NGBAT 21

Northern Georgia Backways Adventure Trail (NGBAT)

May 8th-10th 2021

The NGBAT forms a 550 mile adventure loop around the mountains and forests of Northern Georgia. It is a mix of back paved roads and dirt roads. The ride has many easy and hard route choices. This ride is done as a 3 day adventure loop. Riders will be staying in motels each evening. The route map is comprised of three colored lines, Red Green and Blue. The main route is Blue and includes lots of dirt road sections and some amazing back places. There can be some challenging sections on this route. The Green route choices are mainly paved and often shortcuts. There is one tougher Red route which can add about 50 mile to you adventure.

Status of this route: These routes are not fully proven. Some sections may be more difficult or impassable at times due to local weather conditions or maintenance. Riders should always be prepared to turn around and when appropriate, choose an easier option or another route. These are meant to be adventures and if you can't find some enjoyment in that sort of thing, you should choose another more mainstream trip.

This NGBAT ride targets riders who really want to take their adventure bikes off road. At times it can be a tough guys ride. This ride is for skilled, experienced riders only. The ride is put together as a lodging style ride meaning each evening riders will spend the night in a different motel. The ride includes easy and hard options for riders wanting choices or having a tough day.

Maps NGBAT 11x17

About NGBAT

Join us for this fantastic Northern Georgia Adventure. Riders meet Saturday morning at 8am in Helen GA, If you are coming from afar you may want to arrive Friday night and spend the night in Helen.

We recommend: Econo Lodge, 101 Edelweiss Strasse, Helen, GA 30545 +1 706-878-8000 at $88/night

Riders will receive meetup information after their signup

Riders can leave their trucks in the town parking lot during the ride.

Riders will need to carry their own gear on their motorcycles.

We will be staying in motels each evening and eating in restaurants.

Come prepared to have a great time and meet some fantastic people.

Signup info:

The cost to join this 3 day ride is $295 This covers your lodging for the 2 nights during the ride. It also includes your ride packets which include a custom Garmin GPS Map on a micro SD card and printed ride maps and descriptions.

Now taking signups:

$295 Ride Signup

Checkout View Cart

After your signup riders will receive an email from me with further ride information and instructions.

Refund Policy

Do not sign up for this ride unless you are serious about coming. I take your signup very seriously and start planning for you the minute you sign up. If you need to cancel up to one month prior to the ride start date I will give you a full refund but I will keep $100 to cover the planning work. Sorry but I make non refundable commitments myself so it gets hard for me. "I hate this world of non refundable deals myself." If you need to cancel within one month of the ride I cannot give a refund unless I can find a replacement rider. In the case of finding a replacement rider, I will gladly give you the full refund minus the $100 to cover the planning work. In the event of ride cancellation, you will be given a full refund.

Ride Yoda's

Questions about this ride contact:

Yoda Keith B: akeithbennett@gmail.com

View the ride maps

OK since many of you like to study more detail about the ride, below are the ride maps.

I put these ride maps on the web page because I know a few of you love looking at the ride detail and dreaming about the ride. At first glance these maps do not look so impressive, but they are way cool. If you start zooming in, you can see the ride in incredible detail. I have spent a ton of hours sorting through the details of the ride for each day, so for those of you that enjoy this sort of thing, well enjoy!

Legend:

The Blue lines are MAIN routes

The Red lines are Harder routes

The Green lines are Easy options

The Black lines are the out and back viewpoints

How does the ride navigation work?

This is a self-led GPS ride; all riding is on your own. You are responsible for your own riding. You will be given a GPS map file and instructions on how to use your Garmin GPS unit. People will hook up in small groups of less than 6 riders and tend to ride together. You are not encouraged to ride alone. You are responsible for your own riding and yourself.

(see my ride Navigation Video)

Are you right for this ride?

When something goes wrong on a ride, would your riding friends say that you are more likely to need help or more likely to give help? You should be in the more likely to offer help camp. This ride is filled with riders that are more likely to give help, so most of the time the riders never need help. Additionally there is all the normal stuff, come prepared to maintain your bike, fix your bike on the trail, repair flat tires, deal with bad weather and rain and make a joke or two.

How do I make the GPS stuff so easy?

I develop very high quality ride maps custom for our ride. They come from much of what I and others have ridden. I take the best from all my rides and make new ones.

(See my Custom Ride Maps Video)

Note from me, gpsKevin

My goal for this ride is simple: great riding. So you can count on great routes and places to ride.

But in addition, the ride is about discovering new places, meeting new friends, seeing new parts of the country.

Thanks

gpsKevin

FAQ's

Q:What will the weather be like this time of year?

A: The weather is most often nice, could be a little hot in the lower elevations and it can be cold in the morning and in the mountains. But sometimes there can be rain. Wet and muddy routes can force us to change our plans. Come prepared with extra gear for cold and wet.

Q: Would this be a good ride for new riders?

A: No, this ride is for intermediate and experienced riders only. The riding has easy route choices and tough route options. Each evening we will study the following day's choices. You will find lots of supportive people at the ride.

Q: What are motel room arrangements?

A: Rooms are double occupancy, meaning each rider shares a two queen bed room with another rider.

Q: What bikes are right for this ride?

A: Any adventure bike, small to large.

Bikes including and in between the Suzuki VStrom and the KTM990 all can do well by choosing the easy or hard route options.

Q; What do I do if I don't have a Garmin GPS?

A: Buy one, you need it, we will show you how to use it. You can get a great one for under $200 bucks. ( See gpsKevin's gps recommendations)

Q: Is the riding really on my own?

A: Yes, but almost everyone hooks up and rides with a friend, or a new friend or me.

Who is going on this ride?