slomove Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 Big "Thank You" to all tourers for driving with us....and not even bitching about the bumpy roads that I picked Special thanks to: Stan Sadorf for committing to the tour even with his Se7en disabled and providing additional support Ed Hudson for coming all the way from the East Coast to attend our little blat John Haskey for prolific photo updates on the USA7s list and proving that a Crossflow is still a valid option (leaving Tom Duratec in the dust) Louise and Tom for showing Tom Jones the proper pace Tom Jones for always detailed descriptions of interesting passing maneuvers and showing Louise and Tom the proper pace Sindy and Dion for driving in rotten weather without protection and without complaint John Christensen for ensuring that the gas tank is always full Des and Pete for great company and joining us as USA2005 alumni Bill Gemini for charming female obstacles out of the photo shoot Very special thanks to Mike Johnson for hanging in with our ragtag group and bringing our car and trailer back to Vacaville in one piece. See you all for the next tour!! Rosie and Gert Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slngsht Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 Guys, this event looked fantastic. Thanks for taking the time to share all the pics, and glad you all made it back with no major problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slomove Posted September 5, 2007 Author Share Posted September 5, 2007 Yes, quite amazing....5-8 cars, about 3500 miles and no serious mechanical problem. Can we do that again, please? Something like that? http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/563409890_EastMeetsWest2009.jpg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnCh Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 Is that Sturgis? Interesting... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boxologist Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 Yes, quite amazing....5-8 cars, about 3500 miles and no serious mechanical problem. Can we do that again, please? Something like that? http://www.usa7s.com/aspnetforum/upload/563409890_EastMeetsWest2009.jpg cut that out! i'm in.:cheers: but whats in SD? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solder_guy Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 i'm in.:cheers: but whats in SD? Black hills! Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hudson Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 Should be a big THANK YOU on that list for Gert and Rosie for putting it all together... THANKS. Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al N. Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 Gert, I'd have to say that I am up for a central meet in 2009. We should look at the Sturgis calendar so we don't have too much overlap with a bike meet. Thanks again for the initiative in setting up PNW 2007! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevet Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 And hat's off to Ed for making this and 7/7/7 :thumbs: Not that any of us are jealous you understand... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnCh Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 Actually I think Ed is the only person to attend all three major US se7en events: PNW2007, 7-7-7, and the one that started it all, USA2005. He should probably update his resume to reflect this achievement Big thanks to Gert & Rosie for organizing, Stan for handling some of the hotels, and Mike for driving the support truck. That last job had to be frustrating given he has a perfectly good Westfield sitting in the garage. -John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solder_guy Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 and Mike for driving the support truck. That last job had to be frustrating given he has a perfectly good Westfield sitting in the garage. Next time .. what you need is an east coast guy to fly out there and drive the support truck! :bigears: Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soareyes Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 Yes, thanks to Gert for organizing this fantastic trip! :hurray: Al asked for opinions/suggestions from the tourers that might help others planning similar adventures in the future. Here are a few off the top of my head: 1. Even though I wasn't able to take my Birkin and switched to my tin-top at the last minute, there were some advantages to having a regular car on the tour. It provided a safe place for the Sevens drivers to stow loose gear at our many stops. Otherwise they would have had to hand carry this stuff when the cars were unattended, or risk possible theft if left in their Sevens. Also, between the support truck and my car, we were usually able to ferry all the tourers to restaurants/pubs so they didn't have to get back in the Sevens after a long day of driving. 2. My favorite motels on this trip turned out not to be the larger, modern places but instead the small motels where you drive your car to the door and everyone had rooms next to each other. We would usually pull some chairs into the parking lot with our cars, drink beer, and bs into the night. It was much harder to get together and organize things at the bigger places where we lost track of each other (maybe a good thing sometimes?). Of course, this had a lot to do with the size of the town we were staying in. 3. I'm half joking here, but an information sheet made out ahead of time with answers to the common questions would be a huge time-saver at stops. Example: It's a Lotus Seven No, it's not a VW kit car Gasoline about 25 mpg Fast enough etc., etc. As most of you know, the attention a group of Sevens gets is amazing, but after two weeks straight of the same questions it can get a little annoying! Maybe other tourers can add suggestions too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slngsht Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 Actually I think Ed is the