2018 GTGA | Grand Tour of Georgia | Registration now open

[Rambler]

Grand Tour of Georgia:
Organized by Team Strange
In support of Eddie's Road
March - November 2018

Themed Bonii spread across this fine state of Georgia.

https://rides.jasonjonas.com/regRequest.php?id=558

 

[Uncle Hud]

No can do, Rambler. Too many other trips planned for this summer, including tagging more towns named Atlanta.

 

[Rambler]

No can do, Rambler. Too many other trips planned for this summer, including tagging more towns named Atlanta.

I read about that Atlanta Tour of yours. Very interesting!

 

[eflyguy]

... I was confused by the description, said no mandatory routes but then you are given routes, distances were something like 15-50 miles but hardly any of the red blobs on the map were <50 miles from me. Wanted to post but figured I'd just wait until I got the "passport" and see..

 

[Rambler]

They made it more interesting with a kicker:

“The 2018 Tour will highlight various scenic roads throughout the state of Georgia. Some of these you probably have stumbled upon on your own—but for the others, I hope that you trust our routing choices. There are few states east of the Mississippi that has the shear variety of riding opportunities—from twisty mountain roads to sweeping farmland overlooks to the salt air of the low lying marshes. Georgia has the spectrum of roads to meet any rider’s interest and technical ability. For each route, there will be a target bonus identified midway along the route. A photograph of this target is what you will use to document your completion of the route.”

 

[eflyguy]

Anyone else signed up for this?

 

[Uncle Hud]

Not me. See comment #2. Due to wedding, honeymoon, and two trips to visit my new in-laws, I made zero trips to other Atlantas in 2017. This must be rectified, so no rides/rallies during summer 2018 that will interfere.

<edit, almost 6 months later> Well, got in a ride to 4 Atlantas, and the FJR was whining about how she never gets to go anywhere these days, so ...

 

[Uncle Hud]

eflyguy posted: ... I was confused by the description, said no mandatory routes but then you are given routes, distances were something like 15-50 miles but hardly any of the red blobs on the map were <50 miles from me. Wanted to post but figured I'd just wait until I got the "passport" and see..

Did you register, and are you riding? Want to ride a couple of days together? Anybody else here doing the GTGA? Rambler?

Found out in August that one of the rallymasters is a buddy of mine, so I felt obligated to register. Now I feel obligated to finish if only to uphold the honor of FJR riders everywhere.

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Kelly had a girl's trip last weekend, and I saw my chance! Friday night:

GA 136 was a hoot after dark, as was the Mentone-to-Menlo ridge ride -- it's a favorite!

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Saturday was The Big Ride, a little over 13 hours in sweltering heat. Must have killed 1,000 lovebugs in mid-coitus on the ride across the bottom of Georgia. (Aren't lovebugs always in mid-coitus?)

Rode a few circles around the Carnegie Library in Pelham before I recognized it. Let's blame the heat, OK?

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Picked up Kelly at the airport Sunday, and I pulled this one after work Monday. Providence Baptist Church is in the middle of the countryside despite being only 35 miles from M-B stadium:

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As is clearly shown by my Spotwalla traces, I am not always riding the suggested routes. The Passport never says "required route", so I'm treating this as all other touring rallies: ride to the bonus location, take and submit the required photo.

Three more 8-hour rides before November 20 to get the remaining ten photos. Surely that can be arranged between 'away' football games, especially since I now know how to stream the radio play-by-play via app and smartphone!