My wife and I rode from the Mavell Trailhead (MM 0) to the Florence Rd trailhead on a Saturday afternoon. We enjoyed the paved trail and the fact that it was shaded most of the way. Also, every road crossing in this zone had a user-activated traffic light. Some of the busier roads had bridges over them, or underpasses. Being a Saturday afternoon, it was very busy. I used my "dingy" bell frequently to alert pedestrians that we were approaching. all in all, it was a good ride. If I were to ride it again, I'd try to do it on a weekday.

In early September 2021, I rode parts of the trail. On the first day, I rode from the Tara/Drummond Trailhead westward to the trail's intersection with Bethlehem Road and returned to the that same trailhead. Two days later, I rode from the trail's intersection with Bethlehem Road to Cedartown and returned to the Bethlehem Road intersection. The trailhead was well executed with ample parking and flush toilets. Other trailheads to the west offered less parking and portajohns. The concrete surface was not anywhere near as smooth as relatively new asphalt. I felt a constant jiggling through my bike which got to be annoying after a while going about 12 to 15 mph. Numerous areas of tree debris and leaves covered parts of the trail. Fortunately, it was a dry day, so the debris didn't contribute to any slipperiness. The route through Rockmart was not very well signed, necessitating a couple of u-turns. The surface through Rockmart had me thinking,"Why am I still on the trail when the adjacent city street looks to have a better surface?" West of Rockmart, the trail experience is less enjoyable as the surface is more uneven than east of town and openly parallels U.S.278. I returned to Rockmart heading east on U.S.278, a 4-lane 65 mph divided highway, which was a much better ride. The light to moderate traffic tolerated my presence as all of the drivers gave me the right lane with nary a honk. I always ride in bright-colored clothing, a red flashing rear light and a rear view mirror to make sure approaching traffic sees me. On the second day, traversing the trail westward to Cedartown from Bethlehem Road, the trail is even less enjoyable with the stench of adjacent landfill hanging in the air coupled with challenging hills into Cedartown. The adjacent nearly level railroad right-of-way drove home the point that this was not a rails-to-trails portion of the trail. The Cedartown depot was a nice stop with friendly staff. Again, I chose to return to my starting point to the east on U.S.278. The trail is an asset for the area, but in the areas I experienced, it is needs some TLC. If you're in the area, it would be worth checking out. I can't recommend traveling specifically to ride on the trail as I did. There are much better places to ride than between Rockmart and Cedartown on the Silver Comet Trail.