From Atlanta, GA to Asheville, NC

Select a Ride Report from this list. April 11: Ramona, CA to Phoenix, AZ April 12: A Day in Phoenix April 13: Phoenix, AZ to Tucson, AZ April 14: Tucson, AZ to Las Cruces, NM April 15: Las Cruces, NM to Carlsbad, NM April 16: Carlsbad, NM to Midland, TX April 17: Rain Delay in Midland, TX April 18: Midland TX to Austin TX via the Hill Country April 19: Austin TX to Houston April 20: Houston TX to New Orleans, LA April 21: A Day in New Orleans April 22: New Orleans, LA to Pensacola, FL April 23: Pensacola, FL to Tallahassee, FL April 24: Tallahassee, FL to Orlando, FL April 25-26: Too Dazed in Orlando April 27: Orlando to Miami Beach April 28: Miami Beach to Key West April 29-30: Wasted Away in Key West Addenda and Errata May 2: Key West, FL to Fort Lauderdale, FL May 3: Fort Lauderdale, FL to Melbourne, FL May 4: Melbourne, FL to Jacksonville, FL May 5: Jacksonville, FL to Savannah, GA May 6: Savannah, GA to Atlanta, GA May 7: A Day in Atlanta, GA May 8: Atlanta, GA to Asheville, NC May 9: Asheville, NC to Winston-Salem, NC

Select a Travel Leg to review my plans for that day. Leg 01: Ramona, CA to Kingman, AZ Leg 02: Kingman, AZ to Phoenix, AZ Leg 03: Phoenix, AZ to Tucson, AZ Leg 04: Tucson, AZ to Las Cruces, NM Leg 05: Las Cruces, NM to Sanderson, TX Leg 06: Sanderson, TX to Austin, TX Leg 07: Austin, TX to Houston, TX Leg 08: Houston, TX to Galveston, TX Leg 09: Galveston, TX to New Orleans, LA Leg 10: New Orleans, LA to Pensacola, FL Leg 11: Pensacola, FL to Tampa, FL Leg 12: Tampa, FL to Miami Beach, FL Leg 13: Miami Beach, FL to Key West, FL Leg 14: Key West, FL to Cocoa Beach, FL Leg 15: Cocoa Beach, FL to Orlando, FL Leg 16: Orlando, FL to Jacksonville Beach, FL Leg 17: Jacksonville Beach, FL to Savannah, GA Leg 18: Savannah, GA to Atlanta, GA Leg 19: Atlanta, GA to Knoxville, TN Leg 20: Knoxville, TN to Lexington, VA Leg 21: Lexington, VA to Washington, DC Leg 22: Washington, DC to Baltimore, MD Leg 23: Baltimore, MD to White Plains, NY Leg 24: White Plains, NY to Boston, MA Leg 25: Boston, MA to Bath, ME Leg 26: Bath, ME to Quebec, QU Leg 27: Quebec, QU to Montreal, QU Leg 28: Montreal, QU to Toronto, ON Leg 29: Toronto, ON to Cleveland, OH Leg 30: Cleveland, OH to Fort Wayne, ON Leg 31: Fort Wayne, IN to Chicago, IL Leg 32: Chicago, IL to Springfield, IL Leg 33: Springfield, IL to Saint Louis, MO Leg 34: Saint Louis, MO to Joplin, MO Leg 35: Joplin, MO to Oklahoma City, OK Leg 36: Oklahoma City, OK to Dodge City, KS Leg 37: Dodge City, KS to North Platte, NE Leg 38: North Platte, NE to Pierre, SD Leg 39: Pierre, SD to Underwood, ND Leg 40: Underwood, ND to Beach ND Leg 41: Beach, ND to Lewiston, MT Leg 42: Lewiston, MT to Great Falls, MT Leg 43: Great Falls, MT to Missoula, MT Leg 44: Missoula, MT to Kalispel, MT Leg 45: Kalispel, MT to St. Regis, MT Leg 46: St. Regis, MT to Spokane, WA Leg 47: Spokane, WA to Pateros, WA Leg 48: Pateros, WA to Seattle, WA Leg 49: Seattle, WA to Portland, OR Leg 50: Portland, OR to Grants Pass, OR Leg 51: Grants Pass, OR to Eureka, CA Leg 52: Eureka, CA to San Francisco, CA Leg 53: San Francisco, CA to Sparks, NV Leg 54: Sparks, NV to Fresno, CA Leg 55: Fresno, CA to Ramona, CA

