This ride was scheduled to go to Pine Mountain and the animal safari there. However, the forecast was for a hot day and on hot days the animal are less visible and not as active. They like to stay cool as much as we do. So, we changed the ride to a more mountainous and hopefully cooler area....Helen, GA. As it turned out, it was a cool day. Mostly overcast skies kept the hot sun away and a good breeze helped keep the temps down. It was a fantastic day to ride....from morning to night. It never got hot and it never rained.

We left out of AMW at 9:30. There were 15 riders. We had some people we had not seen in a while and some guests as well. It was a good turnout. The line of twelve bikes snaked its way up Hwy 9, 19 and 75 going through Dawsonville and Dahlonega before arriving in Helen. We took one break along the way to stretch and refresh. The ride up was a nice leisurely ride. That route is made up of good roads and as you get further north there are just enough twists and turns to make it enjoyable without wearing you out.

Arriving in Helen, we parked our bikes and made our way to the Troll Tavern for lunch. They were fairly bust....after all it was lunchtime in Helen on a weekend. It took them about 30 minutes to get us seated. We ended up at three different tables. That allowed them to server us better though. While waiting for our table we stood under the bridge (where trolls are) and watched all the people come floating down the river on their tubes. It was a lot of fun to do that. We say all kinds of people dressed all kinds of way....adults...kids....dogs....big big ones...skinny ones...tall ones...short ones...bikinis...and jeans and cowboy boots.

Once seated were were served fairly quickly. The Troll Tavern had sandwiches, Italian food, and German food. At our table most of us opted for some German fare. From all reports it was all good.

As we finished up, people started leaving and heading home. A large majority headed over to the three Chattahoochee Biker Gear stores before leaving. A few even made some purchases. Eventually everyone ended up on the road headed for home.

It was a great ride. Relaxing and satisfying. It stayed cool making it enjoyable. The cloudy skies held back its rain and blocked us from the intense sun. I don't know if we could have asked for anything better.

Thanks to everyone who joined us and shared their time with the group. It is always good to spend time with our "family". Those who were not able to make it...hopefully we will see you next time.

Attending:

Doug & Teresa Turco
Gary & Maria Kohl
Preston Howard
Tim & Diane King
Henry Williams
Gary Kohl 2 (G2)
Jason Banister
Rick Curtis
Mitch Argo & Katie Dickson (guest)
John Morgan (guest)
Darryl Allen (guest)