Chipgr
04-10-2006, 11:45 AM
Hi all,
I posted this to the Route Sheet forum but thought I'd put it in our local forum as well.
I just did a very nice ride from Orlando, FL to Atlanta, GA and back which I thought I’d share with the group. I had a business meeting in Atlanta on Friday and wanted to do back roads so I left Wednesday morning and spent two leisurely days getting to Atlanta. I left from my home in Lake Mary and headed up through the Ocala National Forest taking Route 19 to Palatka and then Routes 100/441/301/23 up past Jacksonville to Waycross, GA. This route goes right through several state and national parks and forests and is all good roads with 55-65 mph speed limits and very little traffic.
From Waycross I headed up Route 23 all the way to Atlanta. This route basically parallels I-75 but is all back country again mostly 55 mph limits and goes through some beautiful farming and forest country.
Returning from Atlanta I took Route 23 all the way from Atlanta to Jacksonville and did this leg all in one day instead of two. This was a pretty long day but I was racing storms South all day and decided to keep going.
This is a very pretty and pleasant 1000 mile ride (except for the traffic once you get into Metro Atlanta!) and I can highly recommend this to anyone looking for a fun ride. This could be a great weekend ride if you stopped in Macon rather than going all the way to Atlanta – this way you get all the good parts and miss the nasty traffic around Atlanta.
This trip was my first long distance ride and my new WeeStrom performed flawlessly. I was fighting 30-40 mpd cross winds all the way back from Atlanta. I have read a number of threads about how well (or poorly) the V-Strom does in heavy winds and I must admit I was wrestling the bike most of the day but never felt out of control or that this was a major problem. I did find that laying down on the tank bag to get a bit less windage and more weight on the front wheel helped a bit.
I posted this to the Route Sheet forum but thought I'd put it in our local forum as well.
I just did a very nice ride from Orlando, FL to Atlanta, GA and back which I thought I’d share with the group. I had a business meeting in Atlanta on Friday and wanted to do back roads so I left Wednesday morning and spent two leisurely days getting to Atlanta. I left from my home in Lake Mary and headed up through the Ocala National Forest taking Route 19 to Palatka and then Routes 100/441/301/23 up past Jacksonville to Waycross, GA. This route goes right through several state and national parks and forests and is all good roads with 55-65 mph speed limits and very little traffic.
From Waycross I headed up Route 23 all the way to Atlanta. This route basically parallels I-75 but is all back country again mostly 55 mph limits and goes through some beautiful farming and forest country.
Returning from Atlanta I took Route 23 all the way from Atlanta to Jacksonville and did this leg all in one day instead of two. This was a pretty long day but I was racing storms South all day and decided to keep going.
This is a very pretty and pleasant 1000 mile ride (except for the traffic once you get into Metro Atlanta!) and I can highly recommend this to anyone looking for a fun ride. This could be a great weekend ride if you stopped in Macon rather than going all the way to Atlanta – this way you get all the good parts and miss the nasty traffic around Atlanta.
This trip was my first long distance ride and my new WeeStrom performed flawlessly. I was fighting 30-40 mpd cross winds all the way back from Atlanta. I have read a number of threads about how well (or poorly) the V-Strom does in heavy winds and I must admit I was wrestling the bike most of the day but never felt out of control or that this was a major problem. I did find that laying down on the tank bag to get a bit less windage and more weight on the front wheel helped a bit.