It seems the discussions get more and more heated as the temps go down. I used this past weekend to get rid of a bit of the Cabin Fever myself. Took a short trip with several buddies from N Alabama to Helen GA(N Eastern GA) and then on to the Smoky Mountains. Cold and rainy when we pulled out Saturday morning but by the time we reached Helen it was actually very comfortable. Speaking of Helen. if you have never been there I suggest you make the trip. Absolutely a great motorcycling destination and within a days ride of most motorcycle oriented locations like Deal's Gap, TWO, Cherohala Skyway, Blue Ridge Parkway etc..... Got to Helen in time to find ourselves a nice spot at the bar attached to Paul's Steakhouse in downtown Helen. Watched the Tide Roll while sippin on Yeunglings..........a good time for sure
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Stayed out drinkin a little longer than we should have so the 6:00 am departure time came sooner than I wanted but the mountain roads awaited so off we went. We explored some roads near Suches GA and eventually made our way up toward Tellico Plains TN(and the Skyway). Some locals told us about poor road conditions due to snow and ice up in the higher elevations on the Skyway so we decided to bypass it for the time being. We took the backway in to the Gap through Vonore TN (comes in by the lake down near the Foothills Pkwy). We had a nice unobstructed run through the Gap thanks to very little traffic and Killboy got a good shot of me on my Street Glide for his main page http://killboy.blogspot.com/ (check out "touchdown" near the end of this weeks update). After gassing up we decided we would check the Skyway out and see what it looked like covered in snow and ice. So glad we did too since it was absolutely beautiful. The roads were mostly clear and dry too. That was a relief since a couple of the guys riding with me are fairly inexperienced winter riders. Great trip across the Skyway even with the temps in the low 20's and upper teens in the higher elevations. Once back in Tellico, we planned our route back home and headed out. Weather warmed up nicely and we managed to avoid every major highway all the way home. All in all, we covered 730 miles in 2 days with 500 of those coming Sunday on the way back. Not a lot miles really but since it was soooo cold, we are going to say it felt like 1000 miles. **** the Skyway felt like 1000 miles by itself at times. Here are some pics from the trip.
Just outside of Helen GA
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"Downtown" Helen
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Richard Russell Parkway
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Near the GA/NC Border
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Near GA/NC border
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Headin up the Skyway
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Stayed out drinkin a little longer than we should have so the 6:00 am departure time came sooner than I wanted but the mountain roads awaited so off we went. We explored some roads near Suches GA and eventually made our way up toward Tellico Plains TN(and the Skyway). Some locals told us about poor road conditions due to snow and ice up in the higher elevations on the Skyway so we decided to bypass it for the time being. We took the backway in to the Gap through Vonore TN (comes in by the lake down near the Foothills Pkwy). We had a nice unobstructed run through the Gap thanks to very little traffic and Killboy got a good shot of me on my Street Glide for his main page http://killboy.blogspot.com/ (check out "touchdown" near the end of this weeks update). After gassing up we decided we would check the Skyway out and see what it looked like covered in snow and ice. So glad we did too since it was absolutely beautiful. The roads were mostly clear and dry too. That was a relief since a couple of the guys riding with me are fairly inexperienced winter riders. Great trip across the Skyway even with the temps in the low 20's and upper teens in the higher elevations. Once back in Tellico, we planned our route back home and headed out. Weather warmed up nicely and we managed to avoid every major highway all the way home. All in all, we covered 730 miles in 2 days with 500 of those coming Sunday on the way back. Not a lot miles really but since it was soooo cold, we are going to say it felt like 1000 miles. **** the Skyway felt like 1000 miles by itself at times. Here are some pics from the trip.
Just outside of Helen GA
"Downtown" Helen
Richard Russell Parkway
Near the GA/NC Border
Near GA/NC border
Headin up the Skyway
