GA - AL Friendship Ride

[GeorgiaRoller]

I got to ride with (3) Alabama FJR riders today and we had a great time! PegSparks, EarthRooster & FJRBandit and myself met in Atlanta and rode 500+ miles for the day. We hit some rain in the morning but from about 10am to 8pm it was all dry riding. We hit some N. GA twisties, had some good food, had some good laughs and basically just had a real good time.

PegSparks had some Yamaha Recall work done on his bike at Metro Cycles by un4gvn (unfortunately Ashley had to work and couldn't join us today) so we all met on the west side of Atlanta.

Then we hit the road. After dodging cars & semi's on 285 we finally got off the superslab and hit the backroads & hit some nice sweepers (Hwy 140) before we took a pit stop at Carters Lake.

Myself, PegSparks, FJRBandit & EarthRooster (left to right)

Then we rode into Ellijay, GA and stopped at the obnoxiusly looking Poole's BBQ joint for some lunch.

The brisket sandwich was pretty darn good though!

After lunch we headed up to Blue Ridge, GA and turned south and hit the twisties of Hwy 60 down to Suches and Wolfpen Gap rd.

Wolfpen Gap Gas Station

After riding Wolf Pen Gap Rd. past Blood Mountain and down the backside we came out and stopped at Vogel State Park

Lake at Vogel State Park.

PegSparks chillin and enjoying the view!

FJRBandit & EarthRooster heading down the trail to the waterfall. This is what we saw down there.

Trahlyta Falls

After Vogel we jumped on Hwy129 and rode those twisties back down to Dahlonega, GA. FJRBandit was nice enough to let EarthRooster test out his Yamaha Gel seat.

For some reason EarthRooster had a 2 weeks supply of crackers in his saddlebags!!!

We hit some backroads around Dahlonega and jumped on the twisties of Hwy 136 and took that into Jasper, GA. FJRBandit kept saying how damn thirsty he was for a beer so I humored him and we ended up at Hooters in Cartersville for dinner.

Shrimp, Wings and a never ending pitcher of Yuenling! :yahoo:

We didn't have any dessert...but as luck would have it there just so happened to be a bikini contest going on...so we had some dessert for the eyes instead! :dribble:

We had a bit of rain, lots of dry twisties, mountains, lakes, waterfalls, more twisties, laughs, good food...LETS DO IT AGAIN!!!

 

[FJRBandit]

Yep Roller, you 'bout captured it all there. Even Old Michael will like this report - it's got just the right touch at the "tail" end... :dribble:

One thing Roller didn't mention was this was an official break in ride for the Rooster. He started the day out with just over 100 miles on his brand spankin' new '12. He ended the day with his 600 mile break-in service well overdue! That's a BIG ride for a dude that has never done a big ride before. Hell, that was big ride for some of us who do big rides all the time.

Of course I can't match the Roller's pics, but here's a couple from the day that I managed to capture.

The beasts waiting on their masters.

I'm not sure who was having a better day, this dude or us...

Slide anyone?

This guy

was drawing this

The Bandit

and The Rooster

GA 60

I think, in the end, we had a better day than this dude!

Thanks to Roller for showing us Bama boys some different N. GA roads. Awesome Day!!!

 

[kamal]

Great report, very nice pics.

Thanks guys.

Al

 

[HPTuner]

Looks like a good time was had by all! Nice pics!

 

[user 28803]

Sorry it took me so long to get to this fellas. It's been a busy mother's day at Casa Lucas :tiredsmiley: :sleepy:

First, thank you to FJRBandit, GeorgiaRoller, and Pegsparks for the invitation and for their patience. I couldn't have asked for a better group of guys to ride with. :thumbsupsmiley:

Yesterday was great! :yahoo: I gave my new bike a thorough break-in at 542 miles. :scooter:

I left home at 0630 with the odo showing 102 and hit my driveway at about 2130 with my odo rolling to 644. Most of my riding experience has been on a small dual sport so I'm definitely as new to the FJR as it is to me. I'm still getting a feel for the bike and yesterday definitely went a looonnnng way in improving that feel. Between slabbing it, rain, twisties, town, sweepers, open country, and the Atlanta Race Track (I-285) I got a little taste of a lot of scenery. Better yet, when I made that last turn toward home I really wished I'd been able to keep on riding for a few more hours. Unfortunately I had to get some sleep so I could help the wife clean up for all the moms coming to the house for lunch today. Ah well, she didn't complain (much) about the pit stop at Hooters with my "motorcycle gang" so I was happy to help out.

Thanks again guys! I can't wait to go for another ride

(Here are a few more photos to add to the pile...)

 

[escapefjrtist]

Great pics, thanks for sharing the ride with us!

--G

 

[Redfish Hunter]

Excellent pics and report, start to finish. Makes me jealous. I can't decide which color I like better the '07 or the '12. All 4 bikes looked great together.

 

[dcarver]

mmmmm, Hooters Girls! :wub:

 

[Old Michael]

Good stuff!

Wings, beer, bikinis, hot rods, waterfalls, motorbikes, great roads, and goobers.

Sounds like every necessary ingredient.

Thanks, boys!

 

[Niehart]

Gunny!

 

[El Toro Joe]

Nice report GR...hey why don't you head up to the Breaks Interstate Camping meet (Breaks Va.) this weekend...give you a chance to meet some more new folks.

 

[Burnspot]

Great report, thanks!

My vote is for the brunette....

 

[user 28803]

Great report, thanks!

My vote is for the brunette....

Mine too! I think she won... I was distracted with the beer and wings, oh, and the girl in white pants at the next table

 

[hppants]

Excellent report and pics. Ironically, I just rode much of that area last weekend. Mercier's Orchard in Blue Ridge, GA has the best Fried Pies I have ever tasted (and trust me, I've tasted a bunch of 'em).

 

[user 28803]

Love me sum fried pies!!