Silver Comet May 2014

On Silver Comet/Chief Ladiga today thru Monday. Did eastern 31 miles round trip today. Rockmart to east & to west tomorrow Sunday; maybe some of Ladiga. Balance on Monday? Love to have some company. Will be on trail by 10am in a blue Catrike 700.

 

I would love to join you but out of the country right now.

 

Silver Comet: 62 miles between Dallas to Mableton to the Big Tunnel to Dallas on Saturday. Lotsa traffic, a few 'bents. Well-behaved despite a few hammer-heads that like to pretend we're not there.

63 miles from Rockmart to Big Tunnel to the AL/GA state line on Sunday (that section east of Cedartown is a KILLER on a trike). Attached pix from several miles west of Cedartown. As always, these reduced resolution pix don't begin to do justice to the original files.

Decided didn't want to be on the remote Chief Ladiga without a trail buddy on a hot day, so came home late Sunday night.

Tennis plans for Monday fell through, so drove to Coulter Bridge about noon Monday. Rode CB to Townsend up to Tremont & back. U-Mann in Townsend was closed on Monday. Is it cuz shops are usually open at least part of the weekend that they're closed on Mondays?

Total: 170 miles in 3 days on 3 routes in 3 states. I'm tarred.

 

Dave,

Great pictures. I am going to do the same in June. Going from Harim to Anniston and back. This is Credit Card camping. I am taking minimal gear so I can go without paniers.

Right now going solo, but would welcome company. Here is itinerary.

6/25 - Drive from Knoxville to Hiram. Park car at Country Inn. Leave before lunch and ride to Cedartown. Staying at Holiday Inn Express. 36.6 miles.

6/26 - Ride from Cedartown to Anniston. Staying at Anniston Inn. 42.7 miles.

6/27 - Ride from Anniston to Hiram. Staying at Country Inn. 79.3 miles.

6/28 Drive to Knoxville. Back by lunch time.

If anyone wants to join me email me at RRI at fastmail.fm.

 

As you know, the two trails are anything but flat. Mostly 1% or 2% grades, but not flat. Nonetheless, that can be significant after 50 miles on a given day. And on my next trip, I'm gonna consider riding the old alternate road routes that we used before the newer part of the trail was in place east of Cedartown. Always a good idea to check the sectional maps for elevation just to know what's ahead.

6/25 - Drive from Knoxville to Hiram. Park car at Country Inn. Leave before lunch and ride to Cedartown. Staying at Holiday Inn Express. 36.6 miles.
This is good cuz it gets Surprise Hill and all it's associates out of the way early.

6/26 - Ride from Cedartown to Anniston. Staying at Anniston Inn. 42.7 miles.
Be sure to take tools & water with you. Some isolated, remote places.

6/27 - Ride from Anniston to Hiram. Staying at Country Inn. 79.3 miles.
After two days, and the terrain east of Cedartown, this day will be by far your biggest Challenge. Plan B could be to spend the night in Rockmart. Good luck!

6/28 Drive to Knoxville. Back by lunch time.
Or stop by RiverWalk in Chattanooga. If not, a suggestion: I shortcut around Chattanooga on the way to Dallas & on the way home by using Highway TN-61/GA-70 at Cleveland. A good road, more relaxing than I-75, avoided any Chatt. traffic, and took a few minutes less time even driving slower. Rejoined I-75 at Dalton.

 

Sounds like a plan. One of these days I will finish that trail...even if it means doing it alone!

 

Better hurry, or it may become more of a challenge than it is now.
http://community.railstotrails.org/...rofitable-Tail-of-the-Silver-Comet-Trail.aspx

 

Silver Comet alternate

Jon, I assume your trip to the Silver Comet next month June 2014 took into account your eye work. Heal well and fast.

Attached is a phone pic from the latest (2012) Polk County map I got at the Cedartown Depot a couple of weeks ago. This is the Cedartown/Rockmart section of the Silver Comet. The center of the pic where I put the "mountains" is the difficult part of the trail. I put a couple of bike symbols on an alternate route that we used before this section of the Comet was built. Unless you're a fanatic about sticking to the trail, and if you're OK with riding very lightly traveled roads, this detour can make for a more enjoyable westerly ride. The trail eastbound is easier, but still not considered easy.

I wish I could post a better quality map pic but the RRI software takes my 3MB file down to 52KB (0.05MB).

 

Thanks for the info Dave. Really appreciate it.

After my eye surgery last week I found out I won't be riding for at least a month. Maybe more. So I am bagging this trip for later. I am also going to take your advice and take two days coming back. Plus my wife is going to be my Sherpa so I won't have to lug a lot of stuff with me.

Still plan to make it and I like your idea of Rockmart as a stopping point back. And if the ride over is too intense, we will just drive home from Anniston.

 

Following my multi-disk neck vertebrae fusion a few years ago, doc said in no uncertain terms that I could not drive or cycle for 6 weeks. My wife drove me to work one time & I vowed at that point that the no-driving order would be violated the next day. But I did listen and was a good patient about cycling. A couple of days after the surgery I made an early appointment to see doc exactly 6 weeks to the day. He had little more than gotten the words "you're released to normal activity" outta his mouth and I was taking the bike off the car rack IN HIS PARKING LOT and pedaling away within 5 minutes. The nurses tell me he was laughing as he watched me through his office window. Maybe he was expecting repeat business from a bike accident cuz he had a summer home payment to make.