Curves, Dirt, Hot Glass and LRC

[klaviator]

Originally I was expecting out of town relatives to come visit last weekend so no riding. That changed so I decided to go for a ride after all. I was thinking it would be nice to ride to Little River Canyon and it just so happened that the Crooked Road Riders where going there so I decided to join them. The meeting place for the ride was the Hardees at the south end of Memorial Pkwy. We ended up with 8 bikes and 10 riders. Unlike last weekend where my Versys fit right in with the other bikes, it was the odd bike out with 2 Goldwings, 2 Harley dressers, 2 trikes (one GW and one HD), and a Can Am Spyder. You might look at the collection of bikes and the old folks riding them (I think some were even older than me) and assume this would be a tame sightseeing ride.



I had ridden with this group before and the pace had been pretty good but with a different ride leader every time I wasn't sure what to expect. the leader this time was Bruce on a Gold Wing. One of the gals told me that Bruce rode everywhere like a Bat out of Hell.

So we headed off by going south on 231, left on Union Grove then through Guntersville and east on 227. I figured we would continue on 227 but instead we went up Wyeth Mountain RD. This road starts with a bunch of hairpins and then continues with a lot of nice curves. i would have taken some pics but I forgot to put the SD card back into my camera so it was uselessly dangling from the strap around my neck.

We eventually stopped at a gas station in some little town. I mentioned that I forgot my SD card and John, the other GW rider said he had a spare I could use.

Off we went and now I had a camera. I wasn't the only one taking pics as you can see Tina, the passenger on the GW ahead also taking pics on the fly.



We rode to Collinsville where Bruce turned off the main road and led us through roads, alleys and parking lots to get around the festival that closed off the main street.



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We eventually found our way around the festival and headed up a little known road. I had ridden this road before but never on a group ride.



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Tina got some pics of me on this road.



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This sign was appropriate for the group I was riding with.

[klaviator]

I was hoping to get to see some roads on this ride and I was not disappointed. When we got to a main road I expected to turn left towards LRC but we just went straight across it on down some narrow county roads. Eventually those County roads became dirt roads which did not slow down the pace much.



Keep in mind that this was not a dual sport or adventure ride. the dirt roads didn't seem to faze anyone.



After a few miles of dirt roads we got back onto the pavement and then to our next stop.



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[Nice Goat]

Cool pictures, roads, and destination!  Perfect ride so far!

[kdtrull]

Man....them crooked dudes rock!  First pic I've seen of STRanger in a long time.  Cool.
I think that feller that runs the Orbix place has been on PBS a time or two.

[speedfire]

My daughter and I visited Orbix not long ago. Very cool place, very friendly people, and very nice finished products......albeit very pricey.

[klaviator]

We hung out at Orbix for a while.  A guy who I think was the owner was real jealous that we were out riding on such a beautiful day and talked bikes for a bit.  I got the impression that he used to ride.

Then we took a left out of Orbix and quickly saw this sign:



They weren't kidding with this sign. Just down the road is probably the steepest hill I have ever seen on a paved road. When I say paved, I mean concrete. I don't think asphalt would hold on such a steep grade. I took a pic but it doesn't show how steep this is.



Then the road became a real roller coaster ride with lots of tight curves and steep hills. The road surface was rough and covered with loose leaves and pine needles. The pace through here was way faster than I expected. Normally I would have taken some pics but decided to keep goth hands on the bars. I suspect that few sportbike riders would have gone through here any faster than we did. If I had been leading the pace would most likely have been slower. We stopped where the road ended at the main road through LRC to wait for the trikes and Spyder.



Then we rode the main road through LRC. It was a faster pace but with a better road surface it didn't seem like we were riding as close to the edge.  I was able to ride one handed and get some pics:



We stopped at one of the overlooks.

[Reserector]

Old people are cool.  Looks like you found a great group.

[klaviator]

After the scenic overlook I rode ahead to do my Killboy impersonation. I won't post them all here but here's a couple of the pics I took. The rest are on the CRR FB page.

Our fearless leader:



John and Tina.



Then I caught up with the group and took some more pics.



Headed down the hill to Fort Payne.



When we got into Ft Payne I took a pic of this cool old building. I had no Idea it would be our lunch stop.



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It was an interesting place inside. The food was good and the atmosphere was..........interesting.



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Then it was time to head for home.



The quickest way home would have been to jump on 72 but that road is not known for being crooked so Bruce to us home via a bunch of back roads, many of which I had never been on before.  Perhaps a bit longer but much more interesting.  My total for the day was around 220 miles or so.

I expected this to be an enjoyable ride but it ended up being much better and more memorable than I expected. Thanks Bruce for leading this ride!

[Guidedawg]

Looks like you've found a fun and...spirited group.  Those are some beautiful roads!

[Getnmotion]

Thanks for the review and great pictures. We always enjoy having you on one of our rides!

[springer]

Thanks for the review and great pictures. We always enjoy having you on one of our rides!

Introduce yourself to the rest of the group here;
http://bamarides.com/ride/index.php?board=1.0

We don't bite.  ;)