GeorgiaRoller
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Typically Atlanta, GA in June-July-August is hot & dry. Most years it's 90-95 everyday with bright sunshine and not much rain during the summer months...not this year! While I've appreciated the below normal temps all summer and the nice green grass, the copious amounts of rain putting us some 20" above normal for the year (55" of rain & counting so far...suck it Seattle!!!) has put a damper on my riding. I don't mind if I get caught in an occasional rain, that's fine, but when you know you'll be riding in rain all freaking day it kind of kills one's motivation to gear up and ride.
That being said the weather FINALLY broke recently and Summer normalcy has returned and so with the weather looking spectacular I headed out for a all day solo trip.
My goal was simple: Ride all day in the mountains, take my time, enjoy each curve, each sight and stop when I want and soak up a day of de-stressing by just riding, exploring and hopefully capturing some landscape images.
I put together a nice loop route and for the day I would end up riding a very relaxing & comfortable 515 miles total. I stopped at whatever caught my eye or was of interest which included a few new wineries, overlooks, lakes, rivers and the like.
For lunch I stopped in Highlands, NC and had a Salmon & Smoke Bacon BLT with a glass of German Riesling at the bar while I watched some of the U.S. Open Tennis match on the flat screen here at the Wild Thyme Gourmet restaurant. I then proceeded to walk across the courtyard after polishing off my fine lunch and stopped at Kilwins and ended up going with 2 scoops of "Elvis" ice cream (Peanut butter, Banana & Bacon)...it was awesome! All that riding & picture taking makes a man hungry.
It was a much needed break from the weekly work/life routine and much better than a sharp stick in the eye. This is some of what I got to see along the way.
Googlemaps Route
That being said the weather FINALLY broke recently and Summer normalcy has returned and so with the weather looking spectacular I headed out for a all day solo trip.
My goal was simple: Ride all day in the mountains, take my time, enjoy each curve, each sight and stop when I want and soak up a day of de-stressing by just riding, exploring and hopefully capturing some landscape images.
I put together a nice loop route and for the day I would end up riding a very relaxing & comfortable 515 miles total. I stopped at whatever caught my eye or was of interest which included a few new wineries, overlooks, lakes, rivers and the like.
For lunch I stopped in Highlands, NC and had a Salmon & Smoke Bacon BLT with a glass of German Riesling at the bar while I watched some of the U.S. Open Tennis match on the flat screen here at the Wild Thyme Gourmet restaurant. I then proceeded to walk across the courtyard after polishing off my fine lunch and stopped at Kilwins and ended up going with 2 scoops of "Elvis" ice cream (Peanut butter, Banana & Bacon)...it was awesome! All that riding & picture taking makes a man hungry.
It was a much needed break from the weekly work/life routine and much better than a sharp stick in the eye. This is some of what I got to see along the way.
Googlemaps Route
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