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May be a Caterham only event


Guest Terry

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The organizing team of the GBB has been really encouraged by the response from the UK community (Lotus 7 Club) to attend our event. So far the GBB has 11 people all registered and paid up, incidentally all Caterham owners. I would imagine that if this trend continues this will be a Caterham only event. (that's not what we want)

 

Is there anything that the USA7 community would like us to do in order to get people fom this side of the pond engaged and committed to this event? It seems bizarre to me that an event being primarily run for north Americans is being dominated by the Brits.

 

http://www.7cars.ca/grizzly-bear-blat.htm

 

Suggestions please?

 

:deadhorse:

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Hello Terry,

 

I believe the North Americans (at least here in the US) are just procrastinators and try not to commit to anything until the last moment

 

I have organized a few Se7en tours and found it difficult to get people to sign up more than a few months in advance. The problem is while your tour is only 10 days or so, with transport/towing and travel, the whole trip will take at least 2 weeks. And, unlike Europe a 2-week vacation is a bit of a luxury here. For the last 2 trips I did not provide a comprehensive organization. I just planned as if I was going by myself, then published the list of hotels and the route and whoever felt like it could come along or not. The only other thing I did was compiling a participant list and checking that nobody got lost. Worked pretty well but with participants from the UK obviously a bit more needs to be done.

 

I would think there should be a few more "locals" signing up (sometimes) and I would be really interested. But....not a good time for me.

 

Cheers!

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Terry,

 

I have it blocked out on my calendar and plan on attending but it is too early for me to make the commitment. I think there are others here who are in a similar position, just too early to commit. My car will add to the Caterham count.

 

BTW, that 4,300 maximum altitude you quoted me, was that in feet or meters?

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Hello Terry,

 

I believe the North Americans (at least here in the US) are just procrastinators and try not to commit to anything until the last moment.

 

Cheers!

 

That has certainly been my experience since moving from the UK to Canada. "The last moment" regarding this event is that the entry will close on the 31st April 2013.

 

Thanks for your insite.

Edited by Terry
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Terry - I understand the concern and probably puzzlement that you have on why people have not jumped aboard. My situation is I am keen to attend but I have to wait until January when the company meeting committments are finalized for the remainder of 2013 - they have priority in my life whether I like it or not or even if I changed jobs. I feel fairly confident saying that some similarly employed others are probably doing the same thinking. I have not lost sight of your April 2013 deadline - 4.5 months away.

 

The other factor giving me pause is cost of shipping. All the quotes I am getting are higher than what the L7C are being quoted to ship from the UK.

 

 

 

 

BTW - I see the internet connection is good on the beach in Goa?

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Terry - I understand the concern and probably puzzlement that you have on why people have not jumped aboard. My situation is I am keen to attend but I have to wait until January when the company meeting committments are finalized for the remainder of 2013 - they have priority in my life whether I like it or not or even if I changed jobs. I feel fairly confident saying that some similarly employed others are probably doing the same thinking. I have not lost sight of your April 2013 deadline - 4.5 months away.

 

The other factor giving me pause is cost of shipping. All the quotes I am getting are higher than what the L7C are being quoted to ship from the UK.

 

 

 

 

BTW - I see the internet connection is good on the beach in Goa?

 

Hi Mike

 

The shipping quotes you are getting sound very expensive. Try Mackie Movers, they ship stuff for us all the time.

 

I appreciate that for many, the job situation is an obstacle to long term planning. I will refrain from preaching my usual sermon on "living out of the heart" and just say I do hope you can come.

 

Kind regards

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Hi Terry - Sadly Mackie Movers were the most expensive by a margin of $3000. Other carriers are proving much cheaper. I did mention you had referred me which unfortunately did not translate into a discount.

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Looking over my options again....maybe I can do this anyway. I am surely not going to pay a few $1000's for shipping but maybe 2 days towing to Boise from L.A., then 4 days nice drive through Idaho wilderness & Glacier NP to Red Deer, then the tour, 2 days drive back to Boise and another 2 days towing. Barely more than two weeks plus weekend. Might actually work. But I still need to hang in another 3-4 weeks to make sure :sadangel:

 

4500 miles round trip, not too bad.

Edited by slomove
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I was hoping to join, but I now have a bit of conflict. In order to do this, I need to find storage for my car in Seattle for the week following the GBB. So far, I have had no luck finding it.

 

I believe my partner knows someone in Seattle, drop him an email he may be able to help. http://www.super7cars.ca

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Hi Terry - Sadly Mackie Movers were the most expensive by a margin of $3000. Other carriers are proving much cheaper. I did mention you had referred me which unfortunately did not translate into a discount.

 

Hi Mike - Try this company. They are based in Red Deer and sell Classic Cars and ship them all over the states and Canada. http://www.theelectricgarage.com/

 

The other option is buy a selection of Car Mags from the news agent, Hemmings maybe. At the back of most of them they have a section on shipping and storage.

 

Back to the Beach

:party:

Edited by Terry
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  • 2 weeks later...

Terry,

 

For any potential GBB participants from USA, they need to remember that they will need a valid, current US passport to cross over into Canada, and to get back home.

 

We Americans often think of the Provinces as just some more interesting and more beautiful States, but there are some formalities involved..... and more than before 9/11.

 

It is not difficult to get or renew a US passport, but it is not something that can be quickly done as an afterthought.

 

Best,

 

Tom Meacham

Anchorage, Alaska USA

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To go along with Tom's comments...

You may want to check with the proper Canadian authorities for some of the other often overlooked fine print. There is zero tolerance when weapons are involved, don't even think of bringing one over the border. Also, you would be wise to check the regulations if you have any legal convictions of any sort: they will often see your entry refused, even a pot charge of 40 years ago. Just so you don't feel discriminated we face the same issues/red tape snaffles going into the US. Take it from someone living in a border town.... much easier to ask the questions, find the answers, long before you hit the border and get turned back disgusted!

 

Paul Hill

Morrisburg, Ontario

Canada

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Terry,

 

For any potential GBB participants from USA, they need to remember that they will need a valid, current US passport to cross over into Canada, and to get back home.

 

We Americans often think of the Provinces as just some more interesting and more beautiful States, but there are some formalities involved..... and more than before 9/11.

 

It is not difficult to get or renew a US passport, but it is not something that can be quickly done as an afterthought.

 

Best,

 

Tom Meacham

Anchorage, Alaska USA

 

That's exactly why people need to plan

:deadhorse:

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Many years ago, I traveled from northern Ohio to northern Maine, towing a TR6 through parts of Canada. I was thoroughly grilled by Canadian Customs about my intentions to return to the US with my TR6. I guess I can expect the same thing when I tow the Caterham to Red Deer. I may have to inquire sometime before the trip. Passport is no problem; unfortunately my work visa for Canada has expired, but I don't intend to work and won't mention that at the border. My only worry--and this fits another recent USA7s thread more appropriately--is if US Customs will search my car trailer for any cigars of indeterminate origin when I try to re-enter the USofA. Several of those small islands south of me produce cigars, and fortunately only ONE of the islands has legal restrictions.

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