Triple Gap: Directions & Route Cues

I'm putting this up as an aid to those who wish to go up to Dahlnega, GA and ride the "Original" Triple Gap route.  Below are directions to visitor parking in downtown Dahlonega, and a cue sheet for the route itself.  Enjoy!

To get to the ride start (beginning south of Atlanta)

Get on I-85 and go north through downtown Atlanta

Take the exit to the right to enter GA-400, north (towards Buckhead).

(Mileage starts at the beginning of GA-400)

Stay on GA-400 for 53.8 miles.

Ga-400 ends.

Turn left on US-19 (toward Dahlonega)

Do NOT turn off of road as it enters Dahlonega.  Go straight at light at Morison Pkwy.

At mile 84.8 you enter the square at Dahlonega.

Turn right on Main

Turn left immediate to continue around square

Exit the square (straight ahead) on Park St

Go one short block and turn left onto Chestatee St.

Municipal parking lot will be ahead, one or two blocks on your right.

Mount your bike and return to the square and to the Visitor’s Center at the intersection of Park St and Main (on the side of the Square)

Ride Route Cues:

ORIGINAL TRIPLE GAP ROUTE

Miles	Leg	Turn	Comment
0.0	0.0		Dahlonega Gold Museum
0.0	0.0	R	East Main St
0.3	0.3	BL	Bear left onto GA-52
0.6	0.3	L	Onto GA-52
0.9	0.3	R	onto GA-52 @ light
2	1.1	L	onto Rockhouse Rd
4.2	2.2	L	onto Cavender Creek Rd
4.4	0.2	R	Porter Springs Rd
10.4	6.0	R	onto US-19
14.6	4.2	L	onto US-19/129 @ Turners Corner
22.4	7.8	>>>	Top of Neels Gap (store on right)
25.4	3.0	L	Wolf Pen Gap Rd (easy to miss)
27.3	1.9	>>>	Summit
36.6	9.3	R	GA-60 (store on right)
43.8	7.2	BL	onto GA-19
48.6	4.8	R	onto Morrison Moore Pkwy
52.8	4.2	R	onto E Main St.
52.9	0.1	>>>	enter Square and Finish!!

Bike Industry Rumbles

Shimano is doing something that doesn’t make a lot of sense…  Maybe.

Do pay attention.  If you ride a bike, or buy a bike, or want to get an older bike repaired, this is going to affect you!

The Backstory: 

For a long time now pricing on Shimano components has been an Issue.  The problem has been that vendors in the U.S. market have had to contend with a situation.  U.S. vendors, such as your local Independent Bicycle Dealer (IBD), buy components at wholesale prices from “authorized” vendors.  If the IBDs are to stay in business, they must make a profit on the transaction, so the product is marked up to the Shimano recommended retail price.  So far so good.  But…

Savvy internet shoppers have long since discovered that they can buy components from European vendors, on-line, at prices well below U.S. retail.  In fact, in many cases those prices have been below the U.S. wholesale price.  What is the U.S. dealer to do when faced with clients who ask, “Why is it that I can get this part at a much lower price than you are selling it for?  Will you match it?”

It is simply not possible for a small business to price-match an item that is selling below that vendor’s cost.  And bear in mind, that vendor was “playing by the rules,” purchasing through Shimano approved channels.  The situation had become pretty much intolerable.

Naturally, Shimano has heard complaints from U.S. vendors and industry groups, and demands that they get their European pricing under control.  For years, no apparent action was taken.  That has recently changed.

The Current Situation:

Shimano has recently announced seeping changes to improve the pricing situation in the U.S.A.  They are now limiting the number of full-line Shimano distributors from 18 to 6.  I’m quoting Bicycle Retailer and Industry News below.

The decision to streamline its distribution network, said Yutaka Taniyama, vice president of Shimano American’s bicycle division, will ultimately benefit its retail customers.

“Independent bicycle dealers have been and will continue to be our key customer base. By having a direct business relationship with them, we will be more aligned with their businesses, have closer relationships with cyclists, and offer more support and effective solutions to dealers’ challenges in the market,” he said.

Next year retailers must either buy their components directly from Shimano American or from six authorized distributors—Giant USA, Trek Bicycle, Quality Bicycle Products, KHS Inc., Seattle Bike Supply or Raleigh   America.

Canadian retailers can purchase Shimano parts through Cycles Lambert in Levis, Quebec, or through Shimano Canada. Cycles Lambert will be Shimano’s only authorized distributor in Canada. The decision to streamline its distribution network, said Yutaka Taniyama, vice president of Shimano American’s bicycle division, will ultimately benefit its retail customers.

Sounds cool, right?  But wait a minute.  How does clobbering US distributors bring the European market into line?  How does this control the pricing of stuff being sold in Europe?  From my own perspective, it looks like the whole move is designed to cut out a lot of folks with whom I’ve been doing business, and force the majority of the market to go “Dealer Direct.”  In other words, if I want to get parts to service you, my customers, I must now deal with one of a handful of sullpiers, or deal riderctly with Shimano. I don’t see how this stops me from being under-cut by the Euro-market.  I do see a lot of difficulty coming.  I suspect I’m going to have a much harder time finding various parts that some of you depend on.

