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  • "Tail of the Lizard"

    We recently took another club member on one of Ken's favorite routes. He calls it the "Tail of the Lizard." I haven't added up all the turns on the short run, but it's a pretty neat little ride. When he first started taking me on it, he was still a little weak from his cancer treatments and I thought he was pushing it on some of the road surfaces, but he would tell me all about different things that drew his eye along the way. I can't get the gps software to download with our slow dial-up so here are the turn-by-turn directions.

    We began at the Shell station (33 40 605 N and 86 58 941W) across from the Cracker Barrel in Gardendale (already ate at home, so don't need more food yet at CB). Head west on Fieldstown Road to Coalburg Road. Go right onto Coalburg, then turn right onto Bivens Brookside Road. Turn left at the 4-way in Brookside onto Main Street. Go right onto Brookside Cardiff road and then right onto Linns Crossing Road. Go through Cardiff (don't blink). Bear right onto Old Jasper Hwy for .4 mi. and another right onto Old Jasper Hwy - wonder how many there are? Turn right onto Bankhead Hwy. This will take you past dixie Speedway "The South's Action Track." Take a right on River Road, then another right onto Nail Road. Turn right onto Mt. Olive Road and go left onto Sardis Road. Sardis will take you to US 31. If you take US 31 north into Warrior, you can get some really great BBQ at Big Daddy's BBQ on Main Street. This ride is only about 30 miles (44 if you go on to Big Daddy's), but it's good when we only have a short time before he goes to work, or we have to do something else.

    That ends that particular part of the ride. We went on farther north and took a ride to see the view on Smoke Rise and a tour through Blount Springs and ate at Top Hat before continuing on toward Cleveland and finally coming home via 160 HWY.

    Along the way he observed an elderly lady who would walk down a steep hill to cross the road and tend a really large garden-I noticed a lot more of those this time. There is also a really nice, large brick home in the middle of nowhere. We often see wild turkey, a remote control airfield and the old Sardis Church and School. This area also has strip mining and I noted a new gas tank cemetery!

  • #2
    Sounds like a good ride Andrea. Thanks for the post. I have ridden most of those roads. Blount Springs is a very interesting place, but why are so many of the houses for sale?
    Jamie
    02 K1200lt
    82 R100RT

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    • #3
      Tail...

      Don't know. We just like to go up there and look around. The whole idea of the little village with the same style houses and all sounds like a cool way to live - it always gives me that impression anyway. I know the residents there probably live in the same rat race we all do, but it really looks like a place where you could get a real sense of community.

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      • #4
        Andrea.

        Thanks for posting your ride directions and what a great name to give it. I will add it to our ABEES Favorite Rides and also Big Daddy's BBQ in Warrior. Top Hat is already listed.

        Gary Williams from Morris suggested four interesting places to see in the Blount Springs area and showed them to me last week. All are worth checking out. Bangor Cave is historically significant for that area in that in its heyday (1930s) the cave was home to a high rolling casino and speakeasy. They are listed in the updated Travel Guide available on our website, www.bmwmoal.org > ABEES Travel Guide page.
        Bob Steber
        1995 R100GSPDC Long Tall Sallie
        1991 R100GS The Bumblebee
        1976 R90s Odalisque

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        • #5
          I was the lucky person to ride with Ken and Andrea, and I must reiterate that it was a fabulous ride. Ken knows all those roads so I felt comfortable with him leading. I wasn't aware of Smoke Rise or Blount Springs so I enjoyed seeing them. Then we had a great lunch chatting about riding over some really good food. Ken led us on some more fun roads.

          It was a wonderful day with some really nice folks. Thanks for inviting me.

          Lenn
          BMW K1200 GT
          BMW K1200 RS - Sport tourer
          KAW KLX 250 - Dual sport
          KAW ZX6R - Track Bike

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          • #6
            Ken & Andrea,
            Can't wait to try and tame the "tail of the lizard." Thanks for posting.

