11-13-2011 - Dahlonega and Beyond Fall Scooter Ride

[maddiedog]

Vespa Marietta, an awesome shop a few miles from my house, sponsored a scooter ride this weekend riding up through the mountains of North GA. Sadly, my camera was dead, so these are pics from other people.

Here's the route

The ride was mostly Vespas, but there were a few Piaggios (same thing as Vespa, really), a few Stellas, some Syms, 2 Genuine Buddys, a Yamaha Vino, and an old Honda Elite there in addition to me on my PCX.

All the local riders around me met at the rendezvous point, next to Vespa Marietta. I'm the one 2nd from the right, in the greyish-blue jacket. Maddie didn't come with for this ride, she would have been too cold.

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We left, heading North, until we got to Rider's Hill in Dahlonega. We stopped and let the rest of the riding group gather there. Here's the whole group, right before we left:

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We took off in a staggered formation into the mountains, enjoying the twisties the whole way. Most bikes were 200+cc monsters, so they were quite surprised to see me keeping up with the lead group no problem. The PCX handled amazingly the whole time -- it was much faster uphills than the other 125cc scooters (Buddy and Vino), and just as fast as the 200cc Vespas.

We kept climbing, getting colder the whole way until we stopped at an overlook:

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You could see for miles... I wish it wasn't so overcast, or the view would have been even more awesome:

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But, the open road beckoned us to continue riding:

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So we hauled ass down the mountains, heading back towards home.

Stopped at the bottom, looking back at the group:

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We parted ways for the most part, stopping for coffee at a pottery shop that one of the riders parents owned along the way. They were expecting us, and the owner of the shop had made an awesome sculpture for one of the riders:

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Darkness soon crept in, and in the end, it was back down to the original 7 of us heading back towards Marietta. I got home at around 7pm, cold and hungry, but it was worth it for an awesome day of riding. I can't wait until it gets warm out again, we're planning on doing a camping trip up at Cloudland Canyon in the spring.

[skuuter]

Looks like a Great Ride....I recognize a Lota' Those Roads, and Riders Hill. My Wife and I have stayed in Dahlonega, Ga at the Econolodge a few times and ridden the Area. There is a Great Mexican Restaurant there also (can't remember the name... )...from there over to 68/60 and up through Ducktown, Tn is a great Ride also....!!!...I'll hafta' post the Pics from my "Ridin' with the Vespa/Lambretta/Stella Scooters Tour" I made about 2 months ago called "HILL ON WHEELS" sponsored by Scenic City Scooters in Chattanooga, Tn.......Thanks for the Pics and report....!!!