From where I stand, the whole thing looks sketchy.  I’m having a hard time seeing the “benefit” to me as a retailer, or to you as a consumer.  It’s certainly going to be an interesting year ahead.  Stay tuned.

Thursday Thoughts ~ September

Of the all the months, September is one of my favorites.  It means a lot of different things.  To a cyclist, especially one here in the Deep South it should mean “It’s time to ride!”  The days are still reasonably long.  The weather (usually) moderates a bit.  We’ve had a good long Spring and Summer to get ourselves into some kind of condition.  We are ready man!

Of course, immediately after Labor Day, various news and advertising media start yapping about Fall…  and to hear them talk, Fall means something like this…

How hte media portray Autumn in Georgia

 …when in point of fact, September here in Georgia is often more like this…

How a north Georgia September often feels

In truth we do well to remember that September is a Summer month.  The solar calendar places the end of Summer at the Autumnal Equinox, usually on September 21^st.  Locally, this may  (or may not) be true.  Remember!  Climate is what you expect, but weather is what you get.  In our part of the world we get a lot of weather.  Still, it will be quite a while (if at all) before we wake to this...

Yippee!  It iced!  Let's go out and break our fool necks!

September is also one of “The Months of Getting Things Done.”  For me that means cleaning up, sorting, un-trashing, and organizing.  I’m working to get my shop ready for the coming of The Winter Projects.  This is always entertaining, as my home shop usually looks more like this…

Typical

Or THIS...

Almost organized...  Sort of...

Than this...

The Dream!

So I have plenty to keep me amused and gainfully occupied.  Just thinking about it gives me a confusion of happiness and headache.

Thursday Thoughts: Thinking about Fall Equinox Night Ride

This year’s Autumnal Equinox is on 22 September, at 4:44 P.M. This is the point in Earth’s orbit where the apparent position of the sun appears to cross the equator, moving southward.  At this time the hours of daylight and darkness are approximately equal.  The date of the Equinox marks the beginning of Autmn.

One might reasonably ask, “What does all this astronomical stuff have to do with cycling?”  and,  “Why is this stuff appearing on this blog?”

There are two answers, one general, and one specific.

Generally, cycling is an outdoor activity.  If it gets dark outdoors, we either don’t ride,or we have to make some arrangements to do so in the dark.

Specifically, a lot of us get a kick out of marking each of these “Quarter” and “Cross-quarter” points in the year, with a good night ride.  For some years now, I’ve been leading “Seasonal Celebration Night Rides” on the Mondays closest to these orbital dates.  The Monday nearest the coming Equinox is 23 September.

The ride, in broad strokes:

It’s just a tad over 40 miles.  It’s a loop.  We will keep the group together for mutual support and safety.  The pace will be a moderate one, likely near a 14 mph rolling average.  There are no planned rest stops, and really there is nothing in the way of services along the route.  While nothing in this general area can be said to be flat, this loop is fairly gentle, and contains some very nice long stretches with little elevation change.  The roads are mostly semi-rural with low traffic.  There is not a lot in the way of lighting on this loop, and we won’t have a moon for most of the ride.  It will be dark.

The Tone:

Over the years we’ve been doing this ride, folks have generally reported that they enjoyed this route.  We try to keep the pacing at a moderate level, so that this is a conversational ride.  I like to hear the chatter and laughter as we ride along.  This is not a ride for “heroics,” but rather a more of a “social and recreational” outing.

Details, Deatails:

The route starts and ends at the Fredrick Brown Amphitheater, in Peachtree City

Start time is 7:30 PM (sharp)

Sunset will be at 7:33 PM

Civil Twilight ends at 7:58 PM

A waning gibbous moon, 81% illuminated, will be rising at 10:19 PM.

Do the math.  That’s over two hours with no significant light in the sky.  We should be nearing the end of the ride by the time the moon rises.

REQUIRED:

• Helmet
• Good strong headlights, either helmet or bar mounted, forward pointing bright white light to show you the road. (do not depend on the lights of others!)
• Good strong tail light (red)
• Reflective vest or sash
• Reflective ankle bands
• Bring your own spares
• You, your bike, a smile

Re-De-Constructing the Re-Purposed Bike

The object of this project is to return my Giant Escape 1 to it's original configuration.  This is possibble because I saved and stored all the original bits and pieces.

In Monday's post, you saw the bike on the service stand, wheels off, and ready for the heavy work.  I described the work that was to be done on the wheels.  If you look back at the picture of the bike in that stae, you will see the following

• A Shimano Deore 8-speed rear derailler
• An Origin8 seatpost, supporting a Brooks B-17 saddle
• A replacement stem (which fits the clamp diameter of the bars
• A set of road "drop" bars
• A Shimano 8-speed cassette (to match the heavy loads involved in my commuting)
• Various other accessories

In the picture below, you will see that some work has been done.

