Stopped at Jittery Joe’s in Watkinsville after riding on mostly state highways. The gallery next door actually has Sharmila’s paintings on display – but it is closed today (Sunday).

John got his new motorcycle (his 8th since I met him three years back) today. So, that made it one Yamaha (Tenere), one Kawasaki (Vulcan S) and one Honda (CTX). Start of a very enjoyable ride. Instead of hitting north Georgia, we headed out to the south east today – ultimate destination being Lake Oconee.

John and I had lunch in Jasper, GA on our way back from Carters Lake. Old Mulehouse was a fascinating choice for lunch. Great food and a lot of outside sitting. In fact, you will sit right at the intersection of Main St and Church St (the two main roads in Jasper). We saw a lot of interesting traffic from dilapidated trucks to vintage cars – and of course a lot of motorbikes.

The city bills itself as the “First Mountain City” (that is what it said on the main water tank – see the picture). Very cute town.

If you go thru Jasper, GA in future, do not forget to swing by Old Mulehouse for a meal or cocktail and enjoy watching the traffic go by…

Tucked away in the Blue Ridge mountains (Chatsworth, GA), it is a very quiet and serene lake. I believe there are no private residences on this lake. Fed by the Coosawattee river, this is a man-made lake.

There was virtually no traffic in the lake…

Today’s destination was Carters Lake in Chatsworth, GA. First visit to the lake.

The one restaurant near the marina on this lake that I could find was unfortunately, closed due to COVID. John and I got a good view of the lake and then landed up riding up to Jasper for lunch.

Speaking of John, he has bought yet another motorbike – a Kawasaki this time. If you are keeping count, he has had 8 motorbikes in the three years that I got to know him after meeting him in the motorcycle safety classes. And I am still on my first one!!

Was a great day to ride…

This clip is from the portion of the ride on Birmingham Highway

It was a roundtrip of 125 miles thru backroads and rural roads in North Georgia with John Moore. It was a rather hot day but Ellijay was in its charming best. I highly recommend Emily’s Bar and Restaurant. Great food (and great presentation – something you won’t expect in small towns) and a lot of space to sit outside in covered areas.

John, of course, was as funny as ever. But the best part was our discussions around cultures in America, Europe, India and Kenya. (His wife is from Kenya and he has a great understanding of a lot of the ethos and ethics there – that most tourists won’t get). One very interesting turn of discussion was the role of economic progression in the decline of certain kind of cultural behaviors – e.g. respect for the elders (or even elderly parents).

John is a great guy to hang around with. Riding bikes to do the hanging around is an even better icing on the cake!!

Took exactly 30 days to go from 13,000 miles to 14,000 miles. Rode every single day in between but one when it rained the whole day!! Covid and four drivers with only two cars at home made it easy to make the motorbike the conveyance of first resort for me this month!!