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Ok folks, the Planning Commission for the Board of Directors of the Tour de Smo' Organization has completed the architecture of the Second  Annual Tour de Smo' event.  That of course means that Corey, Stan, and I spoke about it and picked a weekend.  This year's event will be the last weekend in September and will be based at the Maggie Valley Creekside Lodge in, uh, Maggie Valley.  Early arrivers will show up on Wednesday, 26 September, and the date most folks will be leaving is Sunday, 30 September.  Cruises will be on Thursday (27th), Friday (28th), and Saturday (29th).

We haven't picked which cruise will happen on which day, but my vote is for the Tail of the Dragon on Friday, which some of us who have done it many times may skip to tour the Wheels Through Time Museum or go to some of the breweries in Asheville.  I vote for doing the Rattler on Friday as that is the one that everybody liked the most last year and you get to do it in each direction.  You leave the Lodge and drive the Rattler straight out of town to Hot Springs where you stop for lunch.  After lunch you turn around and head back to the lodge via the Rattler.  It's a nice day on the best road around (in my view).  For Saturday I'd suggest the Blue Ridge Parkway run we did last year.  Talk about scenic!

Meal will require a lot of preparation and planning - basically we meet in the parking lot and decide which restaurant we'll walk to.  As you can tell, a lot of work goes into this event.

Last year's was great fun. Hope to see some more of y'all there this year.

1964 Beck Super Coupe

Last edited by Lane Anderson
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How are you planning to install cruise control  Joe?  

I am looking into it as well on my subie.  I hear that there is a way to use the existing ECU if it has the module built in and you can make it happen using the VSS and the ECU.  Of course safety switches on the brake and clutch and the usual controls for on set, accel, decel etc

Joe Fortino posted:

I traded a few emails with Carey and he thinks it can be done using this. Tom Boney had Henry install cruise control on his IM, it’s where I got the idea. After last years Carlile trip my knee was sore for a couple of weeks. 

Yes I know that system, I installed it in a 1978 VW Diesel believe it or not.  Do you have drive by wire?  If you do, they have a modified kit that can work with the standard ECU plug pass through and you do not have to install that servo which is a kind of unsightly in the engine bay.  PM me if you want more info.

I can lead the Parkway+ ride again.

-Maybe dip down on my side of the mountain for some back road fun and lunch at some place where we can walk in and get seated as soon as we arrive. Trying to seat 13 or so people out of the blue at the Pisgah Inn, while slammed, got a few feathers ruffled last year. We might have to forgo Malt Disney, I mean Sierra Nevada, though.

Weather permitting of course.

 

Tom Boney posted:

Count me in. I will do what the group wants, but really enjoyed the rattler and would love to do it again.

The cruise control saved me going to and from the event,I highly recommend it.

Joe if you want to travel together let me know as well as anyone else in the Chicagoland area.

Bones

 

Bones I think a  caravan would be make an epic trip. @Marty Grzynkowicz are you in, I know timing didn’t work for you last year. 

 

 My last business brokerage deal has been SOLD and will close in mid April   ---a $3 million marina,and by the Tour De Smo I will be a free man and plan to join you knuckleheads for this great event if you'll have me.  The Dragon runs in the past were awesome and the Rattler looks very fine as well.  By Sept a lot of folks will be jonesing for a Speedster event ---I know I will.

"Malt Disney"  I love it!

I haven't spoken to the hotel yet, but Wolfgang tells me the website shows it pretty much booked up.  I seem to remember from last year that the website did not match reality, but I will check today.  I am not in a position to put down a big deposit to hold a whole lot of rooms, and last year we had no problems getting in.  There are plenty of other hotels in town, but this is the only one I know of with the fire pits.  Fingers crossed.

I have put a lot of thought into what we're doing this year. We are supposed to be doing a cross country trip this year, which got canceled last year due to Michelle and I having some health issues. This year is going to be a little much to do the cross-country. The thing is, we don't think 5 weeks is going to be enough time. We really want to do this right and take as much time as we need to explore the country. To me that means 8-12 weeks. This means we will do this once I am on vacation permanently, as in, retired. Thankfully, with 27 years service, that won't be too long.

