Wind gusts to 35mph forecast for the day. Tornadoes came through a couple days earlier. I feel lucky warm temperatures and no rain are predicted for the next 4 days. Even better, the La Quinta I spent the night in, right off I-285 in Atlanta, is allowing me to leave my car right outside their front door for 3 days while I bicycle. I accessed their computer to find the best route to the Silver Comet trail head. After finding a route, I realize the Silver Comet Connector Trail passes by on the sidewalk out front. So I'm all set and start pedaling at 7:20am. The connector trail follows sidewalks all the way to the Silver Comet Trail, just 3 miles away. You do need to stop at the road crossings and wait for the pedestrian light since there is an endless line of commuter traffic at this hour.
Shortly I'm at the Silver Comet trailhead. My 4 day plan is to ride to Anniston and back. I have options on where to stay depending on how I feel. I broke the two trails down and looked at them as one continuous trail. The Silver Comet mileage starts at 0 outside Atlanta and ends at about 62 at the Alabama state line. At that point the Chief Ladiga Trail starts at mile 0 and end at mile 34 near Anniston. This made mileage between points state to state difficult. So I continued the Silver Comet mileage method after crossing the state line. The places I was most interested in knowing mileage, were the towns with motels and places to get food. They broke down like this:
Start of Silver Comet Trail Mile
Several motels located about 3 miles away, lots of restaurants 0
Hiram - A couple motels and restaurants 15
Dallas - Bed & Breakfast and a couple restaurants 20
Rockmart - Two motels and restaurants 38
Cedartown - Two motels and many restaurants, Kroger, Visitor Center 52
Piedmont - One motel and a few restaurants, Visitor Center 76
Jacksonville - One motels and a couple restaurants 87
Anniston / Weaver - A 5 mile road ride to a motel and a few restaurants 94
Riding further away from Atlanta the scenery gradually gives way to a more rural one but it takes a good 20= miles to realize this. It is just beyond here I encounter some tornado damage on the trail. A number of trees had fallen onto and been cut off of the trail. When I saw a large section of metal roofing wrapped on a tree, I knew this had to a tornado wind. You can see some of the damage in the photo below.
As I sat eating my lunch in a park in Rockmart, a fellow bicyclist approached and asked about my trip. Chris Zacho was dressed in red and riding a purple bike or maybe it was the other way around. He did have a feather glued to his red helmet. His ride was from SC to the west coast and back. You can find him on the internet - the great American double cross.
Leaving Rockmart the trail deviates from the old rail bed. It becomes quite hilly and a bit of a challenge for someone accustomed to the gentle rail grades. It is that way about the entire way to Cedartown. The town of Cedartown has a visitors center in an old rail station. The town appears to be the largest along the trail. The very helpful greeter at the visitor center called the two local motels inquiring of room rates for me. The Holiday Inn Express at $92 was more than double the $45 Country Hearth Inn wanted. My room at Country Hearth was very nice. Zorba's Italian Restaurant was closest, so that is where I ate. I thought Zorba was Greek?
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