sorry, no time for pics. They continued to the camping area at Indian Grave Gap where the Appalachian Trail passes thru before heading UP to Tray Mtn (highest elevation on the AT in GA). They headed up the Tray Mtn forest service (FS) road which parallels the AT. Along the way, they stopped at the Cheese Factory campsite on the AT. It’s a beautiful, open and relatively flat area to camp, with water, in an area with precious little flat terrain and, at the turn of the prior century, was a small goat farm. Again, no pics, but the Googler can assist with images and explanation. I always chuckle when I think of it because it reminds of the time our scout troop camped here and one young scout was bitterly disappointed because he thought we were actually going to a CheeseCAKE Factory!

Huh?! Few motorcycles exceed 100 horsepower and none near 250 horsepower. Well, you’ll soon see… On a beautifully clear Saturday, four (Dan, Larry, Mel, Richard) met Mike at the Port Royale Marina on Lake Lanier for a fun outing on the lake. Dan, Larry and Richard rode from the west across Matt Hwy while Mel came from Athens, all enjoying the cool morning air. After changing into swim trunks and shedding motorcycle boots, we boarded Mike’s spacious tri-toon boat.