WHITE, GEORGIA
| RIDE TYPE Road | DISTANCE 65.6 Miles | ASCENT 3638 Feet |
| COURSE Loop | TERRAIN Hills, Mountains | SETTING Rural, Forest |
The paved Tower of Terror road route climbs and descends the hills northeast of Sosebee Cycling Park in White, Georgia. There is a tower but the only thing frightening about this 66 mile road route is a bit of chipseal. Expect lots of elevation change, some technical descending and virtually no traffic. The area has many interesting features including rushing creeks, a spring which pours out of the mountain and some truly bizarre roads.
| The Tower of Terror route was contributed by GREG HANCHAR |
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The 100% paved Tower of Terror route starts at Sosebee Cycling Park in White, Georgia which is just a few minutes off Interstate 75. Most routes out of the cycling park keep to the rolling pastures north and west but the Tower of Terror route explores the hills ‘n hollers to the northeast. It is an extremely interesting area yet often overlooked as a place to cycle.
The route begins with a warmup through the old town of White with impressive views of Pine Log Mountain as the route heads northeast toward the hills.
The fun begins around mile 9 with lots of punchy hills, some steep grades and a genuinely twisty descent before dropping out of the hills for a store stop at mile 33. A seven mile section of Salacoa Rd is especially pretty. More hills follow the store stop and this being the south, a few miles of chipseal are thrown in for fun. The final 20 miles southward toward the cycling park are through rolling pastures more typical of routes which start at Sosebee.
Some of the roads on the Tower of Terror route will make you wonder what the builders were thinking. Hills don’t seem to be an obstacle and they either carved the road into the slope or paved over whatever was in the way. Most roads in this area probably started as horse trails in the early 1800’s. It all makes for some very interesting riding and the route is more difficult than it appears on paper.
As for the route name, yes, there really is a tower. It isn’t a theme park ride though it might be a terror to those who live next door. It is actually a poultry feed production facility which sticks out in the landscape like a sore thumb. A Water Tank of Terror supplies the facility and is passed shortly before reaching the tower.
Until recently, most of the chipseal encountered on this route was gravel. Exploration by SoutheastCyclingRoutes.com contributor Greg Hanchar revealed the new road surface and the tower of Terror route is the result. Most of the chipseal can be avoided and the route shortened to 48 miles by heading west on Highway 53 from the store stop.
- Farm dogs can be a nuisance. Bartow County animal control recommends carrying pepper spray.
- The chipseal sections can be ridden on a normal road bike. Let a few PSI out of your tires if the rough surface is a concern.
- The route can be shortened to about 48 miles by heading west on Highway 53 from the store stop in Fairmount.
- The Tower of Terror route starts at Sosebee Cycling Park which is just a few minutes off Interstate 75, exit 296.
- Parking at Sosebee Cycling Park is free. Changing rooms, porta-johns, picnic tables and bike racks are available at the site. Please consider a donation to keep the site running. See the Resources page for a link to the cycling park website.
- The nearest full service town is Cartersville, approximately ten miles to the south of the route start.
- There is one store stop on the route at mile 33.
Terms of Use: Use of this route is at your own risk. This route map and associated route descriptions are believed correct at the time of publication but accuracy cannot be guaranteed. You assume all responsibility for 1) checking weather and road conditions, 2) knowing and obeying land use rules and restrictions, 3) knowing and obeying all rules of the road, 4) carrying and using proper safety and navigation equipment and, 5) knowing the limits of your physical ability. SoutheasCyclingRoutes.com, contributors and Timothy Hollingworth are in no way liable for personal injury, damage to personal property, or any other loss to individuals following this route or using information contained in the route map or description.
Great route, 40 miles of it anyway. I got lost on mile 40. GPS didn’t tell me I took a wrong turn. Blew out a tire that was unrepairable before I could complete the route. Tried again 3 days later but the route did not pick up on GPS (probably a user error). I will say Sosebee Cycling Park is top-notch. They had routes from 31, 48, 68, and 100 all marked on the road. Why don’t more places do this? It had a changing area and a shower. Cool area to cycle. Thumbs up.
Great section on the Tower of Terror. I cracked 45 mph on a downhill. It would have been even better if I had known the route. I did not see too many major hills. It was all doable up until mile 40.
Thanks for posting this route.
Hi Tony. I’m glad you enjoyed the route. Can you let me know the road name where you got lost? I’d like to verify the route if possible, make sure its correct. Thanks!
Really enjoyed this route yesterday. All of the information above is accurate with the exception of elevation. Following this route without deviation, I clocked 4,900 ft of climbing. The route is beautiful, quiet, remote at times and some of the smaller narrow roads remind me of riding through European countryside. The main climb comes on the first half of the ride but the following 30+ miles include MANY punchy hills with max grades in excess of 12%. While they are short climbs, I found electronic shifting to be a huge advantage as you need to dump gears quickly in places. Overall very enjoyable with the exception of the heat – This will be a definite ride in the fall.
I recommend going early bc HWY 140 has no shoulder and there can be some nasty 18 wheelers…
This looks great. Will give it a go…………….
Looking forward to hearing your impressions of the route Andy. Have fun and be safe!