Al N.

!!!MONTHLY ORGANIZER UPDATE!!! Note that this email was sent to all 75(!!!) people who have registered for the event at the official registration page: http://www.usa7s.com/forum/eventregistration/index.aspx I am posting it here as a courtesy for people who have not yet registered. It’s not my intention to rehash everything from the trip in this post. But I did want to share some observations about the area. Pardon me if I ramble: For starters, it’s quite a beautiful part of America. And still, seemingly unspoiled (read: there is no Starbucks or Walmart in Robbinsville….yet). It’s also quite affordable, all things considered. For example, a 12 oz. bottle of soda at a vending machine cost me 75¢ — I was already pulling a dollar and change out to pay. A great meal for 4 adults (no alcohol) at the one Mexican restaurant in town was $40, with tip. You’d pay 50% over or more in my neck of New Jersey (and I live in a very rural part of NJ). I also saw gas under $2. Speaking of no alcohol, Graham County NC is dry. Meaning they do not sell beer, wine, or hard liquor in stores. However, thanks to a grandfathered loophole that has to do with having a tennis court on site, the Tapoco Lodge can sell beer and wine. You can bring your own hard alcohol if desired, but please support the locals in your consumption of beer and wine. All the people we met with were extremely nice. Alas, we were not able to get to Fontana Lodge on this outing — we just ran out of time and put researching possible auto-X sites first. Apologies to anyone who was looking for a POV on Fontana. The good news is that we will try to make one more visit in the Spring and will make Fontana a priority. If anyone who lives closer feels like taking pix of rooms and such for the group, that would be appreciated too. Do not be fooled by mileage signs. Because of the general meandering of virtually every road in the area, it takes about twice as long to get where you’re going. So if something is 15 miles away, count on it taking about 30 minutes. Robbinsville is about 20 minutes to Tapoco, which is 30 minutes away from Fontana. There are serious elevation changes between Tapoco and Deal’s Gap and Fontana too. While I’m on the subject of driving…even if the Dragon didn’t exist, this would be a driver’s/motorcyclist’s paradise. 129 from Tapoco to Robbinsville (technically not part of the Dragon) would be a prime blatting road just about anywhere else. Ditto Rte. 143, which takes you past Ron and Nancy Johnson’s house on the way to the Cherohala. An aside about the Johnsons…they have a gravel drive at their property, but they assure me that one of their rental homes (“The Ridge”) has easy access for sports cars, in addition to including a large barn that could house quite a few Sevens…so if you don’t have a place to stay yet (it’s about 30 minutes from Tapoco, in the opposite direction from Fontana) you may want to check it out. Mazda and I stayed at the MicroTel, which is new and offered small and spare but clean and comfortable rooms. The only potential drawback to staying there (or the nearby San Ran) is that your car is visible from the main road. Not that that is necessarily a problem — there were a few high-end cars parked in the lot during our stay, including a GT3ish looking Porsche. If you are concerned and want a more private place to park you car, then choose Fontana or perhaps the Blue Boar Inn or Blue Waters Lodge (see tailofthedragon.com for links to the sites of these properties). People looking for more upscale lodgings should look into the Snowbird Resort, where we’re told Porsche has hosted several journalist junkets. We thought about rain contingencies quite a bit over the weekend. And I think capping our numbers at 77.7 gives us an advantage because we can fit everyone into Tapoco’s quonset hut (seats 150) for meals. And should it rain for the bulk of Saturday, we will have some activities (slot and/or RC car racing, as well as movies) to keep the less hardy

A last post here before I switch over to the TotD thread in the EVENTS section. My business partner, upon viewing the videos above, said something like "It doesn't look very curvy, you should speed it up." Sometimes, he's right. Warning. If you are prone to seasickness, you may not want to watch it. No, I'm not kidding.

Mazda-I had to go to work too early to bring my car (rain was still clearing), so I'm jealous. With regards to fenders, I have the Cat factory carbon jobbies and I don't notice any vibrations.-Al

X-post from RECON Thread. FULL DRAGON RUN VIDEO In 5 parts. No sound, but all you're missing is Mazda and I talking about cars and corners. PART 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4-a9t5Jd8Q PART 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Np6slCqP6hM PART 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IXKP9RNK08 PART 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edBiQ-u-ecA PART 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kn3sjBkAhc4

FULL DRAGON RUN VIDEO In 5 parts. http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/willy_nilly.gif No sound, but all you're missing is Mazda and I talking about cars and corners. PART 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4-a9t5Jd8Q PART 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Np6slCqP6hM PART 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IXKP9RNK08 PART 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edBiQ-u-ecA PART 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kn3sjBkAhc4

