Can you believe it? We sure couldn't, and we were gonna make use of it!! What better way to shake the cobwebs, stretch the fingers in the summer gloves and enjoy these perfect temps than on the bikes of course.
Didn't want to head towards the mountains given the night time temps, sand, salt and gravel on the roads. So it had to be someplace south. The easy, no-brainer was to head to Warm Springs, GA since I had been there but my two companions hadn't. It was someplace where I knew we could get food, see some sights and take it easy. Not a difficult ride at all.
Again, the quickest way was to hop on the freeway and head south. With Mr. Oilburner in the lead we followed his goofy GPS directions that jumped us off the freeway just before construction began. Great news since I didn't want to ride the 28 miles of slalom construction and the side roads were wonderfully empty. There was some sand in some places, but mostly out of the riding lanes.
The ride down was slow paced and completely, luxuriously uneventful. I rode in the back to take my time and look around at everything. I still need to get that GoPro camera so I can capture some of them...
Warm Springs was the hotbed of bikers it is coming to be known for. Given it was the first, best riding day of the New Year many other people had exactly the same idea and the place was crawling with bikes. We parked on the main street, before we knew there was plentiful biker parking in the alley. Which was probably a good thing since it was mainly full of chrome, pipes and leather.
We just planned on walking and soaking up the sun. We weren't terribly hungry as Mr. Oilburner and I had just eaten. It was easy to pass up the Brazilian food, although it smelled great. But we just couldnt' pass up the BBQ. Come on...it's the South. You have to try the BBQ. And it didn't disappoint. Hence, why no pictures of the food... :-)
Not all of the shops are open. It is a little before peak tourist season. But a large portion of the shops are connected by meandering paths with tons of
We wandered, ate, shopped, photographed and went on our merry way. The road back was new to all of us and completely avoided the interstates. The cops were out in force, but friendly if you followed the traffic laws. And we topped the day off in the best way possible by meeting up for dinner with another musketeer that wasn't able to join us for the day. Hmmm...this can't become a habit of riding to breakfast, lunch and dinner all in one day...
Stats:
223 glorious miles
A warm 64F as the high temp of the day...yyyeeaaahhhh
Good food all around
Numerous bikers to share the road with
Wow, I didn't realize the Warm Springs area has those funky photo subjects - cool photos!
ReplyDeleteHave you ever eaten at the Bulloch House? Great for good ole southern style food. I miss that out here.
Looks like this weekend is a good one so maybe you'll get a chance to get out and ride and take some more photos.
Just have to say: LOVE the horse stuck in the tree. It's so reminiscent of the Sonoma County Cows, but ... well, not. At all. :)
ReplyDelete@ Rob: I'm not sure how long it has been since you have visited Warm Springs. When we first went there 8 years ago it was definitely not a biker destination. I think the clientele is changing...and they might be making a few changes. You definitely have to get off of the main street though. Haven't been to Bulloch. Keep thinking about it. Have been to Dillard House and Blue Willow Inn though!! Even bought the Dillard House cookbook for the Squash casserole. Decadent and deadly sinful. :-) The poor little horse needed a few more colors. :)
ReplyDelete@ Davimack: I wonder what as started the cows? Atlanta has the Cow Parade. We have seen a couple of them after the fact and they are interesting.