Turners Corner is a crossroads, and in this corner of Georgia that is enough to make it a landmark. Where several of the old mountain roads meet in the foothills of the Blue Ridge, a small store and a gravel lay-by have served as a meeting point for riders for a long time, and on a Saturday morning there are always a few bikes parked in the lot, with their riders arguing amiably about which loop to take. It is not a place to spend an afternoon, but it is a good place to be at nine o'clock.
The country around it is a mix of pastureland, small orchards and wooded ridges, with creek valleys running between them. Roads here were laid out by farmers and loggers, not engineers, and they follow the contours, which means that every kilometre has a bend in it. North of the corner the land rises toward the high gaps, and the roads over them are the real prizes; to the south, the rolling hills run down toward Dahlonega and the gold country. Cleveland is the nearest town, seven kilometres away, and it has an odd claim to fame: it is the home of the doll hospital where Cabbage Patch Kids are, in the story at least, born.
Dahlonega's mint once stamped gold coins from the local ore, and the story of the place is a story of fortune and its aftermath. When the gold ran thin, the people turned to apples, timber and, later, tourism. Apple season in September and October brings cider, fried pies and stalls along the road, and if you are lucky you will find a farm stand selling jam. Some of the better roads are narrow, with blind bends and no shoulder, so keep your speed measured, particularly on weekends when the area is full of visitors.
Fuel is no trouble at either end: Cleveland has stations on the main road, and Dahlonega, seventeen kilometres away, has several more. The corner itself offers a cold drink and a snack, and little else. Spring brings the dogwoods and redbuds, and summer is hot and humid, with thunderstorms building over the ridges in the afternoon. The best light, as ever in the mountains, comes in the hour after dawn and the hour before dusk, and the roads are quietest then.