Fun NorCal event April 8th

We've done one of these in the past in Mountain View, CA. I think us 2-seaters will be drastically under brain-powered. A windowed sprinter van filled with engineers is the right way to go.

Doh! I just took the paper map test... 4/7 for a solid FAIL.

@RS-60 mark good to see you drop in! Been a while since we last saw you at one of the SOC cruises, I think it was the last year it was held at Morro Rock. Hope all is well and that our paths soon cross again.  

Good memory Jim, it has been since last Morro Rock.  The SOC June gathering has kind of fallen off our calendar now that we are retired and usually fly fishing out in the square shaped states at that time.  We almost wedged-in the Tour de Hoe last year though, but unfortunately(?) couldn't make that either.  Maybe this year.

Ryan, LOL, I guess you figured out why my wife and I are destined forever to Novice class.   But we always have a great time, and that's the whole point of it.

Morro Rock has nice memories for us. My car will never attend at any show but I do like the where it is in the second pic. 

And a message to whomever wants to read and understand that the Crown Prince of Stanistan ...and his Hoolllinesss's followers that may abound,  his recent pontification about travelling in a speedster with a woman is not a worthwhile event might be unfounded. Stan doesn't know everything, but his brain makes his fingers type what he thinks you might want, need, or like to hear or even what he may believe. Smooch to Stanification Unconditionally....  (- :

Here's a nice pic of my excellent travelling partner / Wife in front of our overnight place at the Blue Swallow Motel in Tucumcari, NM a couple of year ago. Those Margs never tasted better. 

What's up with the Stan hate? Don't hate David, spread the love. my man.

Stan speaks from his experience. Jeannie isn't into his style of pounding out the miles across this country. They did attend the NC meet together, she's just not into the whole thousands of miles deal. And I've met them both, nicer folks you won't find.

David, you and Francine do it your way, and that's cool too.

Michelle and I haven't figured out our timing yet, but we hope to meet a bunch of fine folks all across the country this year in August/September. We travel well together but this is honestly never been tried by us before. Wish us good fortune. 

Mark, hope to run into you in our Western travels.

Cars like wives,  I mean everything come in all types of characters some of us forgot to check must like cars box before we said I do so we get to drive alone  

It’s all Good  

Jeanie is most definitely not a "car girl". She has mistaken a Suburban for her Town and Country minivan because they were both silver. If she could arrive at her destination by means of teleportation, that would be her preference. I get that.

She's good for about 4 hrs in the Speedster (or any other car), before it's not fun for her. She's one of the toughest people I know, and will push through almost anything, but I try to respect her enough to work around what's enjoyable for her. She likes the car in small doses, and I'd like to keep it that way. US 40 though Nevada was one of the highlights of my life. Jeanie once declared Yosemite inside the north gate to be "a fancy gravel pit" (after 8 hrs in the right seat, a mistake I've tried hard not to make again). We've figured out a way to accommodate both of us.

There are exceptions to every rule, but most of the women I've met have a similar outlook on "empty horizon" traveling. Jeanie would do anything for me, but she derives no joy from sleeping on a bedroll in the desert, and eating almonds and beef jerky from a ziplock bag. David's wife is clearly the exception to the rule, and it makes his trips frankly epic.

For us, there's a significant difference between a vacation and a journey of discovery. 

I thought about my advice to Tab in the other thread ("don't take your wife") before I posted it, because the purpose of his road-trip was to clear his head. That kind of road-trip (in my experience) is typically a pretty solitary endeavor. It might be different for somebody else, but it's true more often than not. When I'm traveling with Jeanie, I'm trying mightily to make sure she's happy. Please be clear-- I like nothing more than being with my wife. But when I'm trying to sort something out on the road, it's not generally productive to make it an "us" thing-- because when I'm with her, my focus shifts to her comfort (as it should) and away from the matter at hand.

Everybody has to find the way that works for them. 

Kudos Stan, thats was just an honest reply.  My wife is almost the same.  I have motivated her to travel to Carlisle from Chicago a few times but it not her favorite thing to do.  She is a trooper though and always makes the best of it.  Even driving to FL (her favorite place) has been fleeting the last few years.  I would love to do the California thing but It would likely be a combo thing similar to what you have done on the past. 

