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Riding in Atlanta
by Stylz
August 29, 2000
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A while back I had the pleasure of experiencing Atlanta and northern Georgia on two wheels. It's been my intention to report on the experience for a while now, but ... umm.... I've been too busy riding. .. <weak excuse> Well, to sum up, riding in Georgia is awesome. Toronto, nothing personal intended, is BORING by comparison. Where we have flat straight roads here, in varying states of repair, the roads in Atlanta curve, are banked, have hills and valleys, and are generally in excellent condition. 
My introduction to the riding scene in Atlanta started with a visit to the entertaining L5P Scooter Trash website. These are a humorous bunch of guys, and the site tipped me off about a regular Thursday night ritual in Atlanta, which takes place at The Vortex Bar and Grill in Little Five Points. Be sure to read the Vortex' "Stuff You Really Should Know" to get a flavour for this place. It was clear that I needed to experience Atlanta on two wheels. And no, my rental car insurance policy does not cover that kind of driving. As far as the bike rental scene in Atlanta goes, it appears you can rent anything you want, as long as it's a BMW or Harley. You can get BMWs from either of Blue Moon Rentals or Blue Ridge Motorcycle Rentals, and Harleys at Street Eagle. I ended up renting a 95 BMW K75 R/T from Gary from Blue Ridge, and was very pleased with that arrangement. 
This bike is pretty cool. I have to say that the bike is a bit visually bland to my eyes, but performance-wise, it was quite excellent. A short list of cool features: power windshield adjustable while riding, hazard lights, self-cancelling turn signals, ABS. Handling was excellent. It was nice to ride a quiet bike for a change, so that I could open it up and not worry about drawing attention to myself due to roaring exhaust. Very comfortable ride position, thought the fairing on one side came a bit close, a custom modification courtesy of a previous crash. More about Atlanta roads. Awesome. Atlanta is a more interesting terrain -- curves, hills, valleys, etc. According to my Nortel Networks Atlanta counterpart, the roads were laid by goat; they let a goat out of the truck, and laid the asphalt following the footsteps of the goat. Goats apparently are not fond of straight lines. Atlanta roads surfaces are also quite good. I imagine this is largely attributable to the lack of the winter season we experience here. There are a few things to note, however. The road surface there eats tires very quickly. This happens because of a material they do or don't use (I can't recall) in the composition of the asphalt. Nighttime riders need to beware that there are little or no street lamps, only reflectors embedded in the lines on the road. A good headlight system is mandatory. Police are quite ambitious about nabbing speeders, and I believe they deploy photo radar, so velocity needs to be kept in check. 
My Saturday day trip took me north up into the northern Georgia mountains. This was based on route suggestions that Gary from Blue Ridge Motorcycle Rentals gave to me. I can't explain the twisties you contend with. For long stretches of road, what with sharp curve after curve, I rarely got out of 2nd or 3rd gear. Believe it or not, I actually looked forward to the boring straight sections, to relax my arms! The image at right sums up the experience. There are many interesting destinations up in this riding country. Infamous tourist spots, highways, you name it. I regret I was unable to make it to Deal's Gap, a legendary stretch of road, but I intend to pick it up next time I'm down there. You can see photographic reference to it from Frank Nyitray in the Member Profiles section. As one might expect, riding in the mountains, spectacular views were the norm, and Kodak surely does well in these parts. 
My ride completion point was the infamous T.W.O. (Two Wheels Only Motorcycle Resort), in Suches, Georgia. Especially on the weekend, you can count on a good number of riders to be there, sharing advice and stories on where to ride, etc. I spent some time talking to a fellow from Florida, who had the same feelings about riding in Atlanta as I did. He found Florida very boring, to the point he didn't bother to ride there anymore. He actually stored his bike in Atlanta, and would fly in for the weekends to ride up to Suches and thereabouts, taking in Deal's Gap and the many other roads around there. 
At the T.W.O. resort, for somewhere around $4, I picked up the North Georgia Back Roads Map, which is a hand-drawn but otherwise very useful riding guide. Just as an indication, here are the items the map legend features: Federal Highways, Georgia Highways, Paved Hard Roads, Gravel or Dirt Roads, Forest Service Roads, Hiking Trail Crossings, as well as Lodging areas, Offroad areas, restaurants, waterfall-recreation areas, campgrounds, country stores, motorcycle shops, hospitals and others. You get the idea. I will certainly do my best to return to these parts, and no doubt I will, but I'm a bit concerned about what continued exposure to such spoiling riding might do to my riding enthusiasm here at home... Article: Stylz |