Re: 20TH ANNIVERSARY RUN FOR THE HILLS PICTURES

[Fierofool]

The Dragon is only 11 miles.  It's not on the itinerary this year.  I try to make all runs between 150 and 200 miles to make it worthwhile for people to drive a distance to see what they and their cars are capable of.  It's impossible to please everyone.  Some want short runs and others want more.  If I give everyone more, anyone can drop out whenever they choose and make it as short s they like. 

[GTRS Fiero]

I meant 200 miles of the dragon.  We have a few roads like that here.  I was in my truck on one for about 2 hours behind a dumb sheriff in a police interceptor.  We were doing about 65, and he would straddle the center line during turns.  What worried me was that he would straddle the line topping the hills.  I never squealed a tire, and if he'd have turned off, I'd have been gone.  My wife gets carsick easily, and her breakfast provided no nourishment that day.

I guess I'm glad I didn't push it, because I did once in another vehicle.  I'd had the ball joints replaced in a Blazer.  A few days later, I drove back from Norfolk, VA, to DC, then home, following my GPS.  Rather than take 64, it routed me through some interesting mountain trails.  My wife and I swapped off driving.  She uses the brake through turns, but I use the throttle, to help steer the back end.  I also run 15-20MPH faster than my wife.  It felt like 4 hours of those mountain trails.  When I got home, I took the Blazer in to the shop to see why the front end was so loose.  The MOOG ball joints were destroyed.

If you drop out, don't you miss out on the meal-time gatherings?  There didn't seem to be exits in the dragon; it looked like once in, you had to continue to the end.

[TopNotch]

If you drop out, don't you miss out on the meal-time gatherings?  There didn't seem to be exits in the dragon; it looked like once in, you had to continue to the end.

The route to the dinner destination the run takes is usually not the most direct route, in order to find the best curves. So the drop-outs can simply follow their GPS and get there before everyone else.
There's also a lunch gathering in the run. The same thing can happen then.

[Fierofool]

That happened for the 21st RFTH.  The couple pictured with the ChopTop GT from Florida made it to our lunch stop.  The wife was having problems with car sickness, so they left our lunch stop in Robbinsville, NC, went over through Cherokee, NC and were at the hotel when we arrived in Gatlinburg. 

[Fierofool]

The registration is simply to know how many will be joining us for each meal.  We have to call ahead so the restaurant will be prepared.  We have no way of knowing until we hold the morning drivers briefing because some show up at the briefing or don't join for the meals.  We ask for emergency contact info in case of illness or injury, home base, club affiliation and email address.  Sometimes we give awards for best club participation, longest travel to get to the event.  The registration brings everyone's info together for tabulation. 

RFTH 21 info will be used to send an event momento to each who registered and the info isn't shared with anyone.

[GTRS Fiero]

I commonly set up the run to be a loop, coming back to the same hotel, but #21 started in Georgia and ended in Gatlinburg.  It was pretty much agreed upon that we would do a similar thing for #22 and I've already laid out a tentative route, again beginning in Georgia and ending in another state.  Right now, it's about 200 miles long. 

Um, #22 didn't end up being a loop, did it?  Different hotels.

[Fierofool]

21 and 22 were from one point, ending at another.  23 might be a loop, including The Dragon.

[GTRS Fiero]

Isn't it early to repeat The Dragon?  I thought that was every third year.

[Fierofool]

We last did it on the 20th Anniversary.

[GTRS Fiero]

14 years ago, or 2 years ago?

[GTRS Fiero]

Ha ha!  I got first pic posted!




Morning safety briefing!  Let's GET IT ON!

Did the NSX make the run, also?

[Fierofool]

The NSX took the tourist route with me on that day.  They made it about half way.  They made the lunch stop, then took a more direct route back south, while the rest of us finished the more westerly route. 

[GTRS Fiero]

The NSX needs more rear brake bias, I think.  I locked the fronts up a lot.  We swapped back and forth between the Porsche 911 and the NSX.  In many ways, very similar to the Fiero, except the $87K price tag!  The Porsche is in a different class.  The NSX is not as nimble, and is surprisingly not as consistent as the Porsche.  The NSX is exhausting while you drive it; the Porsche afterward.  The NSX loses a lot of stability at higher speeds.  It drives like an accord with no weight on the front.  It wheel-hops, doesn't turn, and generally doesn't inspire confidence.  I drove brand-new factory samples.  Acura wanted to show that their car was comparable to the Porsche.

The clutch in the NSX was much nicer.  The Porsche is much more of a driver's car--but you must pay attention.  The Porsche will turn on you in an instant.  The NSX has smoother power than the Porsche's raw power.

Honestly, I probably would have taken it easy in the NSX on an unfamiliar, demanding road, too.  It is difficult to recover from the unpredictability.  Perhaps I wasn't as used to the behavior of the NSX.  Heck, I wrecked the first FWD car I raced.  The car behaved opposite of the RWD platform to which I was accustomed.