Just took my first mountain ride since getting my 08 Ultra back in March. Headed up I-85 out of Atlanta Saturday morning past Gainesville and up to Cleveland, GA. After taking a quick lunch break, I started out on my planned route -- a circuit going up US 129 past Neels Gap, cut over on 180 and back down to Cleveland on the Richard B. Russell Scenic Highway. Total distance is about 40 miles. I think this circuit is part of the longer Six Gaps route.

The ride up 129 had some nice curves and at least one hairpin turn to make things interesting. About halfway up this leg of the trip, I came across the Turner's Corner Cafe ("Bikers Welcome") where US 19 intersects with 129. I wished I'd skipped lunch in Cleveland, as it seemed to be a great lunch spot; the fried green tomatoes are highly recommended. From Turner's Corner, I headed on north past Neels Gap and the Appalachian Trail connector, then on past Vogel State Park to the 180 cutover. 129's curves were fun but not hard to negotiate (no footboard scraping) and the traffic wasn't bad at all. There were a fair number of motorcycles on the road.

Coming back down the Russell Scenic Highway was a little more adventurous; the curves weren't any tighter, but the ride was mostly downhill, so I had to be careful not to let my speed build up too much heading into the turns. I made a "scenic vista" stop at Hogpen Gap, meeting up with a fellow Harley rider and his wife from Buford, then headed on down the mountain. By the time I got back on the interstate, I was very grateful for cruise control; my right shoulder was pretty achy.

Overall, it was a really fun ride and a nice introduction for me to the big bike's capabilities in the curves, and good practice for some of the more famous rides up in North Carolina. I'll probably do this route again and push harder through the curves now that I know what to expect. Not to mention getting some of those fried green tomatoes next time!

Any other GA riders on this forum been on these roads?

JL

 

Im from NC and love to ride your north ga mtns. We always leave out of the Andrews and Murphy area and head down toward the Helen area. Very Nice riding. When you have time and a long weekend, head up to the Andrews and Fontana area and do the Dragon and the Cherohala Skyway over towards Tellico Plains. Spend the night at the Ironhorse Motorcycle Resort and have a blast. Be sure to make reservations well in advance. The do a killer Prime Rib on Sat nights too...... You can find them online..........Ride safe........

 

Thanks for the tip. I found the website for Ironhorse, sounds like a really good place to stay, though it seems a little out of the way.

I definitely have my eye on the Cherohala Skyway. It looks like it would be just my kind of ride, long with lots of twists and less lunatic riders than on the Tail of the Dragon. Can't wait to get up there!

JL

 

Live very close to Gainsville. Some great roads in that area of Georgia! Hard to just discuss one road because there are so many!!