SEAT - South East Adventure Trail

Will do Cloudsplitter. I'm generally too freakin' tired after a days ride and setting up camp to tap out a ride report. I try to make some notes to jog my memory later and take lots of photos and I'll try to get a ride report up sooner than later after I return.

On the other hand, I could throw something up everyday using tapatalk. Haven't done that before but willing to try.




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I rode this solo on my r12gs back in oct16, my favorite sections were WMA just prior to tate's, tate's hell sf and Apalachicola NF, but I'd camp in neither. I liked Oceala and I added Ocala to my route. I hated the lowland sand routes in alabama, for other reasons (i found a ditch). I liked riding sand after I got used to it, but got tired and hot.

My ride report is here: http://advrider.com/index.php?threads/tets-southern-loop-plus-ocala-nf-big-bike-solo.1176268/

PS: If you ride through Apalachicola NF on this route, there is one big mud hole, and my iphone6+ is probably still there.

Jollyrogers, thanks for directing me to your RR. Our initial thought was to do the loop going counter-clockwise but because of all the rain the Harvey has dumped on the hills here in N. Georgia was thinking of going the same way you did. Wow, that's a lot of sand and I wonder what it turns in to when it's gotten several inches of water on it lately. I guess we're going to get good at sand and mud riding before we're done with the loop. I'll start a ride report and post up our progress starting tomorrow.

Thanks again for your RR.

PittsDriver, I'll follow along! Ride safe and enjoy!

When I was scouting this out for some changes in '12 or so, the section just north of Tate's Hell was flooded.... as I was on the northern eastern side heading south there was a hundred yards or more of water, the bridge was above the water, then another hundred yards of water. This was on the old routing - which is now the alt to the NE above Tate's hell.

Also I was riding along, thought I saw a log in the other rut up ahead, when I got there I realized it was a gator as I passed it!

The current route should be better about water, but when you cut west and cross the second bridge in Tate's Hell, keep an eye out for gators... saw lots of their tracks along through there but the road is higher and better than the old route.

My RR for the SEAT starts here
http://advrider.com/index.php?threa...-seat-tet-s-via-the-at.1253292/#post-33151427

Pitts, have you started one?

Edit. Found it.
http://advrider.com/index.php?threads/seat-tet-s-ride-report.1253115/

Wish you had gone the other way round
Maybe I'll change, too, if I can beat Irma

OK, just abandoned the SEAT, as Hurricane Irma and I were on a collision course. I do have some comments, which I'll list in the order they occur while riding the track sections in numerical order:

As I mentioned in an earlier post, the last time I rode the Burke's Garden area, there was a deep trench to stop all traffic. It may have been filled, or otherwise modified since, but there were also signs and a cable on the ground. I bypassed that section on pavement, this time. The Appalachian Trail (for motorcycles) has an interesting alternate route that I didn't try. Anyway, that obstruction is in the SE01 section, at N37° 07.636' W81° 15.942'. If you've ridden this section since 2015, please post whether you got through here, and how difficult it was.

The gravel road is blocked in section SE02 1, at N36° 25.467' W82° 10.633'. This looks fairly long-term, as they dumped large piles of rip-rap before the washout, from both directions. You can get around the rip-rap piles on a motorcycle, and under one tree, but there are two low trees, a bit more than a foot high, that would stop a heavy street bike. There are Road Closed Ahead signs, coming down from the north, but I didn't notice them south of the closure. Also there's an alternate rout, SE02b, which bypasses this closure. It's track is magenta (alternate route, to save time).

The gas stations at SE07G and SE08G no longer have gas pumps, but there's no problem if you get gas at 06 and 09.

At waypoint SE20 GFL, there are many businesses, but no lodging. However there is lodging at the next exit north off Interstate 75 (it's hard to find, but is just northeast of that intersection).

Sorry I didn't get to finish, and comment on, the rest of the SEAT. Maybe another year.

By the way, the SEAT is the best organized adventure track I've ridden, with both tracks and routes, plus a great system of waypoints. Do watch out if planning to use the routes in this, or any other adventure file, as your maps may not take you on the same roads, between route points. A few hours checking, and modifying as necessary, can fix these challenges.
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Cloudsplitter, we thought a bit about it and there was some significant rain that had passed through Georgia on the day before we started. We reasoned that the heavy rain would make the sandy roads easier to ride while making the N. Georgia mountains maybe a bit more difficult. So we went clockwise leaving Dillard GA going toward Augusta. My ride report is in progress in the epic rides forum.

You can read the report there when I finish it but in regards to the direction, I think we were also happy going that way because the ride kept building with better and better trail as the ride unfolded. The area north of Augusta has a fair bit of pavement and left me wondering if there wasn't a better way, perhaps more interior to Georgia to cover that gap. Once south of Augusta, it was game on for sand and the riding was always interesting all the way down through the panhandle and up through Alabama. We also had to bail on the last two days due to Irma - not because it was a factor on the route but because the other two guys live where it was going to be something to prepare for. I didn't want to continue into N. Georgia solo after a week of riding - seemed like tempting fate especially after a challenging last day in Alabama where we got delayed for a nearly half a day out in the hills.

Going to read Cloudsplitter's report now....

I don't get why this route doesn't get more interest on here. I have to believe that for every rider that does a ride like the TAT, there are 20 more that keep saying "next year" because they can't make that much time for a ride. This loop around Georgia on the SEAT has every bit of the fun and interest of the TAT compacted into a week long ride that never gets more than a few hours from civilization. It's all public roads that can be ridden on a big ADV bike, camping options galore, and it's very well designed and organized if you're a reasonably self sufficient rider.