So what all that gobbledegook means is we are IN for Maggie Valley come hell or high water! Last years broken ankle on top of all the other stuff in our cake really hurt.

RE: cruise control. I know there are units that are designed to be used with OE throttle servos for those of you with drive-by-wire.

I am about to purchase a Dakota Digital unit that uses the speedo cable for VSS and has a very small and easily hidden electric servo with a cable. They have three different controls, I am opting for the dash one which will be velcroed for easy access and easily hidden as well. $280 at Summit. This will be pretty easy to install in the Spyder as I'm not using the speedometer cable(GPS Speedo from Speedhut). The only thing we all will have to do if you have LED taillights is install a relay for the brake switch.

Lane Anderson posted:

"Malt Disney"  I love it!

I haven't spoken to the hotel yet, but Wolfgang tells me the website shows it pretty much booked up.  I seem to remember from last year that the website did not match reality, but I will check today.  I am not in a position to put down a big deposit to hold a whole lot of rooms, and last year we had no problems getting in.  There are plenty of other hotels in town, but this is the only one I know of with the fire pits.  Fingers crossed.

According to the Maggie Valley Event Calendar, the same event are going on as there were last time we were there. The Ford Truck Show is on the 9/27 and the huge flea market is on that weekend.  So... maybe the incoming traffic will be similar. Let us know if you need room deposits to hold spaces ... cuz, fire pits. 

Tom Boney posted:

Count me in. I will do what the group wants, but really enjoyed the rattler and would love to do it again.

The cruise control saved me going to and from the event,I highly recommend it.

Joe if you want to travel together let me know as well as anyone else in the Chicagoland area.

Bones

 

Tom would you post a few picts of what your cruise control set up looks like I forgot if your car is the subie one that IM did.

Thanks  Ray

IaM-Ray posted:

Dannt I checked it and I believe they use Rostra parts as their base 

That may be true, but as far as keeping cost down, the Dakota Digital kit has everything you need in one box for a lower price, at least in my case where I need electric servo and speedo sensor/VSS.

I've done long distance in my Spyder, and maybe if I was shorter I wouldn't need it. But the way I fit in there, my knee is always bent at the same angle, and my knee and foot/ankle bother me after 150 miles or so. Having the option to maintain speed without tiring the foot will go a long way toward long distance comfort.

IaM-Ray posted:
Tom Boney posted:

Count me in. I will do what the group wants, but really enjoyed the rattler and would love to do it again.

The cruise control saved me going to and from the event,I highly recommend it.

Joe if you want to travel together let me know as well as anyone else in the Chicagoland area.

Bones

 

Tom would you post a few picts of what your cruise control set up looks like I forgot if your car is the subie one that IM did.

Thanks  Ray

Ray, you can check out Toms thread which has a link to the flickr build pics. 

I can relate to what Danny says about the same position of his leg/knee being tiring after 150 miles.  I had the same problem when I first started traveling some distances in my VS.  My solution was low tech but simple, cheap and elegant and worked well for me.  Alice made me a small pillow about 3 1/2 inches thick and 18" square that I slip between below my right knee and the bottom area of the gear shift.  I have heard that leaning against the gear shift column is damaging to the transmission ---maybe an old wives tale but I don't lean against it just in case.  This pillow takes the strain off holding my knee/leg in an upright position which was very tiring.  Positioning part of the pillow against the center "hump" takes the pressure off the gear shift knob as my leg leans against the pillow.  Comfortable and relaxing and almost as good as cruise control to me because the gas pedal is so easy to operate.

While I'm at it I'll mention that I use a soft canvas Lands End type brief bag (like a soft brief case) as a left arm rest.  Put trip supplies in the bag along with a "Keep your VW Alive" book  (and maybe even a pistol) and sit the bag on the flat shelf below the door slightly above the floor and voila---a great arm rest.   To get out of the car, just swing the bag into the space over and behind the seat back and swing the door open. 

 

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