GA Rainman
11-01-2004, 01:07 PM
Ok...so yesterday morning, my buddy Danny calls me and says - "Hey...we riding today?" I look out the window and as it's looking like a nice day out, I say...sure.
So began one of the biggest motorcycle adventures I've had yet. First off, we rolled away from my house and headed up to Kingston, GA for lunch at Morell's cafe. From there, I decided to just get us lost (well not really since I ride with a GPS), and head Northwest. We just started riding backroads and avoiding anything that had shoulders or lines painted on it. A turn here and a turn there...pretty soon, we were in the middle of nowhere. One little road started off pretty nice and soon got narrow enough for a single car. I noticed it was climbing but according to the GPS, it connected up with another road and wasn't just a dead end as so many roads in Georgia are. Upon reaching the top of the mountain, we arrived at someone's driveway. The house itself sat off to the left and from what we could see around the sides of it, it had a hell of a view overlooking the valley below. However, on the right, we noticed that the road continued on down the backside of the mountain - paved with gravel. Not wanting to admit that this had been a mistake, Danny and I looked at each other, shrugged and proceeded on down the gravel. This road reminded me of a snow skiing mogul field as there were 1 foot bumps everywhere. 1st gear was too fast so I ended up just pulling in the clutch and using both brakes to keep it under control. Using just the rear brake alone resulted in the rear tire sliding, so it was necessary to balance both front and rear and keep it straight up and down which was easier said than done. After bouncing down the mountain, we arrived at a paved road and patted each other on the back for not killing ourselves.
Riding on, we wandered around aimlessly till I realized we were close to one of my favorite stops, "The Pocket", at John's Mountain Wildlife Management area. We pulled into the pocket for a restroom break and wound up just setting next to the natural spring shooting the breeze. While we were setting there, several teenagers in KISS makeup came walking up. At first it threw me for a loop till I realized it was Haloween. Turns out, they just wanted to use the spring to wash all the crap off their faces. After staying for the antics that followed, we decided it was time to ride on.
Next, we decided to turn West a few miles and double back towards Rome. We eventually wound up on Manning Mill road following an awesome little creek that ran alongside the road. At one point, I saw a pulloff and decided to take a break. While we were standing there looking at the water, I noticed an old stone wall upstream a little ways that jutted out into the water. Investigating, we discovered what must have been the site of the Manning Mill that the road seemed to have been named for. Being the stupid type, I decided to climb down and get a better look. Getting down near the water, I promptly slipped on a wet rock and wound up on my butt somehow managing to stay out of the creek.
Getting back on the bikes, we proceeded South for a ways when I happened to notice a road coming up on the GPS that had the trademark switchbacks that indicated a climb up the mountain we were riding along on our left. Pulling alongside the entrance to the road, I asked Danny if he was up for yet another adventure. Danny grinned and we started up yet another gravel road. We figured...what the heck...we've done it once already!
We bounced along slowly till we reached the crossover at the top and stopped for a break. It wasn't really all THAT bad getting up there. Standing there talking it over, we saw two four wheeled ATV's coming towards us from one of the several trails that seemed to converge there. When they saw us, their expressions went to one of astonishment. They seemed to be befuddled as to how these crazy nuts got these highly chromed out cruisers up this mountain. After exchanging greetings and confirming that yes, we did ride our bikes up the mountain, we parted company and Danny and I started down the backside of the mountain. We quickly discovered that the backside was MUCH rougher and had tons of large rocks strewn about everywhere. Bouncing back down the mountain, once again, first gear was WAY too fast for me so I just dropped it neutral and shut off the motor and coasted down. Finally, at the bottom, it leveled out enough that I refired the bike and we eventually found pavement again.
At this point, it was getting to be about dinnertime so we headed for Rome for a bite to eat at the Landmark Diner. During dinner, the sun set so we added a jacket and gloves for the final stint home. On the road home, I saw two deer, a cat and a possum all alongside of the road thankfully rather than on it.