only person to attend all three major US se7en events: PNW2007, 7-7-7, and the one that started it all, USA2005. He should probably update his resume to reflect this achievement Big thanks to Gert & Rosie for organizing, Stan for handling some of the hotels, and Mike for driving the support truck. That last job had to be frustrating given he has a perfectly good Westfield sitting in the garage. -John I need to get off my behind and modify the forum software to add the list of national events attended to the left... so, Ed's would read: Rank: Advanced Member Groups: Member Joined: 1/19/2006 Posts: 134 Location: Sammamish, WA PNW 2005 Veteran 7/7/7 Veteran PNW 2007 Veteran Thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squarefour Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 I'd just like to echo the thanks to Mike, Gert, Rosie and Stan. I know that organizing things like this is not easy. So Tuesday morning I was at the gas station filling up the old Town Car when two things hit me- Jeez this is taking a long time! and- Wait, noone is staring at me and/or asking questions! I'd be up for a Sturgis meet, though I would probably trailer it, like all those Harley guys I've made fun of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boxologist Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 I need to get off my behind and modify the forum software to add the list of national events attended to the left... so, Ed's would read: Rank: Advanced Member Groups: Member Joined: 1/19/2006 Posts: 134 Location: Sammamish, WA PNW 2005 Veteran 7/7/7 Veteran PNW 2007 Veteran Thoughts? too long to read. go with " sickest of the sick " Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al N. Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 I'd be up for a Sturgis meet, though I would probably trailer it, like all those Harley guys I've made fun of. What i like about teh centralized is that one has the option of trailering or driving depending on the circumstances...I could see my family truckster acting as support vehicle for a NE Tour to [iNSERT NAME OF CENTRAL LOCATION HERE]....then me trailering the Seven back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boxologist Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 Black hills! Rob I saw that when i checked out my atlas before bed last night. also saw yellowstone 1 state away. and then i just kept looking and teton, and Glacier NP, i figures that just like Forrest Gump, may as well keep going. i may have to get in toucch with Loren about a trailer if this does go to fruition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnCh Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 Here are a few top-of-mind suggestions for future tours: • Avoid metropolitan areas. Cities are nice, but security and traffic concerns dull that experience a bit for me. The small towns were more fun and added to the feeling that we were venturing into the great unknown. • As Stan mentioned, the small, casual motels have more charm, but I think one nice hotel mid-late in the route is kind of nice as a reprieve. • Drivers meeting at the start of the tour to discuss passing procedures. E.g. is it every car for itself, or is the process for the lead car to complete the pass and then block traffic for the next car and so on? I believe the UK tourers have procedures they follow which we may want to investigate. It might not be a bad idea to also agree upon a few hand signals for car-to-car communication. It would certainly be easier than trying to figure out at 70 mph what the heck other guy is trying to tell you with his creative hand gestures • A second support car that can keep pace with the Se7ens. As Stan mentioned above it was great having someone with a locking car who could stay with the group. I don’t think I would want the support truck and trailer to match our pace on some of those roads… • Get volunteers to research each day of the route including the destination to identify interesting things to do/see along the way, and possible restaurants or evening activities. Asking one person do all of this is crazy, but if each person did one day and put together a little data sheet then the effort is manageable. • Put together tour planning kit for participants to ease the burden for the organizer(s). This can be a living document that includes suggested tools/spares/packing lists, maintenance check list to be completed x weeks prior to tour, route book template, links to relevant research sites (hotels, routes, restaurants, etc), past tour logos to help jumpstart that design process, information on getting shirts printed (options, lead times, etc.), locations for photo sharing, etc. • To take Stan’s half-joking information sheet concept one step further, perhaps we print answers to frequent questions on the back of the tour T-shirts? -John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al N. Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 • Drivers meeting at the start of the tour to discuss passing procedures.... I take it there was a variety in normal pace between drivers and that the group may have gotten split up once in a while? Sounds normal, but establishing a protoccol may be wise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnCh Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 I take it there was a variety in normal pace between drivers and that the group may have gotten split up once in a while? Sounds normal, but establishing a protoccol may be wise. We seemed to run into a number of folks who didn't appreciate being passed by our cars. They would speed up after the first person had gone by in an annoying effort to prevent the rest of the group from following suit. Employing a blocking protocol like some of the UK guys use would have solved that problem. It also would allow more cars to get by in a short stretch which is useful when you are running with so many cars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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