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).

The sun had just peeked over the horizon and the bank's clock said 7:15, temperature 29 degrees. The seven riders that had signed up for the ride to Highlands, North Carolina had dwindled to two hardy souls ( Steve, Bob S.) that were equipped for winter riding with heated jackets and gloves.

Their ride up warmed up through Dawsonville and Dahlonega but the ascent up Blood Mountain to Neels Gap brought the temperatures down again to the point that they scoured every nook and cranny of the store at Walasi-Yi looking for wool socks for one of their frozen tootsies. No such luck.

Scott S. earned the coveted Night Rider award for his solo predawn ride into the Tennessee mountains to join the others (Bob.K, Scott T., Dennis, Larry and Bob S.) who camped Friday night on the slopes outside Tellico Plains. His arrival for breakfast left them just one rider short of a Magnificent Seven. Who was that missing rider?

After breakfast they rode out into the brilliant light that strobed its way through the trees at the lower elevations of the Cherohala. A stop at the aptly named Turkey Overlook let a known-to-be narcoleptic V-Strom, now loaded with camping gear, to succumb, not once but twice in as many minutes, to the big G.

After weeks of 90 degree days we were looking forward to the promised mid-seventies for our ride over to Alabama, but we forgot how the cool morning feels at 60 mph. We weren't far up the road to Adairsville before we pulled into a Burger King for hot coffee and a search through our saddlebags for anything that would provide more insulation. With sweatshirts and grip warmers on we headed for the border and the little town of Mentone high on the Lookout Mountain ridge.

Riding south on the ridge we got glimpses of the valley below and the homes sited on the cliff overlooking the panorama; not bad living even without a Starbucks for miles. The ride south on the ridge was on a narrow road tunneled through the trees; a 25 mph kind of road but with few cars.