The family headed down to the Atlanta area Friday to spend
some time with my father-in-law for Father’s Day. My son enjoyed the new puppy-in-law and my wife was able
to catch up with her parents. We planned
on taking my father-in-law out for breakfast Saturday, but instead I made an
emergency run to Target because I forgot to pack underwear. After addressing
that wardrobe oversight, I headed into Atlanta proper for a Braves game with a
friend. We spend the night near Georgia
Tech and were able to bike to the game and back. Exercise, taking in the city sights, money
saved on parking, and a fast egress from the stadium made the bikes a good
choice.
I asked for a
Father’s Day bike ride and thought we’d ride some of our favorite Atlanta
trails like PATH to Stone Mountain or the Beltline, but my wife suggested the
Silver Comet instead. We rode the Comet
from Cedartown, GA to the Alabama border in 2010, so I was intrigued about experiencing
the other end of the trail heading out of Smyrna.
I’d read about the congestion the first few miles of the Comet, but I
saw online some connecting trails (Part of Cobb’s county’s impressive and
growing trail system) which looked to be an easier approach. We parked at Cumberland Mall and took the
Cumberland Connector and East-West Connector about 5 miles to start of the
Silver Comet. The trail head is directly
behind the Cobb Country Transit bus transfer station (Food Court Entrance to
mall.) Several hotels border the mall, and if you’re visiting from out of town,
this may be a good put in point. I
appreciated the connecting trails, but if you’re in for a casual ride, the sun
exposure and character building hills should be avoided.
We biked through the crowded, but large, starting trail head
and parking lot for the Silver Comet about 10:30 Sunday morning. The temperature immediately dropped five
degrees and the topography smoothed. It
was great to see so many people enjoying the trail, and despite the crowds,
traffic moved quite smoothly. The first
few miles featured a mix of casual cyclists, runners, and strollers, but after
that it was more serious cyclists and runners.
We changed at least 100 feet in elevation over 10 miles, but it was
steady and relatively easy. Several
railroad bridges remain and take trail users over beautiful creeks. Almost the entire trail was shaded and
despite being June in Atlanta, the temperature was comfortable. We exited the trail in Powder Springs (10
Mile Marker for the Silver Comet, 15 overall) and had lunch on La Parilla’s
patio. (Downtown Powder Springs also featured a BP convenience store, KFC, Dairy Queen, Subway, Mac Land Wings, and McDonald's) The restaurant was busy with
baseball teams, the church crowd, and cyclists, but the service was attentive
and the food delicious. Our server filled up our water bottles, and after briefly
entertaining the notion of going a little farther, we decided the smart move was to head back. The ride back was just
as enjoyable and the connector trails not as challenging. We made it back to the car at 29.9 miles and were ready to get home (but not before an
ice cream!)
I’m looking forward to getting back on the Silver
Comet. I’ll probably drive to Powder
Springs the next time and head west from there.
I’ll turn back before Dallas and the big hills. Or maybe not. I know a good Mexican restaurant and an affordable hotel in Cedartown...
