Well, not just yet - but definitely in 2009. This is now official, though its
already appeared in
November's Triumph World. It'll also appear in November's The Vintage Triumph.
After the better part of a year emailing Glenn Merrell, Blake Discher and Fred
Thomas, the Triumph
Trans-America Charity Drive 2009 really is going to happen and I'm so looking
forward to meeting as
many of you as I can.
I've set aside three months to do the trip as this is the maximum amount of
time that Uncle Sam will
give me a visa - and I intend to visit Canada as well, so don't you of Her
Majesty's 'colonists'
north of the border start getting upset about being left out :)
So here's the story.
If you click on www.triumphtransamerica.org.uk you'll read almost everything
there is to say about
the event at this stage. We've got a *provisional* Start point in Maine (which
may have to be
changed and a definite Finish at Triumphest/North American Triumph Challenge on
30th September 2009
at San Luis Obispo, California. Where we go in between those two places is
anyone's guess and this
is something that has to be worked out pretty fast as there is much else to do.
Two 'Works' cars
will be taking part. One will be a Stag that Glenn Merrell is currently trying
to source in the
States and the other will hopefully be my own 2.5PI that will be coming all the
way from this
mudpatch on the eastern Atlantic - and will then come home at the end,
providing it doesn't get
totalled! I know its daft bringing my own car - but she means so much. After
all, we've been
together now for eight long years and 2009 will be her 39th birthday! I just
hope the
non-compensatable altitude injection system will cope with the Rockies. We'll
have a Bosch fuel pump
down at the back doing the work - and no, I don't have any AC in the car either.
When you go to the website (which is really a 'Blog') click on STAY INFORMED
and this will open a
mail list you can subscribe to. This means that once your subscription is in
and registered, I can
keep everyone updated with progress on different fronts by email which saves
you going back to check
the web.
For the record, I'm undertaking this Run entirely to raise funds in equal parts
for one American,
one British and one Canadian Charity specialising in helping those with post
traumatic stress
disorder (PTSD). I want to raise at least US$100,000 for each charity and I
really hope that as many
of you as possible will join in with me to try and make this a reality. Its
important to stress that
I don't plan or intend to make a dime out of this. All I want is to have fun.
Please look at the site because I hope it will answer a lot of FAQ's but if
not, please email me
direct and off-list.
Heaven help you guys and gals. Macartney is finally preparing to hit North
America after too many
years of declined invitations.
Cheers, Jonmac
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