Now, Dream with me for a bit. Move your mind ahead.
It’s the morning of 18 July. It’s about 6:30. Folks are beginning to arrive in front of the bike shop. Tires are being pumped. Bikes checked over. Last minute details are being attended to. Sunrise will be at 06:42, in just a few minutes. It might be raining. It might be clear. Either way the group is going to go. Everyone here is committed to the ride.
There is a brief rider’s meeting, and the group pushes off, turning north on the
Peachtree Parkway.
About an hour later the small group of riders, on their loaded bikes, pulls into a store in Palmetto. This is a brief stop, one to get legs stretched, water bottles topped off, loads adjusted. And again the group pushes off. Now the major traffic of the southern Atlanta area is behind us. The day is warming, but the trees along the route provide a good bit of shade. Soon there will be two features to the ride. The first is the long descent to the
Chattahoochee River. As soon as the river is crossed we begin the long “grinder” climb up to GA-166. It’s actually only a three mile long grade, and not all that steep, but it seems longer. This is good. Legs are being warmed gently for climbing.
At the
intersection with GA-166 we turn toward
Carrolton, GA. For most of our group this will be new riding territory, new roads, new sights. We have eleven miles of country road riding ahead, before GA-166 joins GA-61. Then we have to negotiate
Carrolton.
The stretch of GA-166/61 is wide and busy, but there are ample shoulders, and it’s still early in the day, so the traffic
isn’t too bad. There are plenty of stores along this part of the route, so
replenishing water, and taking a brief break is an option.
Carrolton is a big small town. It’s mostly tree shaded, and our route takes us away from a lot of the bustle fairly quickly. Soon enough we are passing the campus of West Georgia University. That marks our departure from
Carrolton. We’ll rejoin, GA-166 on the west side of the town, and continue our route.
The terrain has turned to “rollers” through here, traffic gradually decreases as we head west.
At mile 56 we enter the small town of
Bowden, GA. This is a good spot for another “water stop” and a snack. The Alabama line is beckoning.
Not quite four miles out of
Bowden, we leave Georgia behind and enter Alabama. The road looks the same, but now it’s called AL-46.
Now that we’
ve passed
Bowden, we are definitely “in the country.” Traffic is getting noticeably thinner. This is a good thing, as the day has warmed nicely, and we are all beginning to feel the first hints of fatigue. That’s okay. We have what it takes. We’
ve just been working for a while. It’s a good feeling. The landscape is getting better too.
Shortly after crossing the state line, we pass through the very small town of
Ranburne. This would be a good place to double check water. It’s about 20 miles to the store stop at Hollis Cross Roads.
Shortly out of
Ranburne we turn off of AL-46, onto
Cleburn-10. This is a county road. It’s definitely country here. The views are spectacular, and the riding is amazing. This is “big roller” country! Long, fairly steep climbs alternate with swooping descents. Traffic is almost non-existent. The scenery is incredible! This is about where most riders will experience that “second wind” phenomena. Yes!
Eventually we come out of the hills and valleys of
Cleburn-10, and join US-431. Even though this is a US “shield” route, it’s not heavily traffic laden. It is a lot flatter, and that’s a relief. Shortly we come to Hollis Crossroads. There are two stores here, and that’s a good thing. We all could use a break, possibly a late lunch.
Everyone will want to take on all the water they can carry at Hollis. It’s a long pull to the top of
Cheaha. There is a store just before the ramp to AL-28, about five miles after Hollis, but it’s not reliable. There’s a “country store” at the state park at the summit of the mountain, but it closes at 4:00 PM. So we have to take on enough water to make it to Oxford.
Almost immediately after leaving Hollis, we make a turn and the road gets hilly. Soon we are doing some real climbing up to the turn to AL-281. This road is also known as the “
Skyway Motorway.” At this turn transition to doing mountainous riding.
The road climbs one of the spine ridges of
Cheaha mountain. It rises sharply, and then descends just as sharply. We are now getting
intermittent glimpses of long mountain vistas. It’s an “approach climb,” and a serious one.
As soon as we round the “cove” we will transfer from one ridge to the main ridge, and the final ascent of the mountain begins. It’s tough riding, and the day’s fatigue is beginning to affect almost everyone, but the thought occurs, “we’re almost there!”
It’s a pretty good bet that every one of us will need some kind of
encouragement during this part of the ride. This is where the mutual
reinforcement and camaraderie really pay off.
We’ll stop at the summit, at the
Cheaha State Park buildings, and catch our breath. The shade will be welcome. This will be a good time to get the
bandanas out and do a quick facial wash down. Get off the bike and sit and relax for a bit.
Once we remount we are ready to begin the descent. It’s fast and twisty.
But…! It’s not all down hill from here. We will have to climb some in order to get off of the mountain. These climbs are relatively short, nothing like we’
ve been through to get here, and the day’s destination is getting very close.
I promise a couple of nifty surprises during this trip down from
Cheaha. Then we arrive in Oxford, tired, sweaty, hot, and ready for showers, food, and clean sheets. This is where the hotel reservation becomes a real blessing.
Day Two
We won’t be going over the top of
Cheaha on the return trip. I suspect most folks will be happy with that on Sunday morning. We’ll each be on our own about breakfast. We’ll meet up to start riding at a bit more civilized hour. Plan on departing Oxford at 8:30.
Once we are all together, we’ll start riding out of town. Yes, we’ll all be somewhat stiff and sore from the previous day’s riding. The good news is, the first leg of the trip is fairly flat. This gives riders the time to slowly warm up and “work the kinks out.”
We don’t really begin to climb until we pass
Hillabee Creek, at about mile seven. This is a fairly large man made lake. After
Hillabee we have a long ridge climb up to where we turned onto AL-281 the day before. This is where we rejoin the outbound route. From this point on, we’ll be retracing our route back to home. We’ll get to see all of the same road, but they will look different as we are travelling them in reverse.
We take our first break at Hollis Crossroads. This is where we truly say goodbye to the
Cheaha country. We do the short stretch of flat riding along US-431, and then we’re into the rollers on
Cleburn 10. It’s beautiful country in which to spend a Sunday morning.
The terrain flattens a bit as we leave Alabama behind. We get another break in
Bowden, Georgia. It’s time to get psyched up for the “big city” of
Carrolton.
Carrolton, Georgia, on a Sunday afternoon, turns out not to be all that tough. It’s a big small town after all. The traffic is a little hectic on the short stretch of GA-166/61 north of
Carrolton, but then we turn into the country. When 166 departs from 61 we’re back into rural riding, and the trend, though
rolly, is mostly downhill.
When we make the turn onto
Capps Ferry Road, leaving GA-166, we are officially back on “home turf.” Admittedly it’s not turf we see often, but it’s within striking distance of home. It’s also a three mile long gradual descent to the “
Hootch.” Yippee.
We stop at Palmetto for one last break before the final push home. Everyone is a bit tired now, but the trip is almost over. It’s late Sunday afternoon. We’re getting the usual questions from the folk around the store. “Where you riding?” and “How far you
goin?” It’s kind of hard to answer those, and we know we won’t be believed.
The last fifteen miles back to
Peachtree City are long, slow, and relaxed. Likely most riders will be feeling a combination of emotions. It’s been a long trip. Longer than the time it took. We’re tired, but we have what it takes to get the job finished. We’re thinking about what we’
ve just done, and who we’
ve done it with.
We do the final, tough stretch on the
Peachtree Parkway, and all too soon, we're turning into the parking lot. We're done. Over 200 miles. One significant mountain. Two days. All on a bicycle.
It’s good to be home.
