Day 16: Stage 13
Sacramento
to San Rafael (just barely)
Today,
no new pictures here. This was
REAL rally driving! We were up
at 5 AM and left our hotel in Sacramento before 7.
Out into the Central Valley for a super challenging run through the
almond and walnut orchards. Major
kudos again to Rallymaster John Classen who found and laid out this
incredible course. We were given
47 pages of instructions for the day! Turns,
loops and crossovers, speed changes, and faded, tiny road markers in the
fields! We did pretty well,
overall, with a minute 39 seconds for this 9-stage day.
That was good enough for 10th in rookie and 49 overall
today, moving us to 48th overall and 9th in rookie for
the whole race so far
I
was a little worried in the beginning. When
I tried to pull the car out from its hotel slot, that sticky left front
brake was locked on like the car was up against a curb.
I gave it some gas and then some more, and it popped free with a loud
snap. The next application of
pedal showed this problem is worsening.
It stuck on again, though not so hard as before.
I reversed and it freed � that�s a clue, it's the self-energizing
shoe that�s hanging. I went
back and forward a few times and the degree of drag diminished to where I
thought it could be driven safely. But
could it run a rally full of stops, starts, and speed changes?
Dave and I agreed to go, but no heroism.
One of the other rookie teams, the Johnstons in a 56 Chevy Belair
also had brake problems yesterday, and this morning, we heard their master
cylinder had died and they were dropping out.
I think there were 8 DNF�s yesterday.
Tough running!
Reliability
has been our secret weapon. So
far, with almost 4,000 miles of hard running, 13 cars (of 94 official
competing starters) have had to drop out from mechanical failure - or
crashing. I�ve only had the
screwdriver out twice: once to turn up the idle speed at high altitude, and
once to bring it back. We�ve
added about 3 quarts of oil (and about 300 gallons of gas!).
We did adjust spark timing a bit, and we tightened those exhaust
bolts that were never tightened to begin with.
Otherwise, our equipment problems have been limited to electrical
glitches with the secondary and convenience systems (window lifts, horn) �
and that brake problem. Still,
we have lost no runtime and no sleep on mechanical or electrical problems.
Few of these cars, even the very expensive big-team cars, can say
they have given their owners or drivers that!
We have helped out two other racers in need on the road: the
Caldwell�s 57 DeSoto with a
flat, and Jeff Stumb�s 1916 Hudson, with 3 quarts of motor oil (his main
seal is leaking badly!). I will
really miss these good people when we're done!
Today,
we hit the course and blew the very first checkpoint, which was placed right
after two sharp turns. When we
saw the check, we were at 12 seconds late (from slowing to make the turns).
I hit the gas and blew through the checkpoint at nearly 70 mph!
The reserve power of an Imperial helped there, as I bought back some
of those 12 seconds in a few hundred feet!
From there, we did OK. We
seemed to have a more relaxed attitude through the day.
I know I kept a wider tolerance on speed, and Dave remarked several
times that we weren�t so wound up about our racing.
I don't know that it was a net loss, though, as we made several very
un-panicked corrections to problems (traffic delays and accel errors by
yours truly).
It
was SO hot. Our John �Duke�
Wayne memorial thermometer (from Frontier Movietown stop two days ago) ran
well over 95, and that Valley sun was intense.
Dave�s window motor failed and his vent window has never opened, so
he had no access to fresh air, except the faint zephyr from under dash vents
� unless we ran top-down. We
did that through the morning, but the sun can really melt a brain, so he
elected top-up for the afternoon. We
unzipped the back window and lowered the other three lites.
It worked OK at speed, but we had some links at 15, 20, and 25 mph
that got a wee bit toasty. Another
3-litre day of water consumption for each of us.
As
we completed the first part of the afternoon run, we were getting
dangerously low on gas, so we stopped at the first open station in a town
with no name. So did several
other Racers, and we ended up blocked in, unable to get to a pump or to move
on. In the end, we missed our
restart time call and had to put in for a 3-minute delay claim.
