Southeast - North Georgia in October...

Hey guys...

Wife and I are planning out next years vacations and are thinking of switching it up and heading to Georgia in the fall. A perfect time for us would be around our Thanksgiving weekend, which occurs in the 2nd weekend of October.

I'm assuming the weather at that time of the year is cooler, but not too bad...I'd think arm warmers and leg warmers for the early rides?? Is the chance of rain greater at this time of year or is it a hit and miss thing??

Thanks,
Rich

Hey guys...

Wife and I are planning out next years vacations and are thinking of switching it up and heading to Georgia in the fall. A perfect time for us would be around our Thanksgiving weekend, which occurs in the 2nd weekend of October.

I'm assuming the weather at that time of the year is cooler, but not too bad...I'd think arm warmers and leg warmers for the early rides?? Is the chance of rain greater at this time of year or is it a hit and miss thing??

Thanks,
Rich

I live just north of the area you're looking. Mid October is usually very dry with warm afternoons and cool nights. We do get a lot of leaf lookers as they are called, tourists that drive around to look at the leaves. Other than that, it's a great time of year.

There will be thousands of city folks heading to the mtns to see the leaves change. Mostly on the weekends but there will be more cars/suvs than usual on the roads during the week also.

Arm warmers, knee warmers, and base layer undershirt will be needed for early riding.

Sounds perfect...

Bring 'em, but remember that most of us down here freeze at 50F. Cool to us /= cool to you.

Oh yea...I know that, but trust me I live in the wrong country! I hate the cold and I hate winter, but I deal with it...

If you ask me there is better climbing in western North Carolina than north Georgia.

And MUCH better BBQ.:love:

And MUCH better BBQ.:love:
Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.
The best BBQ (http://www.slopesbbq.com/) around here is in the northern suburbs of Atlanta. We had some of their ribs for our July 4th lunch. Yum.

As far as rain is concerned, summer has much more rain out here than winter does. And when it does rain, it's normally accompanied with lightning and wind. So the winters are usually drier but a bit colder.

As far as rain is concerned, summer has much more rain out here than winter does. And when it does rain, it's normally accompanied with lightning and wind. So the winters are usually drier but a bit colder.

The OP was asking about October, not winter. :rolleyes: Some might say winter never comes to Georgia. It barely shows it's face in WNC anymore. ;)

It gets very cold here in Ringgold. My mistake, I've only been here since '01. My mistake.

The rain falls in the summer, not the winter. Sorry for not noticing.

And it gets very cold here in Chatt Vegas, just north by 5 miles from Ringgold, in the winter. In the teens most nights.

If you are looking for a good ride; there is 6 Gap which is late September / early October. Its 100 mile ride with 6 good climbs & some beautiful scenary.

BRAG went over Unocoi Gap this year, from Hiawassee to Dahlonega. It was a very tough 5 to 6 mile climb, followed by a really fast 7 or 8 mile downhill. The total ride was just under 50 miles that day. The scenary was spectacular. The downhill part was like riding a roller coaster, but with you being in charge. Coming into one of those mountain switchbacks at over 40 mph was a pretty exhilerating experience.

That route was a good one. Check the BRAG.org site and see if you can find a map.

www.raccoonmountain.com could be cool.

Anytime is a great time for a ride in North Georgia. I agree with the tourist traffic, but my experience with the tourists up there is they are travelling really slowly and tend to give cyclists a good amount of room. There is the occasional driver who is looking at the scenery and not the cyclist, so always leave yourself an out.

Michael