I just thought I’d post this, for anyone in the Athens area or even Atlanta. These rides are always excellent, though a little crazy sometimes. If your looking for large group rides, these are definitely worth the drive from Atlanta.
My brother-in-law did this recently. He said they avg’ed 19.2 mph over 40 miles and then he had to drop out. Heh. They started out going one distance, and then changed it up while they were going. I mean, fine with me… 
He was saying the hills we have in Middle GA were like 10 times worse than what he had in Athens. I somehow find that hard to believe. Maybe he just wasn’t used to "OUR’ hills.
Anyhoo…
Trae