There couldn't have been a nicer day to escape the sad news I heard
right before leaving for the mountain. I'll leave politics and my opinions on
this war on terror out of this, but man was it good to get out of town and
DRIVE! And drive we did!
This being my first ride with members of the group, I was giddy
turning the corner into the gas station where we all met up. There were a few
roadsters there, and one Z. My folks pulled in and parked and I rolled up to
the pump to fuel up. On my left were the Murphys in their 1500. How neat!
Giddiness soon turned to dismay when I looked over towards my folks
and I see my dad shaking his head, my mom shrugging and sighing and Victor
under the hood tinkering away. Seems something was really leaking as my dad
pointed to his soaked shoe and said their not going up the hill. I saw just
how quickly the roadster community pulled together and fixed the problem.
Perfect strangers more than eager to jump in and help one another.....what an
honor to be a part of this little group!
Slowly the roadsters trickle in and in no time we've taken over the
gas station! There was Roman and Laura and Pebbles the Roadster Dog. How cute
was that watching Roman take the top off his car to reveal a dog grinning ear
to ear! In retrospect that's what I must have looked like driving because my
cheeks hurt and the sunburn I got is ridiculous. The bandana I wore gave my
forehead a nice two-tone effect and my cheeks match the color of my car -
bright shiny red! Oh well! It was fun getting there!
As I'm ooing and ahhing all the roadsters there, I hear a deep
rumbling engine and a collective OOOOOHHHH! Here comes Phil in what I can
only describe as WOW! Talk about eye candy! Those who have seen it are
nodding their heads, those who have not, well, there's a shiny wooden dash,
flawless sparkly chrome, an amazing glittery bluish greenish paint job, and I
can't even begin to describe what's uncer the hood. I can tell you what's
not: grease, grime, goo. I'm afraid to look under mine now!
My friends Dane and Adam drove up in Dane's Volkswagen Carado
(spelling?). Though it's not a roadster, I assured Dane it would be OK to
join us for the drive. He really admires my car and I figured his VW was
built for steep, windy roads, so what the heck! Adam hopped in to be my
co-pilot which I am grateful for since my roadster lacks a radio. I think he
had his fingers crossed that I'd let him drive part of the way. Tee-hee-hee.
I don't think so!
So with Tom, Gilles, the Murphys, Roman, Phil, my folks, and me...off
we went! What a sight! Seven roadsters and a VW bringing up the rear. It was
too bad Victor couldn't make it, but he wanted to go get his hands dirty and
help pull an engine.
The ascent to the half-way point was a nice cruise. With the
increasing elevation and decreasing pollution, it was easy to forget all the
day to day worries that plague us. I wasn't even concerned about breaking
down. When I first bought my roadster I took it up the Crest and didn't make
it far before sputtering and stalling. My alignment, until recently, was
really bad and it really wore down one of my tires. And having oversized
tires, if I have a passenger, every bump and sharp turn sounds like I have a
dying sea lion in my trunk. (the tires rub the wheel wells like there's no
tomorrow!) Needless to say I was a little nervous about going up again. It
seems that worry went away somewhere between the rendezvous point and the
first stop. It must have been the pristine air, or the comfort of knowing
that if something went wrong, there were a dozen people to help.
It sounds silly but it was really fun seeing so many of such rare cars
all in a row speeding up the hill. Ammend that. I mean driving safely and
cautiously, yet quickly, up the hill. :) Cars that somehow managed to get
in between us were nice enough to pull over and get out of our way. You never
see that kind of courtesy in LA! I'm impressed!
The trek up from the base of Mt. Wilson to the top was fun fun fun!
The road was being redone, so it got a little messy sometimes between the old
pavement, the half-pavement and the new pavement. And that one patch covered
with those little asphalt pebbles that rattle into eternity inside your wheel
wells! Yuck! For a minute there the clatter drowned out every rattle in my
car! :)
All too soon we were at the top. We waited a minute for the 1500 who
brought up the rear this leg of the trip. Yay! They made it! Then came the
photo op. I'm really looking forward to this picture! When someone is able to
post it please let us know asap! So we stretched our legs, took a look at
the amazing view, and to double check that LA was still there. It was. OK.
Time for lunch!
Now the race back down Mt. Wilson, and another 10 or so miles more up
Angeles Crest. No complaints here! Just sunshine, clean air, green trees and
roadstering!
Gilles couldn't stay for lunch as he had prior commitments. But we
parked our cars, and then ourselves for some good homestyle cookin'. That
patty melt and seasoned fries hit the spot! This
biker-bar-backwoods-restaurant was a pleasant surprise as I had heard about
it, but never eaten there. I say biker bar because the motorcycles parked out
front easily outnumbered the cars in the parking lot, but as I said, the
weather could not have been more perfect!
All too soon Phil had to go beacuse he had to drive all the way back
to San Diego! Now that's dedication! Not to mention one hell of a commute to
the Mt. Wilson run! But in that car, how can one NOT want to drive it all day
long!
So that's it! And those were my exact words! "That's IT?!?!?" I could
have kept going all the way over the hill to Palmdale and back, and would
have had anyone else wanted to. So one by one the roadsters dispersed for the
descent back to civilization. Except me. My co-pilot was bust gawking over a
Viper that just pulled up. I told him, "let's go! F--k the Viper, there's
roadsters I have to catch up to!" I guess you just don't understand until you
own one! Maybe I should let him drive it. Maybe then he'd understand!
I want to thank everyone who went for a really nice ride! Those who
couldn't make it: I'm looking forward to meeting you next time! It was a
pleasure and an honor to feel so welcomed, and my parents say the same.
Victor, they thank you for your help!
Anytime anyone local wants to cruise up the hill, down PCH, through
town, or wherever, just look me up!
Vilia
70 1600 with attitude!
///
/// datsun-roadsters@autox.team.net mailing list
///
|