Rob-Two points: A) the Bond film that needs to made/remade is a new "on her Majesty's"...although Lazenby was not terrible, I always wanted Pierce to play this one, IMHO the greatest of the books, and the story behind James' one true love; B) my knowledge of Bacarat is limited to the first chapter of the book...I know enough to say "pass the shoe", "suivi', and "banco".-Al

Folks-an FYI that I will be uploading a full run of the Dragon at my pokey pace (includes stopping for truck across road and pulling over to let some Vettes and bikes through...more on that later) today or tomorrow. Since it's from Tabcat Bridge to Tapoco It's a bit long (plus I drive slow!), so I'll need to chop it up into smaller parts. I watched a bit of it this AM and got seasick.-Al

TAPOCO LODGE PREVIEW As part of our trip, we visited our primary host hotel: Tapoco Lodge The Codys (Dirk and Marsha) were very nice and full of great advice/info. Since they've hosted several groups much larger than ours, they know what works and what doesn't. If we cap things at 77.7 LSiS vehicles, I'm not that worried about parking, since the access road is wide enough to park and still have a thoroughfare. I can see cars filling the main lot, then starting to head up the hill via the access road. This vid includes footage of the main lot and lodge, the access road, one cabin, and some of the grounds. Note that a few of the cabins have sizeable parking areas, and I could see various sub groups hosting smaller gatherings — not to "balkanize", but more to bond/represent...for example, the Texas folks may want to have a pre or post dinner or during the "car show" cocktail hour. Or the original Skyline folks might sponsor a lunch on Sat for our family and friends. Just some thoughts. Oh, and it might be very funny to have a shuffleboard or horseshoe bracket/round robin avaiable to foster mixing and meeting. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoBHsyzj__0Al Navarro2006-11-07 10:03:43

CHEROHALA SKYWAY PREVIEW I'll be putting up a few more posts on this thread this week, before switching any comments/info posts to the main 7-7-7 thread in the EVENTS section. First, a link to a YouTube montage from the Cherohala Skyway. For those of you who've driven Skyline Drive in Shenandoah NP, the Skyway is similar...perhaps a tad more open.

74 hours later (32.5 of which were spent in the car!)...I'm home. I wish I weren't so tired, because there's so much I want to write about the area, the event, and our trip. I'll try to work on that by Tues. Thanks again to Forum members Steve, Bill, and Marcy — esp. Marcy for being a voice of reason among all the men. And especially to Mazda, for everything. Good night.Al Navarro2006-11-07 06:25:03

Last post before I get some rest... A few assorted pix. The TT doesn't have the biggest trunk. So I told Mazda to pack light. The Orange bag, the grey bag, and the box full of stuff are mine. http://www.usa7s.com/forum/uploads/20061104_201953_Pack_Light.jpg I may not be as fast or brave a driver as Mazda, but I must smooth enough... http://www.usa7s.com/forum/uploads/20061104_202217_Sleepy.jpg Believe it or not, Nancy Johnson (tailofthedragon.com) has a Seven. Like my Superlight, it's got lots of carbon bits. http://www.usa7s.com/forum/uploads/20061104_202327_Marque_Inclusiv.jpgAl Navarro2006-11-04 20:24:23

WT2K-Welcome! You joined at a great time (IMHO), there really seems to be momentum here and for our little cars in general. Or maybe I still feel the momentum from my ride by guest driver Mazda. I would highly encourage everyone to check out the TotD Recon thread as well as the TotD thread in the Events section. There are so many new folks here now...would be great to know a little more about everyone. We don't bite (just ask Marcy and Bill P.)!

Okay, here's a link to "what I could recover, with much effort" from Mazda's sprint up the D.

Tonight, we had dinner with Darryl and Lori Cannon, Mr. and Mrs. "Killboy". They run the premier Deal's Gap photography outfit: killboy.com. There must be something in the water down here, because like everyone else we've met from the area, the Cannons were great. Hopefully, we can get them to take our group shot and also just hang out at some of our events when they're not shooting on the Dragon. Lets try to rustle up a guest drive for them if we can. THANKS DARRYL and LORI! Here's a certain EVO that you really shouldn't mess with. http://www.usa7s.com/forum/uploads/20061104_183456_Killboy.jpg

My Saturday breakfast. http://www.usa7s.com/forum/uploads/20061104_182312_Breakfast.jpg

Steve-I am looking at the available libations list now. They have a Stag's Leap Cab at the top of the list (pricey though!). FYI, despite it being a dry county, through some loophole that has to do with having a tennis court (I kid you not), they can sell beer and wine. If you need anything harder, you'll have to bring it in. I can see a real use for a little armagnac in the wee hours, served out of your "mobile" bar, of course.