It was allowed, so our score for that afternoon leg was 15 seconds.
Close enough!
We
had a tasty lunch in Colusa, CA, then a quick pit stop in Winters, CA, where
we were greeted by Richard & Janet Hardy, from the IML and Southern
California Imperial Club (they have a �new� 62 Crown Southampton �
NICE!).
We
finished at Vallejo, CA, to a good crowd and a wonderful dinner party at the
newly opened personal museum of Buck Kamphausen, the owner of RM Auctions
(he�s running a 38 Ambulance, as well as lending one of the National Guard
cars and a car for the Philadelphia high school teams.
We had a beautiful, delicious dinner for several hundred people, live
music, and an open house, including his back shop.
I LOVE that kind of stuff and what other chance might we to get to
experience a place like that from the inside?
After we closed for the evening, we took some of the local kids
(& moms) for a top-down cruise around the neighborhood.
It is a classic California summer night, cool and clear over the
sun-warmed Earth. It doesn't get
much better than that! We
cruised over to San Rafael for the night�s rest.
It�s
almost over! Tomorrow is the end
of the Championship Run � that�s these last three days of the Great
Race, when no bad days can be dropped and any DNF is fatal.
I am beginning to think we may FINISH!
Then it�s time for a big party and back home to work.
Day 17: Stage 14
On
our last day, John Classen is simultaneously cruel and kind.
We have a shorter run day. A
couple of timed laps around Infineon Raceway,
then
through the Napa valley wine country (NOTE: there are lots of vines, but
fewer vines here then there are nut trees in the infinite orchards of the
Central Valley). The brief span
of today�s run is probably a safety device, unless you realize that John
has found some of the narrowest, twistiest, hilliest roads of the entire
trip � and likely of the entire continent � just as a sort of good-bye
hug. Most driveways are wider
and straighter and more level and none have the combination of disorienting
staccato-flashing dappled sun through covering trees with a rally�s strict
speed goal. These are places no Imperial was meant to go, especially not on
a schedule, especially with one wheel�s brake still lame and sore from its
transcontinental exercise. But
it�s cool, and the end is near � like all such, bittersweet in
expectation and fulfillment.
I
think today is the only day I actually snapped at my co-pilot (as opposed to
the torrent of kindly-meant verbal abuse I applied in jest throughout the
run). Dave is brilliant and
unstinting in all his efforts � both fool and friend enough to both do
this with me and even pay for a healthy chunk of it.
But he can be, from time to time, just a wee bit bossy (hey, it�s a
navigator�s job!) and on this last day, when our attitude had lost any
edge of competitiveness, maybe fatigue slumped my general tolerance level
for taking orders. Sorry, ol�
pal! Anyway, we�re past it in
seconds and almost get into the groove again.
We turn in a respectable time after two shaky first legs at the
racetrack. The running ends with a lunch at Charlie Goodman�s
�CHECKERS� auto museum, while we wait for the final tallies to be
figured.
Thanks,
Charlie � great show!
We
pull into the Finish Line arch at San Rafael, on the strip where American
Graffiti was shot. As we come
under, we see a daily score of 42 seconds and our overall score (for the
WHOLE 4100 miles in 14 days) of 8m17s. And we score another perfect leg Ace
(our fourth). We finish 50nd
overall and 10th among rookies.
Good enough for the secondary goal of the Buddy Trip of the Decade
(I�m Crosby to Dave�s Hope � because I can sing).
We
are visited by another IMLer: Mark Boehme.
Good to meet you, Mark!
The
overall winners of the Great Race are Reeder and Stone, team #4.
Stone is Sawyer Stone, a 13 year-old young man, navigating for his
Grandfather on their 4th try.
After 4100 miles, their final score of 2m5.4s takes the cake (and
$100,000) by a wide margin. I
couldn't be happier if we had won ourselves!