All in all, I think we only did about 200 miles, but it took us something like 8 hours to do it. If you're looking for an adventure, I don't think you're going to find a better place to experience it than the NW corner of Georgia. There's so many roads up there that just wander about in no real direction, that you can easily "get lost" but only be an hour from home. What a day :)
So began one of the biggest motorcycle adventures I've had yet. First off, we rolled away from my house and headed up to Kingston, GA for lunch at Morell's cafe. From there, I decided to just get us lost (well not really since I ride with a GPS), and head Northwest. We just started riding backroads and avoiding anything that had shoulders or lines painted on it. A turn here and a turn there...pretty soon, we were in the middle of nowhere. One little road started off pretty nice and soon got narrow enough for a single car. I noticed it was climbing but according to the GPS, it connected up with another road and wasn't just a dead end as so many roads in Georgia are. Upon reaching the top of the mountain, we arrived at someone's driveway. The house itself sat off to the left and from what we could see around the sides of it, it had a hell of a view overlooking the valley below. However, on the right, we noticed that the road continued on down the backside of the mountain - paved with gravel. Not wanting to admit that this had been a mistake, Danny and I looked at each other, shrugged and proceeded on down the gravel. This road reminded me of a snow skiing mogul field as there were 1 foot bumps everywhere. 1st gear was too fast so I ended up just pulling in the clutch and using both brakes to keep it under control. Using just the rear brake alone resulted in the rear tire sliding, so it was necessary to balance both front and rear and keep it straight up and down which was easier said than done. After bouncing down the mountain, we arrived at a paved road and patted each other on the back for not killing ourselves.
Riding on, we wandered around aimlessly till I realized we were close to one of my favorite stops, "The Pocket", at John's Mountain Wildlife Management area. We pulled into the pocket for a restroom break and wound up just setting next to the natural spring shooting the breeze. While we were setting there, several teenagers in KISS makeup came walking up. At first it threw me for a loop till I realized it was Haloween. Turns out, they just wanted to use the spring to wash all the crap off their faces. After staying for the antics that followed, we decided it was time to ride on.
Next, we decided to turn West a few miles and double back towards Rome. We eventually wound up on Manning Mill road following an awesome little creek that ran alongside the road. At one point, I saw a pulloff and decided to take a break. While we were standing there looking at the water, I noticed an old stone wall upstream a little ways that jutted out into the water. Investigating, we discovered what must have been the site of the Manning Mill that the road seemed to have been named for. Being the stupid type, I decided to climb down and get a better look. Getting down near the water, I promptly slipped on a wet rock and wound up on my butt somehow managing to stay out of the creek.
Getting back on the bikes, we proceeded South for a ways when I happened to notice a road coming up on the GPS that had the trademark switchbacks that indicated a climb up the mountain we were riding along on our left. Pulling alongside the entrance to the road, I asked Danny if he was up for yet another adventure. Danny grinned and we started up yet another gravel road. We figured...what the heck...we've done it once already!
We bounced along slowly till we reached the crossover at the top and stopped for a break. It wasn't really all THAT bad getting up there. Standing there talking it over, we saw two four wheeled ATV's coming towards us from one of the several trails that seemed to converge there. When they saw us, their expressions went to one of astonishment. They seemed to be befuddled as to how these crazy nuts got these highly chromed out cruisers up this mountain. After exchanging greetings and confirming that yes, we did ride our bikes up the mountain, we parted company and Danny and I started down the backside of the mountain. We quickly discovered that the backside was MUCH rougher and had tons of large rocks strewn about everywhere. Bouncing back down the mountain, once again, first gear was WAY too fast for me so I just dropped it neutral and shut off the motor and coasted down. Finally, at the bottom, it leveled out enough that I refired the bike and we eventually found pavement again.
At this point, it was getting to be about dinnertime so we headed for Rome for a bite to eat at the Landmark Diner. During dinner, the sun set so we added a jacket and gloves for the final stint home. On the road home, I saw two deer, a cat and a possum all alongside of the road thankfully rather than on it.
All in all, I think we only did about 200 miles, but it took us something like 8 hours to do it. If you're looking for an adventure, I don't think you're going to find a better place to experience it than the NW corner of Georgia. There's so many roads up there that just wander about in no real direction, that you can easily "get lost" but only be an hour from home. What a day :)