X-post from RECON Thread. A report from our Nov. 4 visit to TotD. My initial and lasting impression is that the Tapoco Lodge is PERFECT for our needs. We can park lots of cars there, in the main lot and also up the access road to the cabins and quonset hut/theater. We were able to ask the owners lots of questions and get a lot of guidance on how we want to structure meals and meets and menus. Right now, we're thinking about having 3 official group meals...Friday Dinner (burgers and portable foods so you can walk around and check cars out), Saturday buffet breakfast (including eggs and such), then Saturday dinner again (perhaps a pig roast, so it's more festive). For Sat lunch and Sunday meals, you're on your own (some folks are leaving early Sunday anyhow). We're still discussing how to bill registrants for the meals — I personally prefer to not have to shell out for every little thing, instead paying a flat rate that includes all the stuff, including gratuties, etc. I don't know about the rest of you, but I want to just enjoy the time with everyone and not have to keep reaching for my wallet. Please post your thoughts on this matter here. Another idea that came up on the visit was the notion of having movie screenings at night in their large quonset hut, a large building with vaulted ceiling that seats up to 150. Stuff like "The Prisoner", "Rendezvous", "Le Mans", "Grand Prix", etc. Al Navarro2006-11-04 13:56:35

Today was our real "work" day down here, where we had a lot of ground to cover, literally and figuratively. Gosh, where to start... For starters, I woke up this morning at 5:30 with a pounding headache. Since I only drink non-alcoholic "near beer" (2 last night with dinner) these days, I guess I had a "near-hangover". It must be the lack of sleep. We started the day with a drive over the Cherohala Skyway to rendezvous with Marcy and Bill P, two Seveners from nearby Knoxville. We had breakfast at a little gas station/food place in Tellico Plains, which is at the other end of the Skyway from Robbinsville. Marcy and Bill are such great people, very warm — and of course, with their share of funny Seven stories (have we all run out of gas at sometime or another?). Marcy had early on volunteered to be our local presence and that will prove invaluable as planning and organizing continues. Thanks again Marcy and Bill! After breakfast, we drove back on the Skyway, which is much more of my kind of road compared to the Dragon. Longer faster sweepers and INCREDIBLE VIEWS. Mazda couldn't help himself from verbally identifying just how much faster we might (might) be able to take various corners and straights in Sevens. As the driver at the time, it was very amusing for me. We continued to Deal's Gap, where we stopped at the motorcycle hotel there, formerly known as "The Crossroads of Time" for bathrooms and a quick snack. We ran into the Porsches from Pelican Parts and another PCA chapter and chatted up our own meet. We planned to make one run at the Dragon, then hustle back to Tapoco for our meeting. This time, I let Mazda drive. My car. And I'll go ahead and say that it was both a fun and scary experience. Mazda is a great driver, by the way (those numerous auto-xs are serving him well)...he can heel toe with the best. Unfortunately, I think there were a few "technical errors" with the video on that run that render it unable to upload to YouTube, Mazda. http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/images/emoticons/wink5.gif LMAO, another story we can save that for 7-7-7 roundtable! Let's just say you can call me the "human accelerometer". I think Mazda is posting the pix, and I'm doing the vids, so look for posts from Mazda for pix. My initial and lasting impression is that the Tapoco Lodge is PERFECT for our needs. We can park lots of cars there, in the main lot and also up the access road to the cabins and quonset hut/theater. We were able to ask the owners lots of questions and get a lot of guidance on how we want to structure meals and meets and menus. Right now, we're thinking about having 3 official group meals...Friday Dinner (burgers and portable foods so you can walk around and check cars out), Saturday buffet breakfast (including eggs and such), then Saturday dinner again (perhaps a pig roast, so it's more festive). For Sat lunch and Sunday meals, you're on your own (some folks are leaving early Sunday anyhow). We're still discussing how to bill registrants for the meals — I personally prefer to not have to shell out for every little thing, instead paying a flat rate that includes all the stuff, including gratuties, etc. I don't know about the rest of you, but I want to just enjoy the time with everyone and not have to keep reaching for my wallet. Please post your thoughts on this matter over on the official meet thread: http://www.usa7s.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=137 Another idea that came up on the visit was the notion of having movie screenings at night in their large quonset hut, a large building with vaulted ceiling that seats up to 150. Stuff like "The Prisoner", "Rendezvous", "Le Mans", "Grand Prix", etc. (I'm working on getting better quality YouTube vids, btw. Have patience.) Tonight we have dinner with Darryl "Killboy" Cannon, the dean of Dragon photographers. Al Navarro2006-11-04 13:53:06

