Biking on the Silver Comet Trail

Having traveled the 33 miles from Anniston to the Georgia line on the Chief Ladiga Trail, I now roll onto the Silver Comet Trail. Surface is concrete and very smooth. The 10 miles to Cedartown are rural and shaded for the most part. Approaching Cedartown, the trail loops around and under itself for the ride into town. The depot is main trail attraction in town. I was looking forfard to visiting the depot visitor center but for some unknown reason it was closed this afternoon. Even the water fountain was turned off on this 75 degree day. I had planned to stay in town and get some advise on places to stay and eat from the visitor center. So I rolled on another 12 miles to Rockmart, the last place to stay overnight until the end of the trail. The terrain was hilly, some steep grades. Rockmart was a much prettier town with a nice creek flowing through the town center, bordered by parks. There was a welcome sign with map and motels. I headed through Rockmarts town center to the edge of town and a Days Inn.

I was back on the trail early the next morning and had a wonderful ride out of town. This is the most scenic part of the Silver Comet Trail. It was about 12 miles of wooded trail through rock cuts leading to the Brush Mountain Tunnel. The tunnel was lighted and had great accoustics. The echo went on and on. The next big attraction was the Pumpkinville Trestle. 3It was in a very populated area and had many benches among raised beds of flowering dafodils.

As I rode closer to Atlanta, the trail became more populated and the scenery changed to overlooking the backyards of cookie cutter homes. Finally, I rolled into Smyrna and the trail end, at milepost 0.0. At this point the Silver Comet Connector Trail goes another mile to S Cobb Drive very near the I-285 beltline around Atlanta. From here I rode a couple miles toward the beltline and an array of motels, fast food joints and gas stations. The Comfort Inn was the first motel I came to. They agreed to hold my bicycle the following day while I retrieved my car back in Anniston.

Most trails don't have a transportation infastructure allowing one to ride one way and take public transportation back. I usually end up riding trails twice or roundtrip. This time, I was able to taxi to Atlanta's Amtrak station in time for the 8:38am Crescent, Amtrak's train from NYC to New Orleans with stops in Atlanta and Anniston. The ride to Anniston took 2 1/2 hours and roughly followed I-20, not the route I had just bicycled. Once in Anniston, I retrieved my car, drove back to Smyrna for my bike and then home.