Ride suggestions from Central Alabama?

[Guidedawg]

It is time for my church riding group's annual meeting where we decide our monthly rides for the year.  The typical agenda is to go out one Saturday a month to some place with either an interesting location, or a nice ride to get there, and always includes a sit down lunch.

For example, last year in addition to some local charity projects and rides that took up a lot of the time, we went to places such as:

West Point, GA
Montevallo (Orr Park)
Horse Pens 40
Tuscaloosa (to tour the Bear Bryant museum and eat at Rammer Jammers)
Warm Springs, GA.
Mt. Cheaha

We will also do some shorter Sunday afternoon rides occasionally to go out to eat in places such as Opelika, Alex City, etc.

I don't ride with them much but in previous years we have also gone to Greensboro for a West Alabama ride and went to the Pie Factory, and I believe they used to go to Noccalula Falls regularly.

So we don't do much north of Birmingham (I did ride with them to Jacksonville a few years ago for some ribs at Cooter Browns) since we ride out of Montgomery, but I would appreciate any suggestions that you may want to offer for me to take to the table.

[Chitza]

What about South?

The Army Aviation Museum at Ft. Rucker
Landmark Park in Dothan

There are other things in the area that you can pair with either of those.

[Blue Flash]

It is time for my church riding group's annual meeting where we decide our monthly rides for the year.  The typical agenda is to go out one Saturday a month to some place with either an interesting location, or a nice ride to get there, and always includes a sit down lunch.

For example, last year in addition to some local charity projects and rides that took up a lot of the time, we went to places such as:

West Point, GA
Montevallo (Orr Park)
Horse Pens 40
Tuscaloosa (to tour the Bear Bryant museum and eat at Rammer Jammers)
Warm Springs, GA.
Mt. Cheaha

We will also do some shorter Sunday afternoon rides occasionally to go out to eat in places such as Opelika, Alex City, etc.

I don't ride with them much but in previous years we have also gone to Greensboro for a West Alabama ride and went to the Pie Factory, and I believe they used to go to Noccalula Falls regularly.

So we don't do much north of Birmingham (I did ride with them to Jacksonville a few years ago for some ribs at Cooter Browns) since we ride out of Montgomery, but I would appreciate any suggestions that you may want to offer for me to take to the table.

Palisades park near Oneonta could be good.  There are a lot of nice roads along the way,  and several covered bridges in the area.

Hwy 25 south out of Leeds is great, and also will lead you to the railroad museum in Calera.

Kymulga grist mill near harpersville could be good as well.

[jrou111]

Fort Mitchell National Cemetery - if you haven't been here, it's pretty surreal. There's also a nice geocache in the woods there.
Conecuh County Rd 5 - lots of historic signs, plus the towns of Burnt Corn and Pine Apple. The road follows along the Old Federal Rd.

[VWCarlos]

What church do you attend that takes regular rides?

[Guidedawg]

I appreciate the suggestions and will mention them Thursday night.

Jrou111, I have a few books on the Federal Road in Alabama and have traveled the section through Pine Apple and Burnt Corn as outlined in Ride Loops.  (Well, not exactly as outlined..I did make a wrong turn here and there on a very cold morning last year)

Carlos...whoops, I mean Chad, both Frazer UMC and Heritage Baptist in Montgomery have motorcycle ministries.  I attend Heritage so when we get the year organized, I'll make sure to post rides on this site for those who would like to join in.  You are very welcome to come along.  (I also maintain the Facebook page for Heritage FaithRiderz if you would like more info)

[Guidedawg]

Blue Flash, thanks for jumping in and using your first post to help us out.  Feel free to introduce (or reintroduce) yourself in the Welcome to BamaRides section!

[01YZF6]

What about cross ministry rides?  Memphis Baptist Church here in Dothan has the "Faith Riders" group. while I am not a member, I have rode with them before.

[Bluesman]

One of my favorite loops.And a couple of good places to eat.  Hwy 231 through Wetumpka to Hwy.9 then a right on Hwy.80 (Mt.Hebron Rd.) in Central.Follow that to Hwy.63 (Kowaliga Rd.) and turn left.Go to Hwy 229 and turn right.Follow it and  bear left it turns into Hwy.50.Follow that to Hwy 49 and take a left.A few miles down on the left is Oskars Cafe.Follow 49 till it ends at Hwy.280.Take a left.After a mile or so take a right on Hwy.49(Horseshoe Bend Rd.)Follow it to Horseshoe Bend National Park.Take a break and enjoy.When you leave the park take a right on 49.Follow it to the end and take a left on Hwy.22.Afew miles down on the right is The Generals Cafe.Follow Hwy.22 into Alex City and continue.A couple of miles after you cross back over Hwy.280 catch Hwy.259 to your left and follow it back to Hwy.9.Take a left and you are headed back to Wetumpka.

[DachshundUberAlles]

When you're in Tuscaloosa, you can take HWY 69N up to 18W through Berry and into Fayette and take 171S back to Tuscaloosa as a mild loop. You can also connect Montevallo to Tuscaloosa using Shelby CR10 to get you into West Blocton and the connection of Bibb CR9 which ends at HWY11. A quick r/l puts you on Bama Rock Garden Road. Right on George Newell Road gets you to HWY216. Turn left and follow that until you reach University Blvd in Tuscaloosa and hang a right that takes you straight in to the Bryant Museum. There are also a couple of options at the GNR/216 point that will give you good back roads that will put you out onto 69N just a bit into Waker County and the 69N/18W turn I mention in the first sentence.
There are some really good roads in this area and I'd be more than happy to give you a tour if you wanted to pre-run the best of them. Feel free to get up with me. Saturdays or Sundays work for me.

[VWCarlos]

Thanks for the invite... Let me know when y'all ride and I will join in.

[Guidedawg]

Although some routes are still To Be Determined, we have set the dates for the calendar.  I have posted the current schedule for the year on www.facebook.com/faithriderz

Info may also be found at the website www.hbcfr.com though it is not updated quite as frequently.

I will make a point to announce each ride a week or two out as a reminder for anyone who wants to join in.  We usually leave from the North parking lot of Heritage Baptist Church in Montgomery.

The obvious exception is the "short notice" kick off ride.  Our fearless leader has not made an official announcement but I suspect it is going to be this Saturday.

[Slede]

quarters, or any loose change, more often than not will help you find a lot of out of the way places. journeys and destinations alike

[scrappyjon]

Ride up to and around Guntersville is always a great ride. You can eat at the lodge at the state park.

This is the view from the lodge.