Fall 2008 Weekend in the Smoky Mountains

John Hallstrand and I are pleased to announce the dates for the 2008 attack on the infamous, and sometimes radar trapped, Tail of the Dragon, plus the high altitude spendor of the Cheratola skyway & Foothills Parkway through East Tennessee and Western North Carolina. You are all welcome to join us on the weekend of October 10-12.

As with last year's innagural SOC run, John will be your ridemeister, and I will serve as the hospitality organizer.

In the coming weeks, please indicate your desire to attend, and I will arrange for housing again in Townsend, TN. If last year's event was any indication, this will be a blast.

I'm putting perennial top down Drake in charge of the weather.

Will John have a radar detector this year :-)?

Count me in!

I'm thinking about the following options:

1. Where the posted speed is 30 mph, that is what I will go, even if it means driving in 2nd gear

2. Installing a radar detector (Probably a bad plan on the Dragon, since, in that area, by the time the radar does its thing, it's already too late.

3. Letting somebody else lead the parade (I've got five years that I have to stay clean in Blount County).

4. Chickening out altogether (not a real option).

5. Letting Lou drive (probably not an option....I think Sarah will be joining me next time).

6. Going balls to the wall and letting the chips fall where they may and hoping that the gathered multitude will help me with the citation and insurance increase the point will generate....sure!

7. Letting Cory drive....I think he wants to.

Oh well, just some musing after a Manhattan and dinner on a chilly East Tennessee evening.

2fast

I'd have to say I like the idea of Hoss not having to be in the lead. Sign me and Teresa up for the trip, and I'll take that bullet for Hoss if need be.
Second gear, though? Maybe we could just stay in first and make one hell'uva racket in the mountains ... ?
Tom, you did a SUPERB job of arranging the hospitality last year. Thanks for volunteering to take that on again. We're looking forward to doing it again this year.

Hey Hoss, tell Lou he can ride with me.

OK Lane, I'll pass that along to him when we get closer to the date. He's a pretty busy guy this year with his Kawanis office, so we'll have to see what his availability is.

Can't resist...I'll be there....

I think it's almost a given that everyone who came last year wants to do it again. Can we get some newbies to join us?

I'm not missing out on this again, I'm in ! ~Alan

We still have plenty of time, but for everyone who has acknowledged attending, Cory, Lane, Alan, Leon, I will need to know:

1) Driver alone, or driver & nav/sidekick/partner/etc
2) hotel for Friday 10/10 or both Friday & Sat 10/10 - 10/12

Note to Cory: Mark Finley is still looking for "switches" from you for his Can Am Car (423-323-3092)

For those attending from Northern climes: they may be a Thursday night pre trip Rally & beer fest at my home in Jonesborough, TN

Friday and Saturday for me alone, in all probability. Given that it's 10 months off, that last is subject to change.

Woohoo!!! Four months to Carlisle and another five to The Dragon. It looks like it's gonna be a good year (knock wood).

Tom, we're in for two, both nights.
I completely forgot about switches for Mark.
I'll see what I have left in the tool box -- and I'll call him today. Thanks very much for the reminder!

Hoss, Is my cousin Buford still the sheriff up there in Blount County? Perhaps what we need is a couple of distractions to keep the peace officers occupied while you drive around in the hills. See if these will work for you. But I can never guarentee anything for you guys that drive around in them 'ferrin' cars.

I am a newbiew looking to pop my cherry by attending Carlisle or the Smokey Run. How about the pros and cons from a guy driving from Chicago?

Marty, be really careful around Sandusky, Ohio. Ohio Troopers eat their own kids. Ten over will get you written up.
Be kinda careful in the little sliver of West Virginia you'll have to go through also, although the one Trooper I ran into couldn't believe a Volkswagen engine could make a car go 86 mph. That rated a warning and a tour of the car in exchange.

Tom, the weather called me back. Looks good for the entire week -- so far. I'll stay on top of it.

Marty, they're both spectacular in different ways. I'd recommend Carlisle first, simply because it's closer to you (I think) and bigger. Ya gotta do it at least once. The best plan, however, is to do both.

I would do Carlisle as it's three days of continual fun , the Dragon Run is later in the year, once you meet these unique charming fun filled big kids, you may just decide to do the Run also!
~Alan

Actually, according to mapquest, the Dragon run is closer by about 75 miles if Chicago is the starting point. I would agree, however, that if it's one or the other, Carlisle is probably the better choice. Both are great events, but there is more Speedster people and cars at Carlisle, probably a good thing for a newbie.
my 2 krona
Hoss

Dragon Run Trivia:

Last year's innagural run created 193 posts on this forum. Wonder what this year's count will be by mid November after we all finish sharing pictures of the event.