Work has begun...

The conversion seatpost, stem, bars, shifters, brake levers, cables, pedals, and accessories have been removed.  Then, without all the stuff attached, the frame was detail cleaned.  Additionally, the chain has been removed for deep cleaning and lubrication.

The Shimano rear derailler has been replaced with the original SRAM X4 unit.  The headset was cleaned and re-lubricated.  The original pedals, seatpost and stem have been installed.

Coming back up...

Here you see the original pedals, saddle, handlebars, and controls installed.  The bike is ready for a complete re-string.  Once that has been done, the wheels will be installed, and the bike will be tuned.

Ready to ride!

Presto!  A clean, shiney bike in the form that Giant originally intended.  Most of the parts have little, or no wear on them.

By now, some may be wondering what my intention is for this bike.  Simple.  I plan to sell it.  I've finished with my need for an "interim commuter," and had all the fun that this project could afford me.  This is a fun bike, in just this form, and this project has demonstrated just how versatile and capable this machine can be.

More on the “De-Re-Purposed Bike Project”

If you have been following lately you will have seen a POST about returning my “RePurposed Bike” to it’s original form and condition.  This has been a fun project, but it’s time to move on.  The is post, and a couple that will follow, will document and detail the process.  Let’s get to it.

Here it is without the bags…

And now without fenders and rack…

The next phase will be to pull the wheels off.

PIX

While the wheels are off, the project tires will be removed.  Then the wheels will get the “full service treatment.  The hubs will be overhauled, wheels trued, and everything cleaned.  service and clean them.  After that the original rubber comes out of storage and goes back on.  Then the wheels will be set aside and we’ll turn attention to the frame.

If you look closely, you will see that the rear derailler is not the original SRAM unit.  That was replaced with a Shimano Deore eight speed.  This was done because I wanted to go with “drop bars.”  The “drops” would not accept the original shifters, and I had a pair of eight speed compatible bar-end types in a parts bin.

Some of you may be wondering about the brake levers on the road-bars.  I did keep the original linear pull brakes, and then upgraded them to a smoother, more high-end set.  This necessitated using a set of levers that are compatible with the linear pull brakes.  Both Origin8 and Cane Creek make “Drop Vee” levers with the requisite and appropriate pull ratio.

I mention the above because it illustrates something.  A bicycle is a system.  It’s very difficult to change one thing, without that change having implications that ripple through the whole system.

I’ll wrap this project up and show the process in future posts.

Friday Follies ~~ Lights, Nights, and the Advance of Progress

A recent conversation in the shop started me thinking.  One of the crew had just bought a super powerful light.  Only a few short years ago, something like this jewel would not have been available, not at any price.  Then there was a time when this kind of power could be had, but the expense was extreme, and the lights were big, heavy, and clunky.

There was a time when we didn’t think about riding bikes at night.  As kids we just rode.  We used our bikes to play.  We rode them for the fun of it.  We used them to get around, to each other’s homes, to the park to play ball, to run the occasional errand for parents, even to go to school.  All of this took place in the daylight.  When it got dark, it was time to put the bikes away.

I started doing a paper route in the summer.  That’s significant.  It was a morning route, and a relatively small one.  I could go out, pick up my bundles of papers, and load up my bike in daylight.  That soon changed.  With the coming of the Autumn the sun was rising later, and I had added more customers to my route.  I had to get out earlier.  It was dark out.  There were streetlights…  in some places… but I was dealing with a new thing.  I was riding my bike in the dark.

Eventually, with a bit of parental aid (and pressure), I added a generator light set and a good flashlight to my paperboy gear.

That generator was a headache.  It was a bit noisy.  It added a noticeable amount of drag to the bike.  It wore tires out along the sidewall.  It really didn’t make enough light to matter until I got the bike moving faster than five MPH.  I learned to carry the little bulbs with me, and I got good at changing them in the dark.

Eventually, several of my friends and I would use our bikes to get to camping spots.  We didn’t think about actually riding on trails at night.  The combination of flashlights and those wretched generator-lights simply weren’t adequate, and (amazingly) we knew it.  And that is a testimony to just how bad those systems were.  A pack of boys in their mid-teens understood that they were completely inadequate.

Thursday Thoughts ~ Balance

Picture this…

There’s this juggler.  He’s up there doing his best trick, juggling chainsaws, swords, and live rattlesnakes, while riding a unicycle, on a tightrope, with the rope on fire, in a high wind, and dodging thrown rocks and bottles.  No net.  No safety harness.

Does anyone else get the feeling, that this could be a fair simile for life in the 21^st century?

We who ride bicycles a lot, are all proud of our balance.  But let’s be honest.  The bike does most of the work of keeping us upright.  As long as we keep it going it keeps us up.  Cars are inherently stable.  One has to work, do something violent and drastic to get them to fall over.  Our bikes are dynamically stable.  They have to be moving to self-stabalize.  If they stand still, they tip.

That’s not a bad metaphor for life.  We keep moving, with purpose, or we fall.