Is it because it's not making epic distances from the start? To that I'd again compare it to the TAT. On the TAT, every state has something new and different for ride conditions and scenery. It's one of the coolest characteristics of the TAT. This ride is really no different with multiple changes in ride conditions and scenery. The mountains of N. Georgia are every bit as fun and challenging as the TAT through the Rockies; the sandy tracks that ramble through farm and forest in the south are as challenging and interesting as Nevada; and the Apalachicola and Tate's Hell part is something cool you won't get to experience anywhere on the TAT. Every day on the SEAT brought something new to the riding and going clockwise around the loop for us made the fun and scenery continue to build and improve every day. Just like the TAT, there are places on this route that you can linger and explore in more detail and I really wish we'd had time to do more of that last week. I could ride for a few days in the Apalachicola or the Talladega NF lands - awesome riding there.

So, stop saying "next year" and go cut your teeth on this excellent route. This ride will whet your appetite for more ADV riding AND get you better prepared for the rigors and length of the TAT and other long rides like the CDR!

Giddy up!

For those who wondered about routing down into GA instead of going back and forth along the GA/SC border.... I tried just that in 2012.
Split of just south of Hartwell, went down through Washington, Warrenton, Wrens and rejoined the existing route just south of Augusta.

There were parts that were good, but there were parts that I was decidedly uncomfortable about. Think meth labs.
So, I decided not to change it.

I wonder if riders aren't attracted to this route because of the amount of soft sand on it. I'm going to guess that there aren't very many of us that like riding in that stuff because we just don't have the skills to handle it properly. Heck, Sam changed the TAT route a year or so ago to avoid the soft sand in Nevada because he got so many complaints about it. I look at sand like any other off-road terrain as something of a challenge to develop the skills to handle it. I'm not going to say that I'm an expert at riding in sand but I do think that there is one bit of advice - go faster - that does a disservice to people who are afraid of riding in it. You should ride sand no faster than you want to be going when you go down - and you don't have to go faster to be riding it properly. You only have to be going fast enough to just keep the bike moving and the back tire churning the sand without roosting it. Stay light on the bars so the bike can do its dance through the sand and steer it by standing and peg weighting. And the most important advice is to keep your eyes up and out ahead of you and not looking down (actually, that's the best advice for any terrain). If you look down near the front of the bike you're eventually going to go where you're looking - down. If you can follow this advice, then your speed in the sand will naturally improve as you get more comfortable with bike dancing loosely in your grip.

I can honestly say that we all really enjoyed the sandy stretches through southern Georgia and most especially the amazing Apalachicola NF and Tate's Hell WMA. That's an amazing place to ride that I would have never known about but for the SEAT published by Northern Traveler nor would I have experienced if we were committed to shying away from sandy tracks.

If you can just lean in to the initial discomfort of riding in sand and follow the advice above, you'll be richly rewarded with a great ride on this route.

I think the reasons for it not being as popular have to do with sand, heat/humidity, and it just isn't as "epic" as riding cross country. When I did it, I learned to ride sand quickly and in fact found it fun, but the heat was another beast.

Riding in Mississippi, Oklahoma, Utah, and Nevada was no mild thing either in terms of heat but you're right on with the epic distance comment. My comeback to that is that this is a very well organized ride that can be done in a week (so it fits in to vastly more schedules than a TAT ride) and yet gives you a very TAT-like experience if you just approach it with the same mindset.

Now that we've ridden that SEAT and our ADV ride last year from Maggie Valley to Cooperstown NY, we've done most of the Gulf of Mexico to Maine ride that can be done. I'm lobbying my group to complete it next spring by riding from PA to Canada on the MAT2 tracks and then we'll have done the east/west, south/north challenge with maybe the CDR left to do to complete the trifecta of trans-USA ADV rides.

The SEAT is a great ride and we did a similar route the first year it was being devised by a group of us, and then I rode it again with Scott when he was mapping out some changes some years back. It's a great route and I enjoyed it.

I will tell you if you like epic rides and enjoy a challenge, the KAT (Kentucky Adventure Trail) laid out by Jeff@theQuadShop is not to be missed. It's about the same time frame as the SEAT and can be completed in a week. It's one of the more challenging rides like this you will do even having numerous "hard" sections you can take if you are up to the challenge, but even the main route is quite chae llenging in spots. If you get a chance, definitely put that one on your lists. It remains one of my best adventures yet. It ranks up there with some of my Colorado rides, just without the epic scenery.

OK, the GDB and GPX files have been updated based upon Cloud Splitters notes.

On the two road closures, there is now an X noting the routes are closed.
The two gas stations that are closed, their waypoints have been removed.
At Dalton, I added a waypoint for the motel at the next exit, and took the 'L' off of SE20.

My riding season is over for the year due to medical issues, but I'll plan on fixing these areas next year. Probably not in the spring, but early summer.

I've always thought the best time to ride this loop would be in the spring or fall.... although I did lay out the east side from Ocean Pond Florida up to Dillard Georgia in January 2011!!! Yeah, it was a bit chilly, and yeah, there was snow up in NW South Carolina, but the riding was good otherwise. I've generally worked on the route in April, with some quick cleanups done one year in November.

I'm getting a file 404 message when i try to download the tracks. Am i doing something wrong?

I've got a little time on my hand and the weather is perfect for this...

Just checked, and I also get the 404 error. NorthernTraveler, you can upload gpx files directly to ADVrider these days.

Fixed.

The size of my files generally don't work with ADVrider.
Also, I like keeping control of my files, I can pull ALL of them with one keystroke.

OK. I see that the links (in your first post of this thread) now work, so thanks on behalf of all inmates who didn't already have 'em.