Our great family friend, Ben, came to Greenville for a visit in the summer of 2010. I had just bought my bike and had rambled on and on about the Swamp Rabbit Trail. He borrowed my bike and rode from Greenville to Traveler's Rest. Hooked. Ben went back home to Georgia and bought a bike of his own. My wife saw the fun I was having on the trail, and she too purchased a bike. Fast forward to April 2011. I launched Rusty Ride's Rolling Razzmatazz for the three of us to have a cycling vacation. We were novices but wanted to ride. We wanted some distance but nothing too intimidating. We also wanted hotels and restaurants and the other comforts of life. Silver Comet was the logical choice. I checked out the websites, e-mailed some bloggers, called the local police along the trail, and researched and researched some more. We left a car between Jacksonville and Anniston, AL. We drove another car back to Cedartown, GA which would be our base for a couple of days. We left Cedartown early on a cool Sunday morning. We had too much water; we had too much food; too many spare tubes; too many contingencies, but we didn't know. We all were a little worried about hills too tall or trails too rough. But on that trip we found one of the great benefits or rail trails: mild grades. Apparently trains like steep hills about as much as out of shape middle ages novice cyclists. The ride was easy and fun and beautiful. The Silver Comet joined the Chief Ladiga at the Georgia/Alabama line and rolled trough the Talledage National Forrest on the way to the college town of Jacksonville, AL. We had lunch and peddled to the trail end in Anniston. I wrote down the mileage somewhere. I don't remember exactly how far we rode, but I think it was 43 or 44 miles. We did it. We loved it. We've done a Razz every year since. Madison, FL then the Pinnelas Trail around Dunedin,Fl. The year after was the Fall Line Trace and Riverwalk in Columbus, GA. Next year we'll ride around Greensboro, NC and the many trails of the Research Triangle.
I continue to find new, enjoyable rail trails wherever I travel. The new is always exciting, but despite the fun of that first Razz, we didn't do the Silver Comet justice. The Comet and Chief Ladiga trails total almost 100 miles, and we didn't even ride half of that. This summer my wife suggested going back to the Silver Comet for an afternoon ride. We rode from the beginning near Smyrna, GA and made it to Powder Springs. That day was hot, and we had our young son with us. With the connecting trails, we were looking at 25 miles round trip, and any more would have too much for him. But the Comet had bit me again, and I resolved to ride the entire trail.
I circled a day on the calendar when I'd be in Atlanta for a football game. I grabbed my friend Ben and headed back to the Silver Comet. We started where we last left off in Powder Springs, GA. I knew we wouldn't finish the trail and make it all the way to Cedartown, but I wanted to put some serious miles in and be close enough to finish the trail completely sometime in the next year. As the Comet leaves Atlanta, it passes through several suburban towns like Powder Springs, Hiram, and Dallas. And then you're out there. The stretch after Dallas is beautiful and peaceful, and there are no obvious turn around points. Ben lives in the flat lands of south Georgia, and he doesn't ride often. I told him we'd turn around when he was ready while secretly hoping he would get caught up in the ride and forget about the mileage. We passed 15 miles. I stayed quiet. We hit 20 miles, and I knew Ben would be ready to turn around. Lacking an obvious turning around point, he kept pedaling. At this point I started to hope that reaching Rockmart was a possibility, but that would mean 50 miles round trip, and neither Ben nor I had passed the 43 mile mark that we hit on that first Razz. But I was feeling strong and knew we could make it to Rockmart. The topography maps showed only gradual elevation changes up to Rockmart. We could do it, and I was ready to pull out all the stops to convince Ben to push on. We stopped for a drink at Coot's Lake Beach which was about 23 miles from Powder Springs. That would make a 46 mile round trip. I knew Ben would want to turn back, but I was prepared to push him. Luckily, I didn't even have to question his manhood, Ben was on board for pushing on to Rockmart. And I'm glad he was. Rockmart is a really neat down that rolls out the red carpet for cyclists. We found a seat before the church rush at Frankie's restaurant. They brought us bread sticks and offered to fill our water bottles before we even had a chance to consider the menu. Great service, delicious food. I'm going back to Frankie's. After riding around Rockmart for a while, we headed back south to Powder Springs. We visited with some nice folks along the way back and stopped for pictures at trestles and tunnels. It was a long ride back, but we made it, and thoroughly enjoyed the day. When all was said and done, we put 58.1 miles in the book. Looking back to that first Razz and where my fitness level was, it's hard to reconcile how easily the 58 miles came.
The last stretch of the Silver Comet to be tackled is the Rockmart to Cedartown section. Everyone says this is the tough one with lots of elevation change over 14 miles. I'll keep riding and make the last section a goal for the spring.
PATH Foundation Web Site for the Silver Comet Trail
Chief Ladiga Trail
Frankie's Restaurant
Rockmart, GA from the Explore Georgia Website
Silver Comet Website
Fun Video from Nashville Motion
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