Silver Comet - Northwestern Georgia

From our camping nest atop Cheaha Mountain in Alabama, we drove through Piedmont, AL and along the section of the Chief Ladiga Trail that remains unpaved over to Cedartown, GA. Construction has already begun to finish this project. Shortly after entering Georgia, the fresh concrete of the Silver Comet Trail could be seen alongside US 278, but since we hadn't the energy to ride the entire trail, we stuck to our plan to pick it up in Rockmart, GA and pedal east up through Bushy Mountain Tunnel.

Rockmart is a comfortable little town with an atmosphere that takes you back in time. Finding the trail in Rockmart isn't at all difficult as signage appears readily and pulls you in to the center of town along Euharlee Creek and a beautiful park setting. Just before setting out, we made note of Frankie's Italian Restaurant (about which we had been told) to confirm we must be in the right place.

Folks we had met earlier also informed us that the Silver Comet was a concrete trail. To me, this meant I was in for a faster ride, but I had read complaints of it being rougher than asphalt. Once riding on the surface, it all became clear. The concrete was coarsely brushed, which I suspect was done to enhance drainage and provide a more secure year-round surface, though the end result was a little rough feeling.

Scenery was wonderful, heavily forested and lots of elevation change alongside the trail. So, while the trail made gradual slopes the surroundings changed drastically from excavated, rock channel to deep ravines on either side. It could have just been that day, but we couldn't help but notice how many more motors we heard. There seemed to be lots of "industry" off in the acoustic distance and the maintenance crew was on site running a half dozen riding lawn mowers along the trail. While there were birds here and there and lots of bird houses to be seen, this trail came up short on wildlife sightings for us.

Riding through Bushy Mountain Tunnel was a bit of a treat, since we don't have things like that in Florida and it was also nice and cool in the shade inside. After crossing the trestle, we turned around to head back for lunch.

If your Silver Comet plans include nothing else, they should include a visit to Frankie's Italian Restaurant. The Talapia Salad and Talapia Parmasean were outstanding!!

Photos are in the gallery.

Trail condition - Excellent
Facilities - Excellent
Vista - Beautiful!
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