Athens, GA checking in. I went ahead and added all of the recent Athens folks to the list to make a handy reference going forward.
I would really be enthused about going on a group ride somewhere with people that enjoy riding. There's just kind of a weird vibe with scooters in town, like a ton of people are riding but almost no one will throw you a wave and generally don't look like they're having a good time.
I'm currently rocking a somewhat modified Sym DD50. I think I could keep up without a problem at any reasonable speed, but I haven't really put the bike through a long ride since getting some upgrades (62cc BBK, Uni Air Filter, and new exhaust). I'm a little hesitant to go anywhere that's too far away for this reason, but could be down for just about anything.
I've attached a picture of my scooter, although that was when it was new and there have been a few changes. If I'm downtown, I usually park at the corner of the Globe or the bike parking between Wuxtry Records and the OK Coffee Stand. If you see me around, feel free to chat.
I'm not sure what kind of scoots everyone in town is rocking, but there's a route I used to take from Athens to Winder that, if memory serves correctly, took a little over an hour each way.
It's a really simple route to remember too. These directions assume you're starting at the corner of Prince & Oglethorpe (At the Pizza Hut/Wings place)
1)Go down Oglethorpe until it becomes Tallahassee (it switches at the underpass if I'm not mistaken).
2)Continue down Tallahassee for about 30 minutes until it dead ends into GA-330
3)Take left onto GA-330 keep riding until you're in Winder
Of course the downside is that you end up Winder, not exactly a progressive scooter-lovin town (if anywhere in GA is).
Another possibility would be to take a nice leisurely ride over to Watson Mill Bridge and perhaps have a nice picnic lunch there. I think there are some back roads which could be taken to minimize traffic interference from cars, etc.
I'd also be down for just meeting up with fellow scooterists at a bar somewhere, perhaps Normal Bar, Hendershots, or possibly somewhere downtown (Walkers, Manhattan, Trapeze, Max Canada, etc). It'd be nice to just talk scooters with someone else that actually gives a damn about them.
Also, to all the Ringgold folks, that's where I was living when I got my scooter (summer home from college). I hope that scootings gotten a little bit more popular because I was feeling pretty alone at the time.
There's a lot of fun to be had riding on some of the country roads around there though! I remember really enjoying spending some time straddling the state line (Cherokee Valley & Keith Roads) and enjoying a nice ride in what felt like the country.
Also, I recommend a ride into Chattanooga at some point. It certainly scared the pants off me the first time but after that it became kind of fun. I'd usually go:
1)Highway 41 thru East Ridge
2)Turn right on Dodds Ave right after the tunnel for about a mile
3)Turn left onto McCallie Ave for a couple of miles
4)Arrive in Chatt and enjoy some pleasant downtown time.
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