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middle Georgia & North Carolina Mountains Trip May 2006
We (Maggie, Mike, Lois & Tor) set out to the Georgia & North Carolina Mountains May 27 early, early in the morning. We figured the earlier we started, the longer it would stay cool for a nice riding temperature. So we started at 5 AM, packing up the bikes, in the dark. By 6 AM, we were ready, more or less. Some of the pics on this page was taken by Mike, and I borrowed them to make the story complete. Thanks, buddy.
So we headed out, filled the bikes up with gas, and hit the interstate, 77, then 26. Suprisingly light traffic. After all, this was Memorial Weekend.
Stopped on I385N to rest a bit, clean windshields, go to the bathrooms, and get some water.
Arrived in Ellijay earlier than expected. Time to unload, and unwind.
Sunset from the hill where we stayed, with the Georgia mountains in the background.
Good Night!
After a good night sleep we headed out for a short ride from Ellijay to Chatsworth on Hwy 2/52 to eat supper. Terrific curvy road took us up the mountain and onto this overlook.
Magiie and Mike
The girls didn't want to go all the way up, so they kept an eye on the bikes.
From there, we headed up to Fort Mountain State Park, where the knats almost killed all of us. After Mike came down from the mountain, we continued in to Chatsworth, and had a good supper of homemade food. Man, was it good.
Next trip took us from Ellijay to Robbinsville, NC, gobbled a good lunch, then headed further up to Deals Gap.
Riding the Dragon at Deals Gap is a must, with 318 curves in 11 miles, and so we did, without incidents.
The Tree of Shame, filled with bikeparts from riders that have wrecked on the dragon.
Ended up on the overlook on the Calderwood side of the dragon.
We rode back on the dragon to Deals Gap, and continued on Hwy 28 to Fontana Dam. Quite a spectacular dam.
Fontana Dam parkinglot.
Next stop: Cherohala Skyway. 57 miles of sweeping curves and nice views. Bring it on.
Maggie getting emotionally prepared for the onslaught of the Skyway. She just didn't realize what was lurking up ahead.
I don't know if Lois looks prepared. She looks overheated. This would change dramatically further up the road.
As we continued up in elevation from the above overlook, the sky changed dramatically. It turned dark, and the wind started to pick up. Before we knew it, we were riding in what looked and felt like ice and snow. There was no way we could continue the way the roads were covered in hail. Slick as snot. At this point, we were at about 5000 ft elevation, and the temperature had suddenly dropped to 56 degrees.
Trying to keep the moral up ;-)
So we stopped a couple of riders coming from the other end, and asked how the road were further up. "Awww, its fine just around the corner. Really? Ok, well good". So we continued with extreme caution. Finally pulled over in dry conditions, and was able to change some clothes. Bugs Bunny was still somewhat traumatized from the encounter.
Notice all the green leaves on the road. The hail stripped some of them off the trees while it was raging on. After change of some clothes, we continued on the Skyway, and ended up in Tellico Plains, TN, where we ate supper at Tellico Cafe.
Next trip: Hwy 5 North, cut over to Morganton, and hit GA 60. Lots of nice twisties. We stopped at Blue Ridge Dam.
We continued on on GA 60 through twisties and turns until we hit Two Wheels Only Motorcycle Resort. As it was a weekday, it looked somewhat deserted. We were the only ones, and had the porch to ourselfs.
Time to ride on home to Ellijay.
We rode the trip home via SC Scenic Highway 11, a road we have taken before, but is still a very nice scenic road. |
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