These are some wonderful folk with the best of intent, attitude, and
style. Congratulations Reeder
and Stone! Superb, simply
Superb! The snowstorm of
confetti and strings and applause is all yours.
They immediately announced they would use the prize money to fund
their run in the Round-the-World Great Race in 2008!
WoW!
Out
friends the Goudeaus, whom we met in a practice rally in Texas, take the
Hemmings Rookie Challenge (a race-within-a- race, to be televised on Outdoor
Channel in early September). Again,
a terrific outcome.
San
Rafael put on a fine afternoon for us. I
successfully talked a sample vendor on the street out of an entire carton of
ice cream-on-biscotti treats, complete with dry ice keeper, and enjoyed
passing those out on the thronged street.
I made my way to the office trailer to make a deposit on next
year�s race (#22 of 100 allowed entries).
Yes, I�ll do it again � if my son, Ethan wants to.
Dave has done his � he has a kit airplane to finish now � I
wonder if we�ll do a sky trip together?
We
had an awards banquet (OK, desert and wine) under a big tent on a little
island. We signed one of the
1:18 die-cast models of our car, complete with Great Race stickers, and gave
it to the Ewings (heads of Rally Partners, Inc. that put this whole thing
together). I hope they start a
little collection of Great Race cars in scale.
Anyway, THANKS!
With
the waning evening, the crowd thinned. Some
to later parties, some to bed, and others off to whatever they do next.
We began the exchange of contact info with new friends we will try to
maintain off the road, too. Here
are just some of these new treasures:
The Goudeaus, Todd & Greg: with a host of their Louisiana cousins
in tow, they did what they set out to do.
Cajuns to the core, these guys are closest to our kindred spirits on
this race.
The Johnstons, Teresa and Bill: irrepressible
Teresa got her Ace, finally �on the last day, after they almost had to
quit the day before from brake failure!
Bill, ever the stoic pilot. This
is a marriage made in heaven.
Bender & Boone: OK,
maybe these guys are just a bit like us, too.
Old pals, driving a (relatively) late model convertible.
John Bender, driver, is a fierce optimist � Tom Boone, navigator is
the organized one. Ahem.
Great fun running with you guys!
The Dales, Leon & Ben. Leon,
the driest humor and funniest man in the race.
Ben the silent sidekick. They
drove Leon�s ancient Suburban (the kind that inspired the current Chevy
HHR, but it�s REAL). Another
budget team, bolstered by great attitude and good humor.
Thanks, guys and congratulations!
The Fredettes of the Yellow Truck: father and son, one of three
Fredette family teams. A
tremendous help to us rookies and ever upbeat and cool, even when second
gear went away. Young Eric
didn't talk too much, at least not until I talked that whole box of ice
cream from the lovely street vendor � perhaps he sees a useful skill
there?
Jeff Stumb: another veteran met in Texas � he got us started on the
techniques we refined through this race. All around good guy.
Michael Martin: think
Hemingway crossed with Jack Benny. This
dry Aussie actually built most of the old Hudson racecars here, but he ran
his own MG special (a Buchanan by registration).
He always parked it for the night under the hotel portico � and no
one would tell him otherwise. Existential
to the core and worth in gold every moment spent with him in conversation!
Bull & Kasson, the Hemi Boys: local to Troy, just a few miles
from my home, these guys signed up soon after we did.
We met in Texas and now we�re friends for life.
They drove Dale�s 55 DeSoto sedan and we�re sharing a truck to
bring �em home! We�re
looking forward to a reunion with the Hemmings Motor News team, at a
Hemmings Cruise-in later this summer (before the stickers come off).
Staffers & Volunteers! Holy
Moly, how did they do it! I
shouldn�t pick out any of these incredible people who are the sinews and
muscle of the Great Race. Each
and every one was a joy to meet and pleasure to know.
THANK YOU!
SO many others. I should
make a more comprehensive list. I
know I�ll omit some who deserve thanks and whom I�ll call again.