            Gary
            Charm and Mr. Congeniality

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            • #7
              Andrea.

              Here is the new listing for our ABEES Travel Guide. I can't find your last name listed, so please let me know what it is. Also, the coordinates you gave do not match where my Garmin software says the Cracker Barrel is. Please check out these coordinates and let me know if they point to the correct location.

              Thanks for letting us know about your ride.

              Bob Steber
              .................................................. .................................................. ...

              C 6 N 33 38.937 W 86 49.877 Tail of the Lizard (Andrea and Ken ) It’s a pretty neat little ride. Along the way, we observed an elderly lady who would walk down a steep hill to cross the road and tend a really large garden and there were many others along the way. Also look for a large brick home in the middle of nowhere. We often see wild turkey too. There is a remote control airfield and the old Sardis Church and School along the way. This area also has strip mining and I noted a new gas tank cemetery.
              Zero your odometer at the Cracker Barrel
              0 Cracker Barrel Get on Fieldstown Rd and drive southwest
              3.0 3.0 Coalburg Rd Turn right onto Brookside Coalburg Rd
              5.9 2.9 Bivins Brookside Turn right onto Bivens Brookside Rd
              6.8 0.9 Brookside Turn left onto Main St
              7.9 1.1 Brookside Cardiff Turn right onto Brookside Cardiff Rd
              9.0 1.1 Turn right onto Cardiff-Lynns Crossing Rd
              9.3 0.3 Cardiff Continue on Lynn's Crossing Rd
              13.0 3.7 Old Jasper Hwy Turn right onto Old Jasper Hwy
              13.4 0.4 via Old Jasper Turn right
              16.7 3.3 Bankhead Hwy Turn right onto Bankhead Hwy
              17.4 0.7 River Rd.Turn right onto River Rd
              21.9 4.5 Nail Rd Turn right on Mt. Olive Rd (Cr-77)
              25.7 3.8 Sardis Rd. Turn left onto Sardis Rd
              31.1 5.4 US 31 Turn left onto US 31 N
              35.4 4.3 Warrior Big Daddy's BBQ (407 Main Street)
              Bob Steber
              1995 R100GSPDC Long Tall Sallie
              1991 R100GS The Bumblebee
              1976 R90s Odalisque

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              • #8
                "Tail of the Lizard"

                We actually began at the Shell station - not Cracker Barrell. I just mentioned that it was across from Cracker Barrell since there are two Shell stations in Gardendale. We had already eaten and it is only one mile from home.

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                • #9
                  Sorry, our last name is Pedigo. Ken is my husband. Thanks for getting it all together.

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                  • #10
                    Thanks Andrea.

                    All the time I have known you and Ken, I do not remember hearing your last name. I will change the starting point to the Shell station and if any other changes are required, please let me know.

                    Did you check out the waypoint I used? If so does it match the approximate location of the Cracker Barrel and Shell station on your GPS? My software placed the location of the waypoint you sent somewhere near Jasper.

                    looking forward to seeing you and Ken Saturday in Natural Bridge.
                    Bob Steber
                    1995 R100GSPDC Long Tall Sallie
                    1991 R100GS The Bumblebee
                    1976 R90s Odalisque

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Try N 33 38.849 and W 86 50.983 I may have transposed the numbers when I posted them.

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                      • #12
                        Originally posted by Andrea View Post
                        Try N 33 38.849 and W 86 50.983 I may have transposed the numbers when I posted them.
                        Andrea.

                        That got a little closer, but it lands on a creek bank a few miles NW of the actual location.

                        The coordinates from my Garmin software shows the location at N 33 38.937
                        W 86 49.877. The postal address for the Fieldstown Shell station is 409 Fieldstown Road. The Garmin coordinates are right on the postal address so that is what I am going to use.

                        I am looking forward to trying out your Tail of the Lizard ride.
                        Bob Steber
                        1995 R100GSPDC Long Tall Sallie
                        1991 R100GS The Bumblebee
                        1976 R90s Odalisque

                        Comment

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