The Silver Comet/Chief Ladiga Ride

Grail, Apr 18, 12:57

The Silver Comet Trail and Chief Ladiga Trail are recently connected Rails to Trails conversions that run from Smyrna, GA to near Anniston, AL. They are paved trails reserved for bicycles, walker/runners, and roller skaters. No motorized vehicles are allowed. The Silver Comet trail runs westerly to the Georgia/Alabama state boundries. The Chief Ladiga starts at the boundary and continues west to Anniston. Total distance is about 100 miles.

Our son Lee joined me for a ride over both trails. We departed at 1030 AM on September 9, 2001, after some confusion on just where the trail head actually was located. There are two start points. We settled for the one on Gaylor Street.

On day 1 we rode 52.5 miles to Cedartown GA, arriving at about 5:00 PM. We average about 9.75 MPH. The weather was excellent, with an overcast much of the day, and mild temperature. The trail to Rockmart, the first 38 miles, is mostly level and smooth. We made good time. From Rockmart to Cedartown areas of steep to very steep hills slow us down. The trail surface is concrete and in good condition the entire length of the trail.

We talked to a Trail Patrol officer, Mike, from the Paulding county Sheriff's office that patrolled the trail through that county. He said there is some crime on the trail, mostly drug related. He speculated that grower put dead armadillos on trail to discourage inteference with their harvest and conceal the odor of marijuna. About five miles further on, we passed three dead armadillos. The odor was strong enough to move us on fast.

In Cedartown we rode 1.8 to the Holiday Inn Express, 770-749-0006. It is very nice, with a hot tub, swimming pool, and hot breakfast.

On day two, we departed the Holiday Inn at 9:15 AM. Rode 1.8 miles back to the Cedartown Info Center on the Silver Comet Trail, and picked up good maps of the Chief Ladiga Trail.

We then rode the 10.2 miles to the end of the Silver Comet and start of the Chief Ladiga Trail at the Georgia/Alabama state borders. The arch and rest area at the border was paid for by a grant from Cocoa Cola Company.

The Chief Ladiga trail surface is asphalt, and overall in good condition, with some cracks and bulges by roots in places. In several places the trail crosses a railroad. The crossing are rough, and must be crossed at right angles to the tracks to avoid a fall. We rode the 32.5 miles to end of trail at Weaver, AL just north of Anniston.

We stopped at the welcome center in Piedmont along way. They recommend the Solid Rock sandwich shop for lunch. Lunch was excellent.

The weather was mild in the AM, hot in the PM. There were hills all around, but the trail is mostly flat. We rode a total of 45.74 miles in 4 hours, 38 minutes, averaging 9.87 MPH. We met Ramona and Mary at trails end in Weaver for a pickup.