Alpine Helen, Georgia

Another weekend, another road, another ride....

I had offered to give one of my old turn signals to a friend, Tim, whose wife broke one of hers while riding. Figuring I could combine a good deed with a good ride I agreed to meet him in rustic Alpine Helen in North Georgia to hand over the turn signal. I was surprised when MapQuest showed Helen to be just under 70 miles from home as I'd always thought of it as a further ride. However, since half the ride would be over mountain roads the ride took about an hour and a half.

The first part of my trip required a ride up GA-400, a four-lane, divided State highway. I felt a lot better when I caught my first view of the mountains beyond. I love the mountains!

The old Indian Mound found near the Nacoochee General Store is a well known North Georgia landmark. The gazebo on top was placed there by an old land owner in the late 19th/early 20th century.

The mound itself has been never been fully explored but various artifacts have been retrieved from it over the years. Although this land was once controlled by the Cherokee Indians, the mound predates the Cherokees and it has never been determined exactly who created the mound or for what purpose.

The small mountain town of Helen was just another dying town until 1968. That year local merchants banded together and decided to turn the town into a faux German village. The city is as kitschy as it sounds but the Brats are good, the beer is better, and the streets are full of people. For more info on Helen see www.helenga.org

Over the years the city has grown to include the usual national chains including hotels and fast food but all have to build to the town's "Alpine" building code.

We decided to meet up at Hans, a biker friendly restaurant on the north side of town. Any restaurant that has reserved motorcycle parking out front can't be all bad!

Tim and I posed for a quick pic just to prove we exist. After eating I showed off my new modified stock exhaust and we parted ways.

Bratwurst for lunch can only be topped by a ride through the mountains and with a meal in my belly I hit the mountains for a quick ride before returning home.

Although the day didn't provide the best conditions for photography I was able to add another fuel stop to my GPS. I've been trying to catalog every gas station I find in the mountains. Several winters ago while on a Sunday drive through the mountains I made the mistake of counting on a small gas station being open on the other side of a mountain pass. As I rolled onto the valley flats and pulled up to the pump my "low fuel" warning light sounded. And as I saw the store was closed my heart sounded. I was lucky and found an open gas station before I ran out of fuel but the trip left me determined to never run out of gas in the mountains. And having as many gas stations as possible stored in the GPS will help in case I do!

For the benefit of any non-Southerners reading this blog, yes, it is State law that at least one road side pullout per mile must offer boiled peanuts. Lucky us!

The Bible Belt wouldn't be right without a church around every corner and North Georgia has her share. This church in the Sautee area is being restored by the locals and sports a fresh paint job.

If you've never had the chance to ride through the North Georgia mountains then put down your computer and hop on your bike. The mixture of mountains and valleys speaks to the traveler in us all.

As my travel time was winding down I made my last stop at the old Sautee Store in North Georgia. When I was a kid on Boy Scout trips to the mountains we'd stop by the Sautee Store and purchase a Budwine soft drink. Bottled in Athens, GA, Budwine began as Bludwine, a fruit and grain based drink that was an alternative to alcohol back during prohibition. In later years it was turned into a soft drink. Sadly, manufacturing ceased in the mid-nineties and there's now no way to get a Budwine fix. But, the Sautee Store still stands and continues to welcome visitors. Stop by when you're in the area.

I was sad to leave the mountains but will return now that I know Helen and the surrounding roads are closer to home than I had imagined.