rcollum

You can't ask for much better weather than we had this morning, considering it's the first of December. Low-to-mid-thirties, at 5:00AM, with no wind - it was actually pretty nice. Katie's was certainly not as crowded as July or August, but that's perfectly OK with me, considering the general quality of vehicles and people there today. --Bob Collum

A gorgeous morning, and a good turnout at Cameron's today. --Bob Collum

A smaller-than-usual turnout, probably because it was threatening rain (but never actually did rain at Katie's), and because it was Thanksgiving Weekend. Still, we had a good time with friends. --Bob Collum

Yes, it was chilly this morning - 30F, but dry and calm, so a nice drive. We had a pretty good turnout, and a nice variety of cars. --Bob Collum

A cold but dry Saturday! Especially nice, after we had our first snow of the year Thursday of this week. The snow had been cleared by rain, and there wasn't too much salt on the roads. A fairly good turnout for the weekend before Thanksgiving. Tom Jones, who I met last Sunday at GYLO, was there with his black Elan. --Bob Collum

By any measure, GYLO 16 was a big success. Despite the cold - it was 28F at 9:30AM - we had a total of 18 Lotus at Katie's lower lot, with at least 30 Lotus people in attendance. Gavin Slade and I both had our Caterhams there. We have to give a special shout-out to the Yows - Caleb and Jessica brought their newest addition to the club, Zoey. Zoey might be a year away from driving her own Lotus. Another young addition to the club - Michael Ullman showcased the practicality of his Evora, by bringing daughter Hannah in her car seat in the back. Two more outstanding attendees - Todd Howes and his wife drove their Esprit up from Hampton Roads, and we had a new member Tom Jones, who finished a brake job on the Elan he bought recently, and used the drive to GYLO from Reston as his test drive for the brakes. What dedication! Once we finished giving out the prizes, several of us drove out to lunch at Quattro Goombah's in Aldie, VA. We met Tim & Jenn Glahn there - there were 11 of us Lotus people there for lunch! A special thanks to Darryl from Odds & Ends Detailing, for providing the grand prize. Darryl is a great guy, and an excellent detailer! Thanks to everyone who came out - we don't see everyone nearly enough, and it's great to catch up. --Bob Collum

A perfect November Saturday! Cold, but clear and dry. We were rewarded by a lot of interesting vehicles. --Bob Collum P.S.: Come on out to our event on 11/11/18, 10:00AM - our 16th Get Your Lotus Out: http://www.usa7s.net/vb/showthread.php?12161-Gylo-16-11-11-18-10-00am

GYLO is 'Get Your Lotus Out', and we certainly welcome all type of Sevens as part of the family. GYLO will be held Sunday, 11/11/18, 10:00AM. We will meet at the lower lot of Katie's (down the hill from The Old Brogue restaurant - 760 Walker Road in Great Falls Village - Great Falls, VA). The event will start at 10:00AM Eastern Standard Time. We're expecting a really good-weather day! There will be the standard popular-vote 'Favorite Lotus' contest, with prizes. If all goes well, you should see a good number, and a good variety of Lotus cars and people. Once the GYLO festivities dull down to a civilized roar, anyone who likes is welcome to come out with us to Quattro Goombah winery & brewery for lunch, about 45 minutes away. We will even have printed directions for a fun back-road drive out to Quattro Goombah. We hope to see you all there! --Bob Collum

Here's the rear tire... --Bob Collum

A brisk morning, but the change to standard time gave us an extra hour of sleep this morning! Several new attendees, and new NoVA Lotus member Christian drove his Storm Titanium Elise. Mark Franke came in his civilian car. Another newcomer brought his new Demon. Bob S. had the Guards Red Porsche Carrera S he just picked up last night. Thanks to Christian for pointing out a detail on the Demon: look at the treadwear rating on the front tire! --Bob Collum

Right you are, Skip - the owner of the Chevy told me it was a 'factory option', but I think it was more likely a dealer-offered item. When I first got my Elise, I remember a lot of people asking for the modern, decal version of this. --Bob Collum

It rained last night, and was still sprinkling when I left home. Rain stopped before 7AM, and people showed up a little later than usual - but they did show up. The last picture shows something I didn't recognize - does anybody know what it is? I'll post the answer later. --Bob Collum

