If you've talked to us at one of the many rallies or motorcycle shows we've worked you've probably heard me talk about a ride where when Anna and I stopped, took our helmets off and both said at the same time "How could you explain that to someone who doesn't ride?".
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Well this is the ride that elicited that response.
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How We Found this Great Tennessee Motorcycle Ride
When I met Anna I'd been away from riding for awhile. When a friend stopped by with a bike shortly after meeting Anna my interest was rekindled. | |
| Anna, who had never ridden before didn't object too loudly when I announced I wanted to take the MSF (Motorcycle Safety Foundation) course and maybe start riding again. It wasn't too long before there was a bike in the garage again. Anna took a few short rides with me and when I gingerly mentioned that the motorcycle riding just north of Atlanta was some of the best in the world and I wanted to spend a long weekend up there she agreed. | |
| To make a long story short, Anna enjoyed the riding (if not the rental bike). We had a great time and started planning trips around Atlanta as often as possible. After several trips we were having a lot of fun, but I just hadn't found a road like the ones I remembered from my earlier riding in the area. | |
The Cherohala Motorcycle Resort
On one of those trips we stumbled on the Cherohala Motorcycle Resort. It had just opened and the founders, Mark and Renee were some of the nicest folks we'd met. The morning after we arrived from Atlanta, I asked Renee if there was a nice, relatively short ride we could take that morning. | |
| Renee smiled, pointed to the driveway and said "Go out the driveway and turn right."
When I asked her where to go to find the riding she smiled and said "That's where the ride starts"! | |
We hopped on the bike as soon as the fog cleared (see the photo below) and proceeded to ride the route described below. We rode the entire route, then stopped in Tellico Plains to get lunch. That stop was when we both said the same thing at the same time.
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| We now ride this loop every time we are in the area, and each time is still has the same effect. | |
Ride Safe and Have Fun!
We hope you enjoy this ride as much as we do. It is an excellent ride for just about any level of experience. If you're new to the sport just ride conservatively until you get comfortable with the blind corners and rises. For a more exciting ride you just need to dial in a few more RPM on the tach. With a reasonable amount of care and a dose of common sense you can have a LOT of fun without getting in too much trouble. | |
Motorcycle Ride Pictures and Review
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| Our first visit to the Cherohala Motorcycle Resort was shortly after I bought the Concours back in 2005. |  |
| Starting out on Reliance Road (SR-315) from the resort you can tell this is going to be a nice ride. Little traffic, beautiful scenery and twisting and winding road! |  |
| Not only does the road wind around the countryside, it flows up and down the hills. |  |
| Many working farms line the road. You're far away from the larger cities and towns so subdivisions are practically non-existent along this part of the ride. |  |
| There's plenty of sweepers and tighter curves to keep things interesting. If you take it easy this is a comfortable ride even for a relatively new rider, however you can really turn up the challenge with a little twist of the wrist! |  |
| There's also plenty of straights where you can open it up a bit to make the next corner a little more exciting. |  |
| The scenery along this ride is pretty and relaxing, but subdued enough that it isn't constantly drawing your attention from the road. |  |
| Approaching SR-30 on Reliance Road. |  |
| Reliance Road crosses the Hiwassee River approaching SR-30. This is a stunningly beautiful part of the country. Riding a motorcycle allows you to immerse yourself in the experience like no other form of transportation. |  |
| The historic Webb Brothers store on Hwy 30 in Reliance, TN. Buy fuel, mail a postcard or setup a rafting adventure. |  |
| Highway 30 provides more perfect motorcycle road. |  |
| Notice that the road ends up on the left of the stand of trees directly ahead. The road winds around, up and down to get there. Just one of the many reasons this is one of my favorite rides. |  |
| There are several places where the road runs along the edge of meadows and fields. When I think country roads this ride is what I see. |  |
| SR-30 ends at US-64/74 which runs along the Lake Ocoee and the Ocoee River. Turn left towards Ducktown. |  |
| US-64/74 is maintained for heavier traffic including significant truck traffic. The road runs right along the mountains to your left, with the lake and river to your right. |  |
| Notice that the proximity of the mountains and the lake don't provide for much of shoulder. |  |
| This REALLY becomes a problem when trucks MUST cross into your lane to avoid huge rock outcroppings that jut into the westbound lanes. The truck ahead is going to use another two to three feet of my lane here. BE CAREFUL! |  |
| Although there are some nice twisty sections along US-67/74 traffic is usually heavy and slow enough that you're better off flowing with the traffic on this section and enjoying the scenery. Don't worry, there's a lot more challenging and lightly traveled road coming up. |  |
| Pedestrians are another reason to treat this section of road gently. Notice the car parked against traffic with the rear tire on the fog line. You definitely didn't want to be leaned over hard when they decided this was a great place to stop! |  |
| US-64/74 also has some passing lanes to help you get by the slower traffic. |  |
| This is what a modernized highway looks like. Thankfully we're not going to be on this for very long. |  |
| Just after US-64/74 turns to super-slab you'll cross under SR-68 and take the SR-68 north exit. |  |
| Due to a camera failure I didn't get shots of SR-68 north. Part of the reason I didn't catch the problem was because I was having way too much fun riding this half the loop. The northbound leg provides plenty of excitement and challenge as well as some pretty scenery on the way back to Tellico Plains. |  |