Trophy Run

Today was the unofficial first day of the Great Race. For those of you who are not familiar with the race, it is a time, distance and endurance rally. We are trying to get from point a to point b in the perfect amount of time. We compete for about 8 hours a day, for 9 days traveling around North America (mostly the USA).   This year we are starting the race in Buffalo, NY at the Pierce Arrow Museum and driving to Halifax, NS Canada. We drive about 2100 miles.  There are 120 participants and they come from all over the world.  The cars are as old as 1911 and as new as 1972.

Brad and I became involved after a trip up Highway 1 to San Francisco in Brad’s first car, a 1929 Ford Model A pick up truck.  We visited our friends the Scheller’s in Los Alamos. We raced with them in La Carrera Panamericana, the Mexican road race.  When they saw the old truck, and heard what we were doing, they suggested we get involved in The Great Race.  We will forever be thankful to Carson for that super suggestion.  We are competing in our 5th race Great Race.

We are not only thankful to Carson, but to everyone who has kept us in the game.  Irene and Barry Jason have not only won the race three times in a row, they had the  patience and tenacity to stick with us and teach us how to rally.  They invited us to their home, and spent their weekends teaching us not only how to drive, and navigate, but most importantly the art of working together as a team.  They are saints!  We still rely on their skills to help us, and are thankful for not only their patience, but the friendship we have forged.

1929 Model A boat tail (before Registration)

We also need to thank Jeff our mechanic at Mayfair Garage.  Jeff has spent countless hours fine tuning Our entry, Jane.  The way we drive is so hard on the cars, that it is not an easy task to keep them running and performing consistently.  Because we are trying to get from point a to point b in the perfect amount of time, we drive like crazy people.  When we take off we floor it until we hit the directed speed, and when we stop, we wait until the last second and slam on the brakes.  We also slam on the brakes or floor it when we are changing speeds.  It is a wonder these 50 plus year old cars make the 2100 mile journey.

Volunteers who run the event.

While we are being thankful, we would be amiss if we did not thank the people who make this event happen.  Above is a picture of the men and women who use their two week vacation to travel along with this circus.  They each have a specific job during the event. Whether it is directing people where to park in each new town, or sitting out at a check point and marking us as we pass by, and a host of other jobs that need to be done each day, they get it done!  So a huge thanks to the volunteers.

Last, but not least we had our Trophy Run today, it is a short day of rallying, and does not count toward your overall score, but counts in the case of a tie.  We started with lunch in Western New York  in the historical town of Lockport, NY.   Lockport is located on the Erie Canal. We traveled across the canal, and then along side both the canal and Lake Ontario. It is hard to believe the vastness of the Great Lakes. It is still like Spring up here and the trees are full and lush, the grass is green, and the flowers are blooming.  We commented that the beautiful yards and well maintained colonial and Victorian style homes make you think of a Norman Rockwell painting.

The weather held up today and was in the low 70s most of the day.  We had a good day rallying overall.  We had 5 legs today and mostly good scores.  We like to say anything under a 10 is good, but now it seems anything under a 5 is good.  We completed the day with  two 1s, a 2, a 3 and a 9.  All descent scores, with the exception of  the 9.  It really was a good day.  We didn’t get lost and we didn’t have any mechanical or any other issues, but not knowing what we did wrong is driving us a little crazy.  The good news is, these scores really don’t count.  Tomorrow is a new day, and as we say in tennis “these go”!

Brad with Genna (15)(left) and Olivia Gentry (17) (the youngest participants & last year’s Rookey Winners) behind our friend Larry’s 1955 Chevy  in Lockport, NY

One final thanks, to each of you, for your support and comments!  Thank you for following along.

Author: emcniff

This is not really about me, but about an adventure we are lucky enough to take each year. Each trip provides new discoveries, and the opportunity to see this beautiful country we are so blessed to live in. View all posts by emcniff