Announcing the 2nd Annual 2007 Georgia Tech Ride and Drive!

On Saturday morning, October 14th a group of Georgia Tech students, faculty, staff, alumni, fans, and other automotive enthusiasts from around Atlanta will be meeting at the Starbucks parking lot behind the North Point Mall in Alpharetta to go on a drive along the back roads of North Georgia together.

The purpose of the event is to meet people, enjoy the performance of our automobiles and motorcycles, and see some scenery together.

You may not know, but a group of ~35 cars did this last year on approximately the same date. The date is picked to be before the leaves change and the roads clog with RV's. ( I promise we wont get lost and end up on a dirt road like last year )

Some of those on the trip will be interested in enjoying the laws of physics as felt through centripetal acceleration, others will be more interested in the vistas. There is room for both on this trip. We will be trying to stay as far away from other traffic as possible, so we will NOT be going to Helen or the typical tourist spots. Having passengers in your cars is encouraged if they are not prone to motion sickness on mountain roads and don't often demand that you stop to pick out some blackberry jam at the roadside stands. This will be a reasonably fast drive.

There will be a meeting to discuss the route at 8:40 AM, but the organizers encourage you to be there well before 8:30 AM to have a cup of coffee and meet others.

After leaving Northpoint Mall at 8:55 AM sharp, we will leave the parking lot to drive up Georgia 400 into the mountains and arrive at the very best smooth curvy roads in Georgia. We will stop for an early lunch at Turner's Corner Cafe, then stop for a break at the top of Brasstown Bald ( the highest point in Georgia ) and then back along highway 180 to the town of Suches stopping just short of there for desert at Lenny's Grill (tentative location).

The drive will end at approximately 2 PM in the parking lot of the North Georgia Premium Outlets in Dawsonville. Those that want a longer drive are encouraged to head toward Morgantown just after Suches which will add another 2 beautiful hours to the drive.

The directions to the Starbucks where we will be are below:

Starbucks Coffee
Alpharetta Barnes & Noble
Behind North Point Mall Near Mansell Road
7660 North Point Parkway, Suite 200
Alpharetta, Georgia 30022

Take Georgia 400 NORTH out of Atlanta, 21 miles north of the Georgia Tech campus.
Take EXIT 8 ( Mansell Road ) off of Georgia 400 and stay to the RIGHT, but not the severe right, on the exit ramp.
Turn RIGHT on Mansell Road but only go for 1/4 mile.
Turn LEFT at the traffic light onto North Point Parkway.
Immediately turn RIGHT into the entrance to the movie theater and look for the Starbucks inside the Barnes and Noble that is next to the theater.

If you dont know exactly where this starting place is, send me an email and I will send you a map. There is no

Part of this event is finding the starting place, so please print out the directions and don't expect to call my cell phone to get directions along the way. I will be enjoying coffee, meeting people, and the sunrise and don't want to be on the cell phone explaining what I already sent to you in this email. If you are actually lost and have a very quick question, you can call me at 404-323-0173. Hard rain will cancel these plans, but in the event of light rain or intermittent rain, I will be at the meeting place to make the call.

Get your car/motorcycle tuned up and polished, pack your camera and walkie-talkies or CB's and some good driving music for the CD player, grab what maps you might have in case you get lost (we will also hand out maps of the route), and just be there before 8:30am! The organizers encourage you to wear Georgia Tech clothing to show your school spirit.

If you have other ideas or questions, just send me an email. --Sterling or Two914s sterling.skinner@me.gatech.edu

www.GaTechAutoShow.com

I miss more good drives with this car on jackstands. I think I'm going to have to re-double my efforts so I can start enjoying some driving.

Last night I drove the entire route to make sure there were no problems like construction or confusing directions. Looks like we will have a fantastic day for the drive (tomorrow, Saturday, Oct 14th)! Please join us. If you need to meet us in North Georgia (Jake?), we will be eating lunch at Turner's Corner Cafe between ~10:30am and 11:30am.

The more air cooled cars, the better! --Sterling

Sterling,
I pulled my left hamstring and can barely walk... Crawling into the Spyder would be punishment!!

Its been all I can do to work and driving is a nightamre, this thing hurts like a bitch!!

So beth and I won't be there- I'll probably be sitting my ass on a heating pad all weekend!