Alright, the non-accident video is giving me issues on the upload now so I may as well give my first impressions of the Dragon. I happened to be driving the leg of the trip that took us over the Dragon and into Robbinsville, NC — where I'm writing this from our hotel (how many Microtels have a Porsche GT3 parked out front?). And after getting over the shock of seeing an accident within minutes of getting here, we settled into a good rhythm after a Suburban pulled over to let us through. Mazda did his best Nicky Grist routine via the GPS mapping his laptop (he'd call out left or right, with notes on how tight each turn was) while I merely held on for dear life. Without giving you too many blow-by-blows, here's what I think so far: • First, we were right to pick this location for a meet. It's beautiful and not overly commercialized (yet) and the roads (the Dragon is only one of many) are simply built for Sevens. • Speaking of which, I really missed my Seven on this drive. The TT occassionally got bungled up in the wrong gear or wrong part of its powerband (not driver error, of course!). I know the Seven would not only corner harder, but also be able to explode out of turns. Not to mention handle the many transitions on the Dragon with aplomb. • At the risk of sounding like a broken record, Sevens are built for roads like the Dragon and its neighbors. I am confident that the bikers/locals will be impressed and that our group will represent the LSiS concept well. • It's really easy to be tempted to go over the double yellow. Don't. The sport bikes are counting on you. • The Dragon is almost too twisty...throwing to many curves at you in too short a time. I actually got nausea — AND I WAS DRIVING!!! I have to say I prefer other roads in the area already, including the one over to Ron and Nancy Johnson's house. The Johnsons had Mazda and I over for dinner — we got to see a preview copy of their 4th Edition of their Dragon video. Really good stuff. The food was amazing too. And of course, our hosts were great. They shared lots of great ideas and caveats with Mazda and I. WIth luck, they'll be able to speak at one of our group events next July. THANK YOU RON AND NANCY! More when I have the energy. Must get some sleep before we drive Cherohala Skyway tomorrow. Al Navarro2006-11-04 12:39:10

Just the first of a few YouTube clips. The crash (not ours, thankfully). FWIW, the only reason you'll hear me debating whether to stop or not is because there really isn't a shoulder and the accident happened right after a turn. As you'll see, we stopped and even gave the driver a ride back to her house (unlike the truck in front of us, who was giving the poor girl a lecture by the time I got to the scene). I can't embed YouTube vids in forum posts, alas. So here's the link: Revised link for better quality (I hope). Also, a pic of the car in the woods. She was lucky. http://www.usa7s.com/forum/uploads/20061104_201200_Femme_Accident.jpgAl Navarro2006-11-04 20:12:24

Al here. Taking over the computer while Mazda does some time in the driver's seat. It's been a really smooth trip so far - thanks again to Steve for finding a place not far off 81 to meet us. The foliage has really been beautiful down here in Virginia. Most of the leaves have already fallen in my part of NJ. Looking forward to arriving at the Dragon. We've already discussed a few topics in transit. UPDATE, WITH PUMPKIN PANCAKES http://www.usa7s.com/forum/uploads/20061107_072301_Pancakes.jpgAl Navarro2006-11-07 07:23:04

Thanks for the links, Gert. And word on pricing and sourcing? Not to mention details of the installation process?

Paul-Nice ride with nice upgrades. I'd love to know why you're selling (and no, I'm not in the market for one right now). Also, do you happen to know the guy who posts on Jalopnik.com with the handle allenparkpete? He's very smart and I think may work in the auto industry (to be as vague as I can).

Wow. There's been a surge of forum members as well as registrants for 7-7-7. Thanks again all. A few weeks back, I had a discussion with the primary host hotel to see what the max capacity (for cars, not guests...we hit that a long time ago) is and the figure I was given was 80. Mazda and I are headed down this weekend and will confirm this. But, seeing as we are at 71 already, I think that it will be prudent to start the waiting list at the 80th car, so we have guaranteed space for 77.7 LSiS vehicles (there's only one non-LSiS signed up as of today). We'll be sure to keep the folks on the waiting list in the loop for everything going forward and then, at least 2 months before the event, have a "are you really in?" deadine for the first 77.7 to sign up — if there are people who withdraw (expected and totally fine as long as you let us know in advance instead of bailing the weekend before), then we'll offer spaces to the people on the waiting list in order of registering. Al Navarro2006-11-01 09:56:14

Thanks and welcome to the all the new folks. I was just on the phone with a fellow sevener I've only "met" here on the forums and it was great to speak with someone with the same "addiction" to Seven formula. Great to have you all here to add to the mix of cars and opinions regarding them. Oh, and BTW, from where are all the new folks finding out about USA7s.com?Al Navarro2006-10-31 07:57:24