A guy had a dream. He bought 29 acres of land tucked away behind a ridge on beautiful highway 25 one hour away from Birmingham and built a motorcycle country club and motorcycle resort on it. After I moved to Birmingham it took me a while to find this hidden jewel, and then it became my dream too. Finally I found the right 'country club' for myself (even though I am not a hard core biker or own a Harley or like country clubs). It was one of my favorite getaways on my old Honda for the weekend. Just 1 h away from Birmingham and some of the most beautiful roads leading to it. There was always a warm welcome, some good food and a drink, live music, some interesting motorcycles to look at and the stories of their riders waiting at the weekend. Every once in a while I would make the little expedition to 29dreams and come back totally happy after being away from Birmingham for 3-4 h. Last spring the place closed suddenly. A shock, what had happened? All kinds of rumors. The dream had ended with divorce, bankruptcy and so forth. Sad memories slowly creeping up - statistically, 50% know what I am talking about. It made me actually really sad - not only his (and her) dreams had died. I felt really sorry for the couple and also that my dream destination was now gone. I was contemplating to move away from Birmingham on to a place where there are still happy bikers, but where would that be? Well, it took almost 1.5 years and then there were rumors 29dreams is re-opening. What, really??? - a silver line on the horizon. A couple of weeks ago I went for a ride to see what this was all about, and yes, someone had bought the place and had re-opened it as Courtyard25. I stopped and talked to the owner and to the manager. They had plans to have it all re-open again, even the camp ground. The new owner is a motorcyclist himself and is running 2 other restaurants in Birmingham (Courtyard Oyster Bar & Grill), so he should know what he is doing. Man, was I happy!!! It turned out to be even better than before, very very friendly crowd with great service (no, I don't hold shares). Now I have a new, old favorite destination and went already 4 times in the last 5 weeks. A dream came back to life, and something I would like to share. Here is a description how to get to the place of your own dreams :-) It is a 60 miles round trip from Birmingham South Side and should take between 1.5-4h depending on how often one stops and of course on how long one stays at Courtyard25. If you are from abroad it might be a great trip while visiting Barber's Motorsport museum with its vintage race cars and 600 motorcycles on permanent display (a total of 1200 motorcycles from the beginings to current models).
Well let's start at 20th Street South and famous South side of Birmingham, or better lets have a quick look at downtown Birmingham up from Red Mountain and look at Mr Vulcan.
Here you can have a view on the sweet sides of Birmingham. Down the hill into Homewood and then to the neighbor city of Mountain Brook (are these really cities, seems to me these are just the affluent suburbs, which found a way not to support the "ugly" rest of Birmingham. But what does a (legal) alien - who of course always carries his ID - really know about the cities of Alabama.)
In Mountain Brook the scenic drive start already when we follow a little creek besides Cahaba Rd and Mount Brook Parkway.
We take a right to Overbrook Rd and follow the golf course of the MtBrook Country Club.
Then there comes a long straight road, Old Leeds Road, which brings us to Grants Mill Road, where we take a right and cross I-459 to go down the hill into Cahaba River valley. One can stop at the Cahaba River Trail, for a walk along the Cahaba river. When there is high water, it is also a popular take-in-/out for kayaks and canoes.
When we follow Grants Mill road further we hit some twisties (from the Urban dictionary: The beautiful winding curves certain country roads hold, that provide an
unparalleled thrill to all true motorcyclists through a godlike
combination of road, momentum, man, and steel). The road passes over a nice little hill and wind down to a small Grants Mill bridge over Lake Purdy. The Lake is actually the main water reservoir for most of Birmingham and quite beautiful to see. It offers picnic areas, fishing, boat or even pontoon rental.
Once we reach highway 119 or Cahaba Valley Road we can go a few miles to
the right and enter a little road (Boat launch RD) which brings us to a boat rental and fisher shop. It is always nice to stop and
watch some fishermen on the lake.
Following highway 119 to the left brings us closer to the twisties of highway 25. Along the way we pass several horse ranches, and it is a beautiful view with many horses in chorals. Heathermoor Farm has more than 50 horses and they offer riding lessons for kids and adults.
After a view miles on 119 we take a right turn onto Elliot Ln, which is a short cut to highway 25. Now it is time for the real twisties. There are some very nice and challenging twisties ahead of us. The road is nicely paved and marked and has numerous switchbacks and horseshoe curves, nice up and down hill grades with straight-aways to enjoy. Highway 25 is also called Alabama's mini dragon. Dragon or Deals Gap is a stretch of US129 at the Tennessee/North Carolina state line is considered as one of the world's best motorcycling and sports car roads. There can be quite a few motorcycles and sports cars on the road in high season. Sometimes there are also slow cars in front - not a good thing, sometimes there are fast trucks behind - not a good thing either, but hey - its Alabama. Key is to find the right time when highway 25 is empty. It turns out that Saturday lunch time, when everyone is at the mall, is just perfect.
Then we reach the top of a ridge where we park and let our eyes come to rest on the smooth hills of Alabama. These ridges are part of the Ridge-and-Valley region at the end of the Apalachian mountains. In the far we can see Mount Cheaha, the highest elevation in Alabama (2,413 ft), surrounded by the Talladega National Forest, another beautiful destination in Sweet Home Alabama.
Finally, we arrive at our destination Courtyard 25 in Vandiver. Here a few impressions of the place:
A couple of fellow riders enjoying a cigar after some fabulous burgers or A dozen oysters:
Then it is time again to hit the road. Back on highway 25 north-bound.
Some go back Co 55 or 41, all leading to US280 and then into Birmingham. I prefer to go back via Grants Mill or Rex Lake Road, but this time not following Grants Mill to I-459 but continue Rex Lake RD onto Sicard Hollow Road, another fantastic road with lots of twisties, which eventually ends on US280 near the Summit to head back towards Birmingham.
One guy had a vision and a dream, which became a dream for many. I am glad that somebody followed up. We all need such a place we can dream about and look forward to go to all week long. It is a little habit to go there, it is like a little shrine, like a home away from home .... and sometimes even better. The road clears our heads and brings freedom to our minds, and when we return we are ready for another week. For me this is motorcycling at its best, and I really appreciate the efforts of all those who keep the dream alive for us. Ride safe!
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