Gana Trail - Ashland, AL

[SlimmyJimmy]

First post on the forum.  I recently made the drive down to Ashland and completed the Gana portion of the Tsalagi trails.  This route has been discussed shortly before, but I felt not enough, especially in the adventure community, so I will try to describe some of it the best I can.  I ride a dual sport bike and found the route to be very fun and not what I would consider technical.  The current drought made it a blast to just kick up dust and not worry about any slick red clay. 

This route is made into a loop, starting from close to downtown Ashland and then running back into Ashland via 77.  I am in Trussville so naturally when I hit 77 again I went back that direction.  While the prescribed route is probably 75% dirt, there is plenty of exploring you can do down many different dirt roads in the area. 
Many of the roads are kept up for logging operations.  This keeps them in good condition, but also means there is a lot of sand usage in upkeep.  In the total route there were at least 8 sand traps where things got a little dicey.  Never laid the bike down, but probably should've just for fun. 

There are a few notable views of mountains, only made interesting in that the leaves are currently changing colors.  There is a 2 foot tall waterfall within the first 15 miles off the side of a paved road. 

There is one gate passage that was open when I came upon it, and the roughest section of the ride, the last leg on White Gap rd in the wildlife management area was closed.  I made the mistake of riding past a "no through traffic" sign to the top of a loose rocky trail, only to find a dead end and have to slide back down carefully.
Overall the route is fun, fast and could be done twice in a day just to take up time.  Using what I know of the area and its proximity to Mt. Cheaha, I have created a longer route that picks up at the end of the Gana Trail and travels a dirt county rd, 600-2 I think, about 30 miles to 281.  Then from there you could ride to Cheaha.  Would be a great 100 mile+ adventure ride.
This last pic is a gem from an earlier ride, it is somewhere in Talledega, cant remember exactly where but close to Hwy 77.  If from the Birmingham area I think the best route to the Talladega area is 78 - 231 - Stemley Bridge (34) - 77, this is probably fastest non interstate.  Obviously you could take 500 different routes on great roads to get there.  I would love any suggestions. 

Thanks


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[Nice Goat]

That's awesome.  I haven't ridden that trail yet.

[VWCarlos]

Great ride report and great pictures... The more I read the dual sport ride reports the more I want to add a dual sport to my garage.

Never laid the bike down, but probably should've just for fun. 

Riding a street bike this sentence makes no sense to me! I guess I need to get a dual sport to understand.

[kdtrull]

Looks like a nice area.  Thanks for sharing.  Probably headed that way soon.

[lazeebum]

I have a dual sport, and to me there is nothing fun about dropping it or laying it down.  You have to pick it up when you drop it. Nope, definitely not fun, but the ride report and pictures are great.

[jrobinson]

Welcome to the forum and nice report.

[klaviator]

Nice report and pics.  Someday I'll have to make it back down that way and do some riding.

[Guidedawg]

Excellent first post in that you not only showed us some pics of your bike, but explained the type of riding you enjoy and threw in a report to boot.

Welcome from another street cruiser in Montgomery.

[Gam]

Good stuff. I was thinking most of that route was gated now. Some of that looks familiar, but not those ruins or that little creek.

[SlimmyJimmy]

Good stuff. I was thinking most of that route was gated now. Some of that looks familiar, but not those ruins or that little creek.

Thanks, the only closed section is in the wildlife management area.  It's a cell tower access road and it was very rough, but completely bulldozed through at the top of the hill.  I encountered zero closed gates and one that seemed to be used, but could probably be opened and closed back. 


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