All you Carlisle attendees will need to talk this up in May. My sorry butt will be dragged off to Charlotte again to follow Mr. Gordon (aka #24) around.

Tom, I've left a message on Mark's machine. Thanks again for the reminder.

Bill, you need to hook up with Alan and caravan down. See if y'all can pick up Kelly Frazer on the way.

Hey Tom: My wife would love to be your assistant at Charlotte!
I'll make sure she wears her drool cup.

~WB

Is there life after Carlisle ? Absolutely the fall tour of the Smokies hosted by John Hallstrand and myself !

Hotel Rooms have been reserved. We are back at the Talley Ho Inn, Townsend, TN. Twelve non smoking: 8 w/ one king bed, 4 w/ two queen beds.

Please contact the hotel, and give them your CC info. ID yourself as being with the "Speedster Group"

Talley Ho Inn
800-448-2465
www.talleyhoinn.com
check in: Friday October 10
check out: Sunday, October 12
rate: $109.20 per night

FYI: When asked if we needed a conference room, I replied, "the parking lot is our conference room!"

I beleive radar detectors are ileagle in Tenn.....Therefore, if you are planning on using one, Go to the nearest Dunkin Donuts or Krispy Kreeme shop, obtain a decal of suitable size, and attach it to the already mentioned radar detector......Should be good for 30 days......

Ten months off -- and I gotta plan this one too? Off hand, I'd say I am in. By then, if I have not completley sorted out my car and gotten totally adjusted/comfortable to how to make a multi-day trip in it, well, shame on me. Last year, I was all set conceptually, but the reality of my newbie-ness set in, and I chickened out of three/four days and how-many-thousand-miles? on the road. Also, I will need to know precisely where that rest area is where true soul-mates can be found lurking and looking for cool guys in their cool cars. Cory, dude, can you help me out w/ that one?

Kelly - This is one of those "ya gotta do it" things. By then you will have had your car as long as I had mine before the first Dragon Run. I'm not sure I'll ever consider mine "fully" sorted, but that's the fun of it - always tweaking for that last little improvement. It's almost as much fun as Carlisle - just no egg sammiches.

No....no Egg Sammiches, but the restaurant at the hotel can supply Mucho Cholesterol along with your breakfast, just the same.

Kelly, all ya gotta do is pack a little creature stuff, get in and go. Everything else will take care of itself.

gn

I cleared that weekend on my calendar. Don't want to miss it again this year.

I'd be surprised if we don't have twice as many cars as last year. It's becoming sort of an East Coast Paso Robles event.

Ah-HA! Kelly's on point this time! Hoss is off the hook!

Kelly, it's near Virginia mile marker 182 on Interstate 81, if memory serves. Hot chicks? We'll see ... But if I got one in a million, and she's a New Yorker, then there are 13 more like her in waiting for you in Manhattan. You can't have mine.

And as for little stuff that might crop up on you mechanically, I'll be there with a tool box to do what I can. I'm not a genius, but maybe I'll be good enough. I firmly believe that there's more than just physical safety in numbers, and that several VW folks in a caravan is better than one guy trying to do his (or her) best with baling wire.

(Baling wire? Like for baling hay? Or is it bailing wire, like bailing out your VW? Anybody know?)

And Gordon will have all his tools in his truck, and I will have a few in my car. It seems to me that there's no excuse for not showing. We'll see ya there, Kelly. :-)

Actually, its the VDOT safety rest area at mile marker 158, southbound on I-81. In Botetourt County, in the town of Troutville.

According to the VDOT website, there is a 2-hour time limit on parking, and 34 car parking spaces.

How cool would it be to fill all 34 spaces for two hours with a bunch of Speedsters on October 11th??

BERT: I like a gal w/ vision! I believe we could do that. I'll get my Google map out and see what shows. Let's get through the Carlisle show, w/ MUSBJIM droppin' in and all the rest. The we'll see how the Tail o' the Dragon works out.

Hey Tom, I just received the April '08 Kit Car Builder and noticed the events calendar column. If you want more attendees, you might want to get Alan Merklin to fill Jim Youngs of KCB in on the event, since they're good friends. Jim could put it in the next issue of KCB.

Alan has done just that. Let us know if the announcement is in there when you see the next issue

We haven't even made it to Carlisle yet, and I'm already psyched for October!

Yes, I have sent the info to Jim at KKB Mag.

Bump! Just to keep it in folks' minds.

I heard on the radio today that the Dragon was on fire. Apparently, a bike accident triggered a forest fire that has consumed several acres and was not under control at the time of the report. I don't think this will change anything about the fall weekend, but it was an interesting side note.