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"It Ain't About the Miles; It's All About the Smiles!"


June 23, 2013

Summer Road Trip 2013_Day Three

 To quote my friend Maxine, ‘I haven’t had this much fun since my pager got stuck on vibrate!’  I left Highlands NC this morning (not even sure when - that’s when you know you’re really not in a hurry) headed for Blairsville Georgia and I just never got over 50 mph; one curve after another! It’s like an adult theme park in this area if you have two wheels! Not for the timid rider though; more than once I found myself uttering - Holy Shit! - under my breath.  And I only heard, ‘are you riding by yourself?’ twice today.

Bessie2 and I took 106 South/West out of Highlands NC - known as Dillard Road - and it was a beautifully chilly morning! There’s just nothin like crisp, mountain air to clear the head. I was astounded at the homes along this route - talk about mountain retreats - opulent. And those were the ones I could actually SEE. Highlands is the kind of ritzy summer retreat area where they display ‘yard trash’ in fou fou shops and call it ‘collectibles,’ or ‘primitives,’ and people pay top dollar to own it. Not exactly my kinda crowd, but the Mountain High Lodge was awesome, rate was good, breakfast was ample, and it was all good.

106 connects with 441/23/15 South to Clayton Georgia - and again, the road never straightens out. This is why a person should own a motorcycle, just to ride these roads. 76West takes off towards Blairsville Georgia. Lots of lakes in this area that are just beautiful; I crossed what I think is Lake Burton, or some tributary thereof, and I was aghast at the size of the homes on the shoreline! The boathouses alone were bigger than my little Florida cottage!  76 is known as Lookout Mountain Scenic Highway in this area. I fell in love with Hiawasee Georgia; my house is already for sale, just send the books and artwork and I’ll be happy! Hiawasee is on a huge lake, or series of lakes, and it just seemed like an awesome resort town. I stopped and had coffee at the South Side Cafe; good people.

Copperhead Lodge, Blairsville Georgia
Copperhead Lodge is a wonderful resort, run by bikers for bikers. About 10 miles outside of Blairsville, it sits on a pristine knot of greenery surrounded by forest. More than 20 bikes littered the parking lot, the owners are a husband and wife team; he was out front cleaning his bike, she was hustling the clientele to and from brunch and/or their rooms.  She and I chatted as I checked in; she offered to take me on my own personal tour of the ‘Gauntlet’ tomorrow! I couldn’t be happier.....after my episode on the gravel road near Highlands yesterday, I’m not fond of getting lost again. 
Ahhhhhhh




After settling into my room at the Lodge; I chatted with the owner - who was still cleaning his bike - and decided to ride to Dahlonega - I think the ride on 129/19 was the best one yet today!  Don’t forget to stop at Pappy’s, and Rider’s Hill. Dahlonega is a wonderfully quaint little area; totally suited to all the bikers in the area. I’m not a shopper; but I did scope out the nearest BBQ joint - Smokin Gold BBQ - and the pulled pork with sides of slaw and corn casserole was awesome!  At this point in the day; I was starting to feel all the miles I had put on Bessie2 - 986 - since Friday morning. Cruised the curves one more time heading back to Copperhead Lodge. 

I pulled into my little parking space - right out front of the room! - and within minutes I was surrounded by fully loaded BMW’s - which always remind me of shopping carts! Good people though - and two of them own Harleys:-). 

Looking forward to my guided tour tomorrow of the Gauntlet; I made reservations through Tuesday - forcing myself to take it slow.

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