Ending Mileage:

	Actual	As Planned
Day of Travel	Tuesday May 8, 2001	Tuesday May 8, 2001
Departing From	Atlanta, GA	Atlanta, GA
Destination	Asheville, NC	Knoxville, TN
Distance (in miles)	227	251
Distance (in kilometers)	366	405
Departure Time	9:15 AM
Arrival Time	3:00 PM
Total Travel Time	5 hours 45 minutes	5 hours 41 minutes
Average Speed (in mph)	39 mph average	44 mph average
Average Speed (in kph)	64 kph average	71 kph average

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The picture to the right is for the handful of readers that have asked to see the 'clean look' that I'm now wearing. I'm not sure if this is permanent or not but it sure makes life a little bit easier on the road.

The weather forecast this morning calls for late afternoon rain or thunder showers. They are moving from the west and won't reach the Atlanta area until mid-afternoon. I have plenty of time for today's ride. A couple of you had written to me advocating some time on the Blue Ridge Parkway. On the other hand, Trevor tells me that Charleston, SC is a beautiful city worthy of a visit. The only definite in my plans is the need to get to Washington DC by Friday afternoon to meet Ron on Saturday morning.

As I roll out of Trevor's driveway, I'm not certain where I'm headed and I make it up as I go. This is the first day that I've left without a very definite route plan in my mind. Perhaps I'm letting go of the need to plan, plan, plan just a bit.

I use Interstate 85 and 985 to get out of the Atlanta area and head into northeast Georgia. Even before the Interstate ends just beyond Gainesville, it is clear that I am heading towards the Appalachians. The road is rising and falling again with the first sign of hills. It is also getting cold and I put on my insulated gloves and my leather jacket during a gas stop at Gainesville.

The interstate ends but the road continues as a very good four lane divided highway. The next way point is Toccoa. I miss the turn to Toccoa where the road goes from four lanes to two lanes. I catch the error right away and backtrack to the missed turn. This road is downright fun to ride and I realize fully how flat and straight the roads are in Florida. In Toccoa, I stop at a closed restaurant to put on my chaps as the temperature continues to fall. When I'm all done, I realize a woman has been watching me get dressed. Oh well.

I ride through Walhalla, SC hoping to get a picture of the bike and the Welcome to Walhalla sign. But there isn't one and so I am denied my happiness.

Onto South Carolina highway 11, designated as a scenic highway, for some of the best riding and scenery of the trip. The road is two lane and very well maintained. The road is a nice mix of flat and ups and downs with lots of nice sweeping curves thrown. It is possible to move along fairly rapidly and still enjoy the scenery. Unfortunately the road has no shoulders, so the opportunity to gather photographs.

The picture to the left is of Table Rock Mountain. It appears to be another granite outcropping. The forest extends to its flanks and then again up on top. There is a lot of hiking and camping opportunities along this highway.

This is another ride that could easily be extended and repeated.

The ride to Asheville takes me through Flat Rock. I'm surprised to see a sign for the Carl Sandburg's home. I had always associated him with Illinois and Abraham Lincoln. I'm also surprised to learn that he lived until 1967. But sure enough, he moved to Flat Rock in 1945. The setting for his home is beautiful.

For a brief biography of Carl Sandburg, click here.

I finally arrive in Asheville and take a quick tour of the downtown area. This is a very handsome town set in a forested valley. There is an interesting mix of shops, restaurants and coffeehouses. The University of North Carolina, Asheville's (UNCA) adds a college town overlay to the town. The place seems like a nice mix of college, industry and tourism. I'm told that there has been so much growth, particularly in tourism in the past years that some locals refer to the place as Ashe-Vegas.

The Biltmore Estate, one of America's great homes, is nearly in downtown Asheville. I will try to get there tomorrow morning.

Next Stop: Blue Ridge Parkway.

Depart Atlanta on Interstate 285 heading east.

Transition to Interstate 85 heading north.

Transition to Interstate 985 heading north.

North of Gainesville, GA Interstate 985 transition to US 23 heading north.

West of Toccoa, transition to US 123 heading north.

Cross South Carolina Border

At Westminster, SC transition to South Carolina 183 heading north.

North of Walhalla, transition to South Carolina 11 heading north.

East of Cleveland, transition to US 25 heading north.

South of Asheville, transition to Interstate 26 heading east.

Transition to Interstate 40 heading east.

Arrive Asheville.