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Shamrock Tour®: Helen, GA
Land of the Blue Smoke
Smoky Mountain roads are quiet places, especially in the morning. Turn off the key and listen. Beneath the engine’s cooling ticks, the subtle sounds of nature close in. The ever-present breeze dances with leaves above the clear streams tumbling from ancient mountains. Birds and crickets call, then answer. The grass sways. And above it all, clinging valiantly to the treetops, the night’s foggy shroud is slowly pulled apart in the morning sun.
The Appalachian Mountains stretch along the Eastern Seaboard from New Brunswick, Canada to Northern Alabama. This near 2000-mile range is home to numerous extraordinary and beautiful places, but few regions cast quite the spell of the Great Smoky Mountains. Despite modern man's best attempts to tame, exploit, and otherwise heap abuse on these majestic hills, the land's resplendent dignity prevails. The mist-cloaked peaks, lonely lanes, and quiet hollows continue to capture the imaginations of all who enter this realm. As motorcyclists, we're always looking for magical places to ride, and this stretch of our country's oldest mountain range, comprising Northern Georgia and Western North Carolina, will always garner a helmet-muffled "Presto!" when we arrive. In these parts, the rugged landscape inspires a sinuous road design that brings joy to the hearts of two-wheel aficionados. There's no place quite like it to drop our bags and spend a few days riding.
Christa and I are scheduled to meet up with our friend and freelance journalist, Neale Bayly, in the small North Georgia town of Helen. As is the case with any motorcycle trip, just getting there is half the fun. Having lived in the Asheville, North Carolina area, I know a few interesting roads that happen to be right on the way. Oddly enough, Christa and I don't often get to ride together, so it's fun sharing some of my old tarmac haunts. She deftly handles the big Honda ST 1300 through the twists, dodging the sporadic showers of sparks cascading from the Harley-Davidson Night Rod's vertically challenged foot pegs, and we arrive mere minutes after Neale who also had a challenging ride up from the Charlotte, North Carolina area on his sporty BMW K 1200 R. Unfortunately, his trek involved rain, lots of rain. I'm glad we chose the scenic route....
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