She does much better with the local events that are overnight and within 200 miles.  2 more moths of Winter storage and the Cafe Machiatto rides again!

My wife has a 100 mile limit in the Speedster. Thankfully there's a lot of fun to be had within a hundred miles. We're headed to wine country in a couple weeks.

Thankfully Santa Rosa is within the safe circle. I've added this event to the calendar. We'll see if she's interested in joining me.

DannyP posted:

What's up with the Stan hate? Don't hate David, spread the love. my man.

Stan speaks from his experience. Jeannie isn't into his style of pounding out the miles across this country. They did attend the NC meet together, she's just not into the whole thousands of miles deal. And I've met them both, nicer folks you won't find.

David, you and Francine do it your way, and that's cool too.

Michelle and I haven't figured out our timing yet, but we hope to meet a bunch of fine folks all across the country this year in August/September. We travel well together but this is honestly never been tried by us before. Wish us good fortune. 

Mark, hope to run into you in our Western travels.

There wasn't any hate there, Danny. For sure. Looks like you may have missed the ..."Smooch to Stanification Unconditionally" and the (-:

The only thing David hates is cracked windshields...but really, being a good Canadian, he doesn’t really hate anything.  He just gets a trifle annoyed.  

Both replies have their time and place. Clearing the head time is usually best done while alone. Ripping through the mountains on some twisted back roads with Teby and Troy is best done alone. Cruising to the coast, wine country, intimate dinners, and all other places with scenic beauty and quaint shops is best done with my wife of 30 years. 

Sorry David, I did miss the winky face! In my defense, it was early and I hadn't gotten very far into my first cuppa joe.

Stan Galat posted:

There are exceptions to every rule, but most of the women I've met have a similar outlook on "empty horizon" traveling. Jeanie would do anything for me, but she derives no joy from sleeping on a bedroll in the desert, and eating almonds and beef jerky from a ziplock bag. David's wife is clearly the exception to the rule, and it makes his trips frankly epic.

I guess I've got my hands full then. Not only is Michelle in for all of it, she likes to drive the car too!

DannyP posted: 

Mark, hope to run into you in our Western travels.

Danny, put an X on Hwy 101, 57 mi north of Golden Gate Bridge.  Don't drive past that point without calling!!!

In the mean time, back to April 8th.  When I first began lurking on Speedsterowners some 15-16 years ago while I was still building my spyder, I noticed that groups of norcal speedsters routinely met up for "Sunday drives".  I haven't seen much of that going on for some years now.  So when I posted the April Fools Rallye on spyderclub it crossed my mind that some of the norcal SOC crowd might be looking for a fun one-day event to do together too.  (I didn't mean for my post to drift into spouse comparisons, in which case I would win. )

To insure I haven't over-hyped the April Fools Rallye let me tone what to expect:  There are maybe 30-40 entrants, a totally eclectic assortment of vehicles, the atmosphere is completely non-intimidating and overtly friendly.  It is geared towards fun for a field heavily dominated by participants who have never done this before or are (like us) doing it for the reason of a fun Sunday drive event.  Of course there is a competition element, but for us it is just a fun contest for ourselves to play along the route, certainly not an expectation of actually winning anything.  

This looks like a great time to be had. I almost have the Wife convinced we need to give it a go!

April 8th is around the corner.  The Empire Sports Car Association (ESCA), sponsor of the April Fools Rallye, is asking for an informal head-count of those who think they might attend.

Just send an email to thebeard@sonic.net  saying that you are planning to join the April Fools Rallye.

Details for the Rallye are in the top post of this subject thread.  It is a fun Sunday!

So I was out of town, how did it go? @RS-60 mark @TheMayoMachine @DannyP?

@Ryan (formerly) in NorCal Congrats on the first pitch!  That's quite amazing.

Marty when isthat new wheel going to be put on that cafe racer

Ryan, I'll be visiting the west some day soon, but I'm over in upstate NY.

Kevin - Bay Area (formerly SF-Speedster) posted:

@Ryan (formerly) in NorCal Congrats on the first pitch!  That's quite amazing.

Oh no 🤦‍♂️, same name. Just coincidence. But made my day to see my name up on the big board. Got to meet him after. That’s what that was about.