After raining almost all day Saturday, I was happy to see the rain had stopped Sunday. We had a pretty good turnout, with some very nice cars! --Bob Collum

A rainy Saturday at Katie's. A low turnout, of cars and people, but not a total bust. We had about 25 people inside. I found the two Peugeots interesting. See? - there's always something worth seeing at Katie's! --Bob Collum

I have been away from this event for a month, what with the British car endurance run, the Middleburg car show, and a family birthday. Bob Scates is a regular now, so Lotus is represented, each week. This remains a small gathering, but that's OK... we have a good group of people, and some really nice cars. --Bob Collum

On the Lexus, I thought it was silly. There are a few cars that can pull it off, but not this one. I think it comes down to making the car reflect its competition variant; the Lexus has none, as far as I know. --Bob Collum

Very light rain when I left the house this morning, but it had stopped by the time I arrived at Katie's. Cool, but not cold this morning - jacket weather. A good turnout of cars and people! Don't forget - our 16th Get Your Lotus Out event will be held here, on Katie's lower lot, Sunday, November 11th, 2018, at 10:00AM. Sevens are more than welcome! --Bob Collum

A really good Saturday at Katie's. I met several people who were first-time-visitors. One drove his Triumph all the way from Kansas, to see friends, but had heard of this event, and wanted to see it. A man and his son arrived in his race-prepped 240SX. An old Lotus friend also showed up, and Bob Morris' Allard was delivered. I had not seen the Honda Beat there before - it's a Kei car, made for tight urban spaces. --Bob Collum

I know it's last-minute, but tomorrow is supposed to be a beautiful day - a great day for a drive out to this British car show. There are some great roads out that way. The show field opens at 9:00AM. Show typically runs until 3:00PM. The location: 7397 Frogtown Road Marshall, VA (Just outside of Middleburg, VA) It's $35 to register at the venue for the show, or $5 to just park and attend. This is a pretty field, and always a nice showing of British cars. --Bob Collum

A minor 'lake crossing' in the TR6; the one that finally killed it was nearly three times as deep. The radiator got pushed against the fan, and they lost all coolant. The good news - the ABRR Support Team was there quickly, provided the team with a backup car, and his TR6 was repaired and picked up late morning of day 2. By the way. the second picture shows that same Triumph, repaired, the next day. Day 2 was great - perfect weather, and no 'lakes' to drive through. Everybody had fun, but I suspect nobody had as much fun as Mark & me in the Seven. Note: we both need to launder our jackets, as our 'outboard' sleeves are getting FILTHY! --Bob Collum

Today was day one of the DC ABRR. Great roads, but lots and lots of puddles. Some puddles were large. At least one seemed to have a tide. I drove through in the Seven, and the water washed over the side pipe. The 'bow wave' reached the top of the nose. We were lucky to get through. The guy in the TR6 was not so lucky. The water pushed his radiator into the fan, and he lost coolant. His car died several miles up the road. The good news - we had help to him quickly, and he got to drive away in the 'Car of Shame' Miata. The support crew diagnosed the issue, called and ordered parts, and had the TR6 towed. It will be worked on today, and we expect it to be back in the hunt tomorrow. Great camaraderie amongst the ABRR teams, and the support team really outdid themselves on this! --Bob Collum

Very light rain early this morning made me doubt we'd have much of a turnout today, but it wasn't bad... It cleared up around 7AM. --Bob Collum

With nearby states experiencing flooding due to the hurricane, we had the good fortune of a rain-free Sunday morning. We made the most of it! Bob Scates drove his Esprit; I was there in my Elise. The BMWs outnumbered us, 3-to-2. This is a small, very informal get-together on Sundays, with a late-ish start time - 8:00AM. If you just can't get up in time for Katie's on a Saturday, you should consider joining us on Sunday! --Bob Collum

Skoda Felicia. Late '90s, I believe. Has a 1.1 liter engine. My friend followed him up Georgetown Pike on the way to the event - he said it was not even doing the speed limit. Cute, though!

It was overcast, with a very light mist, on my way to Katie's, early this morning. However, it never rained, and we had a pretty good turnout. --Bob Collum