18 June (460 miles)

 

Chan writes:

 

As the clock rolled past midnight and the new day began, Mother Nature pushed a violent cold front across the south-east.  I awoke to lightning as intense as I have ever seen, illuminating the torrents of rain falling outside of our bedroom.  The wind whipped our palm trees so soundly that I wondered if we might loose one or two.  It was one heck of a storm.

 I drifted back to sleep after the storm abated, to be awoken by the alarm at 4:30 AM.  Radar showed that the storm was now about 100 miles to our east and no longer an issue to us.  Marc arrived shortly after 6, and we were on the road by 6:45.  The upside of the storm is that we were enveloped by cool, dry air, which made for perfect riding.  My thermometer never rose above 85 on this day; the skies were clear and the humidity was low.  A wonderful day to put down some miles.

 

Marc writes:

0600 on June 18th was my first penance for riding from my own driveway, for no other reason than to avoid the heat and Atlanta's afternoon traffic.  As it turned out, my departure schedule aligned with Chan's.  He and I planned to head north together, possibly as far as his mom's condo in Sapphire, NC.  I hadn't yet decided if I could make it that far.  My backup plan was Suches GA and TWO's comfy campground.

The ride north was relatively uneventful, as I expected from a slab ride.  A quick breakfast in Dothan AL, followed by a gas stop brought us to the Atlanta area.  I'm pleased that I was riding with Chan in ATL.  He rides just a bit faster than traffic and takes advantage of the HOV lanes.  A good rider to "wing".  We made good time and were soon at our scheduled stop at the REI for some gear.  I needed a cook set, just in case I needed to have a meal while at camp.  Chan needed to pick up a camp headlight.  (Based on my progress and the state of my bottom, I took Chan up on his offer of lodging in Sapphire.)

 

 

 

North of Atlanta, I-85 to I-985, you can feel the mountains coming on.  I liked this transition.  Chan had recently attended a riding class in the Baldwin GA area so we stopped for a late lunch at The Steakhouse Restaurant in Cornelia GA.  A step back in time it was.  And a welcomed rest for me.  From there Chan scored a very cool route north, avoiding the slab-like 441.  He'd learned the routes from Phil, the instructor of the class.  Hwy 197 led up to Lake Burton, obviously a getaway for the high-paid professionals in the Atlanta area.  It's a pretty place, with homes and boat houses nestled along the banks.  197 hugs the lake close at points, making for a scenic ride.

197 dumped onto the good part of Hwy 76, which we normally take all the way to Clayton.  Not this time, thanks to instructor Phil.  A left on Persimmon Rd, then onto Persimmon Creek Road (or Germany Rd) made a nice cut off to Clayton. 

 

Of course, from there it was on to Warwoman Rd and up a bit on 28 to Highlands.  28 north of Warwoman is tight, as my left peg and center stand will attest (scrape...)

East out of Highlands was Horse Cove Rd.  I loved this road -- very twisty, very lightly travelled.  Alas, it does end with a bit of dirt going into Hwy 107 (Whiteside Dr).  That was a first for me and the strom -- a bit of time on the dark side.  Hopefully, I didn't hold up Chan too much.

107 up to Hwy 64 -- the main drags of main drags.  Every commercial vehicle in the state was on 64.  A road to be avoided, but required here to make it to the condo at the Sapphire Mountain Golf Club.

A very nice route from Cornelia GA up to Sapphire.  I'll look to do that again soon.

Chan writes:

We arrived at Mom’s condo in Sapphire, NC late if the afternoon after about 10 hours on the road.  At 430 miles, this had been Marc’s longest day in the saddle so far, and I christened him with some icewater out of my Camelback.

Back to Marc:

I met Chan's mom.  She's cool.  Very sharp, well travelled, and witty; I gathered she was a teacher before retirement--pay attention when she speaks.  She was introduced to me as "my mom", so I later asked, "What would you like me to call you?".  "Mrs. Lipscomb.", she replied.  Yes ma’am, indeed.  She'd ridden a trike (Thoroughbred Stallion) up from Savannah, GA.  An attention-getting machine, based on Ford's compact truck engine and other components.

We stayed up for a bit conversing about oil dependency, alternative fuels, and the like.  (I do need to look into that hydrogen generator for the family van.)  Off to bed.  Tomorrow was another day.  Thanks to Chan and his mom for putting me up for the evening.

 

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