Back on Jan 20th we had a beautiful San Diego sunshine day, warm and in the
70's. A great day for a drive and it seemed like my roadster was panting to
go too! It was like she was saying awright, let's go, let's run, run,
run! So, I made my way onto the 8 freeway to head east and the car was
gliding smoothly yet anxious to sprint at anytime. Ahhh, what a ride and I
shouted into the open air, "giddyup, giddyup let's go!"
At Coco's there was a good turn out. I think the count was 19 cars for the
drive with a good number of them being 240Z's. Barrie was there from the
roadster group. He didn't end up joining us but stopped by to say hello.
Brian Dooley was there too with his FJ20 roadster. Along with him were Tony
Genovese without roadster but with his super clean purple 240Z and Doug
Platt also without his roadster but with a '93 300ZX that he just bought!
From La Mesa, the plan was to head north to the Bates Nut Farm for a lunch
stop and then head back home. We left Coco's, and proceeded to get on the 8
freeway. It was pretty cool to cruise in a pack of 19 cars! I started in
the back and then quickly got separated at like the second stop light.
Behind me was Darren Kirkpatrick in his '86 300Z and somewhere behind him
was Dave Plat in his yellow 240Z. Not to worry though, 'cause both of them
had CB radios. I slipped behind Darren and then blazed down the freeway to
catch the group. Yeeehah, as we sped through traffic (& a wave to Barrie!)
at speeds around 90+. I think my speedometer is off by about 15%, but it's
cool to see it clearing 110 and nearly maxed (120MPH). The three of us
swung north onto highway 67 and at that point caught the rest of the gang.
Highway 67 has a lot of long, hilly straights were you can get a good look
at all the cars together and then has two lanes to allow for some side by
side cruising. From there we veered off on Archie Moore Road and then to
Highland Valley Road. What a fun little gem of a road that was. It was a
lot like a little roller coaster, twisties with some fun little crests to
pop up and down. When I got the chance to look out at the scenery I had to
just say, "wow." This was mostly 3rd gear driving with a down shift to
second for a few tight corners. The car was really in its element here!
Backing off the gas and having the engine doing the braking and then
stepping on it to carve through corners was a rush. It's just great to be
in a nimble car, revving in the power band and breathing strong whether on
the gas or off. And, oh how sweet the engine sounds with its low rumble and
popity pops when downhill coasting. At one point, I did hear some tires
screeching. I had moved passed one of the crests that had a quick left turn
at the top. Darren was behind me and behind him was a 240Z that was was
sliding sideways when I caught it in my rear view mirror. I think the rear
end was getting around to actually help out the situation rather than
shooting through the turn. And, in front of me was a '93(?) convertible Z.
I'm guessing that it had an automatic transmission because the brake lights
seemed to be lit up quite a bit more than I was doing, especially on the
downslopes.
From there we had a quick jaunt on Bandy Canyon Rd and onto the 78 and
passed by the Wild Animal Park. Past that, we navigated through a few city
streets of Escondido and then went north past Lake Wohlford on the way to
the Bates Nut Farm. It was really a fun little route that the Z club
planned and my hats off to them! I hope they'll post some photos on their
web site. I also thank them for showing me something new that I'll have to
get back and drive again.
Joseph Roach
65 1500
San Diego
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