Go To Page:       2   4    5   6    7   8    GGLC Home
PAGE 3
I'm currently having visions of the summer of 1998!  If you remember, that was the year I burned the midnight oil to get the Seven to the British Meet.  Well, not only do we have the British Meet coming up again, and very soon I might add, we have the track day approaching fast as well!  I'm under the gun yet again to get the Seven prepared for another event.  Several little things need to be done and it will indeed be a challenge to get the car to the track in time, but I'm going to try my hardest. 
I took a day off from working on the Seven recently to go on John Zender's Woodside Rallye and I had a great time!  John's been bugging me to go for a couple of years now and I always had some lame excuse not to show up and all I have to say is, that was my loss!  I didn't make it to Mike Schlict's Mt Hamilton fun run last time because I was sick, so I didn't get a chance to try out the new Konis I installed on the Europa.  I was eager not only to prove to John that I would be at his rallye this time, but also to see how the new shocks performed on the twisties. 
To my surprise, there were only three of us participating: James McCoy, Scott McQuown, and myself.  It was a shame there weren't more people attending, especially since John had picked some really good Lotus roads and the day had great weather in store for us.  I really encourage everyone to take advantage of these great club events, they're great fun and they're guaranteed to hook you into attending next time. 
After some doughnuts and orange juice we embarked on one the most circuitous routes to Duarte's in Pescadaro that one could imagine.  I was the last one to take off from John's place and although the average speed was supposed to be 34 mph, I paid attention NOT to do any more than 5 mph over the speed limit on the city streets.  That wasn't really a problem because I didn't have a navigator and I had to read all the directions myself.  Phrases like: "Continue to the top of the hill and if the area looks familiar, go right. If not, continue straight", and "At the intersection, don't turn right, and don't turn straight" kept 
the speed down to a crawl in some instances. 
John had us driving all over the place but the fun really began up in the Woodside hills.  As I mentioned, we traveled on some great Lotus roads, most of which I had never even seen before, and there were some unusual items we had to pick up in our travels that served as checkpoints. 
Taking off last, I didn't think I would be running into anyone but I was wrong.  While on one of the more unknown roads on the backside of the hill, I ran into James McCoy.  I was looking for a checkpoint item when he came rumbling up behind me and mentioned something about taking a wrong turn.  We picked up our checkpoint items and continued on our way.  James took the lead and it wasn't long before he was gone from my sight again.  I caught up to him going down Skyline, but he took another wrong turn and went down 84 at Alice's Restaurant.  I wanted to honk my horn and tell him that I thought he was turning too soon, but hey, it's a rallye and it's every man for himself! 
Did I mention that the roads we were on were great?  I was having a great time, knowing full well that I was probably in last place but enjoying every minute of it.  I was also pleased because the shocks on the Europa were working very well and I now know that they'll certainly be welcome come September 29th
I don't recall where I had to go next but I do remember heading down 84 to pick up a bit of information for my next checkpoint when who should pass me going the OPPOSITE direction but James.  As he passed by I waved, and he responded with the palms of his hands facing up, shoulders shrugged, and small grin on his face.  That told the whole story.  Moments like that are priceless, and they always serve as hilarious topics of conversation at the local meetings. 
Well, the rallye was so intricate that I can't go into all the details, but the fact that I rolled into Pescadaro with an elapsed time of 3 hours and 7 minutes should give you some idea of what it was like.  I was a little tired by the end and as I drove up to the crossroads where