Put it down to my limited skills of memory and scribble, not to
lesser thoughts or regard!
Then,
back to the hotel. We sleep
deeply, with no alarm set.
Day 18: Homeward Bound
Swag:
n., gifts given to visitors or potential customers, usually in promotion of
a place or business, associated with a public event.
Every
place we stopped, we were given gifts � swag.
They ranged from local history books to cookies, to wine to cool wet
towels, plus the inevitable rasher of emblazoned T-shirts.
We have filled the trunk and back seat wells with swag and this
morning, we consolidate. Some
has to go, if only to manage shipment home.
Dave keeps much less than I do. No
foods and no papers for him. Of
course, I get to leave mine in the Imp, while he first goes with his nearby
friend, Glenn, in Glenn�s two-seat Miata, then takes a commercial flight
home to Oregon. I want to spend
a little more time with my stuff � there�s been no time yet to read all
we received about the places we went, and I imagine that sorting through it
at home might be fun done together with my family � it was they who said
�Yes� when I proposed to leave them for two weeks to do this.
I want to share it as much as I can.
So, as I write this, I�m
on the plane headed back East. I
should be home by midnight. Then,
I have an 8AM meeting tomorrow � back to work!
I�d like to close this blogtext with some random thoughts that
don't quite fit in the narrative above:
�
After 15 days driving, these two old guys got out of this marvelous
car without any trace of soreness or backache!
Those seats are AWESOME!
�
This is the first road trip for me in this car.
It is the quietest convertible at speed I have ever driven or ridden!
Regular conversation is possible even on freeways (so long as no
semi�s are passing by). Why
don't they make them like this anymore?
�
Sharp-shouldered, original equipment bias-ply tires are OK on smooth
roads, but they are wholly unsuited for grooved, patched, or rutted
surfaces, where those shoulders grab the surface feature and redirect the
car (often suddenly) toward its path and not the one I would like.
Time to buy radials, except for show!
�
About 40 of the 100 race cars were Model A Fords, and another dozen
or so were of similar vintage and appearance, at least to the untrained eye.
Many towns brought out their local old car club treasures � often
with a similarly large Model A contingent.
NOBODY anywhere had an Exner Imperial, other than ours.
This car is an outstanding crowd-pleaser.
�
The logistics associated with putting on a rolling race-party for two
consecutive weeks in multiple cities, on a split-second schedule, with
scoring, hotels, food & water for hundreds of people simply boggles my
mind! Think major convention,
but on wheels, and several times as long!
KUDOS EXTRAORDINAIRE to the organizers!
�
As much fun as this was, I do have some environmental guilt.
Does it make sense, or is it even moral, to burn that much more fuel,
just for the blast? I will work
with the Great Race to expand the new technology component.
How ideal if the Great Race and its celebration of mobility and
endurance can contribute to the development of an environmentally sound
mobility for the 21st century!
�
America is HUGE! OK, I
knew that in principle, but there is no way to convey the sense of being in
the middle of her deserts, or watching the Rockies get closer for an entire
day of hard running, BEFORE you begin to climb them.
All the songs have new and deeper meaning now.
Our respect for those who did this on foot and by wagon has moved to
sheer reverence.
�
America is WONDERFUL. OK
some of us vote red-state, some blue; some like beef BBQ with brown beer and
some quiche with white wine; but these are all fine shadings of a glorious
rainbow of regional cultural variations on a central theme: respect and
vitality as we live the dream!
�
This has been a voyage of discovery and rediscovery: geographical,
cultural, mechanical and inter- & intra-personal.
Life IS better off the freeways.
�
The Imperial is the ideal car to make this trip.
We surely didn't win the Great Race, but we might have � and NO ONE
had any more fun doing it than we did!
�
I read voraciously- every day. I
brought, as I always do, books to read.
Didn't happen. Amazing!
�
Home will be SOOO good.
�
Thanks, Dave.
(photo credit to Rally
Partners, Inc., with permission)
