GGR Car Control Clinic for New
Drivers
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Mark your
calendars: Saturday, June 14, 2008, from 7:30 until 4:00, GGR will
hold a car control clinic for new drivers on the parking lot of
Monster Park (a.k.a. Candlestick).
This clinic is
designed for beginner drivers, age 16 to 19, with a valid driver's
license (sorry, no driver permits). The intent of the clinic is to
help beginners become safer and more confident drivers through
knowledge and experience. We will accept more experienced drivers
who want a refresher, space permitting. Priority will be given to
teenagers. This is a great opportunity for members' children or
younger siblings to learn about their car's behavior in a controlled
environment.
The clinic will cover the following:
Lecture Topics
- Seating position
- Hand position
- Vision
- Mental preparation
- Car dynamics theory
- Car maintenance check
Driving Exercises
- Skidpad
- Emergency Braking
- Slalom/Swerve
- Double Box
Did
Not Attend a Clinic
Each student will get in-car
instruction from an experienced GGR instructor. The emphasis of this
clinic is car control, not racing. In that spirit, most car makes
and models will be allowed to participate. No trucks, SUVs and vans
allowed. Cayennes welcome. If you are uncertain, please email the
event Chairmen beforehand, their decision will be final. The event
is limited to 50 students.
Registration Procedure
Registration will be handled online via the
MotorsportReg Online Driving Event Registration website. If you do
not have an account, you will need to create one. This single
account will allow you to register for PCA and other car club
events.
If you are between the ages of 16-18, please click
here to get the
form, print it out, have parent and student sign it, and mail it to
Howard Yao or bring it the morning of the event. Without this form,
you will not be allowed to drive and there will be no
refund.
Cost: $99 a person, includes lunch
Event
Chairmen: Claude Leglise and Howard Yao.
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GGR Porboys
Beginner Autocross School
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Learn to Drive Your Porsche
 Okay, you
bought THE PORSCHE. And it's a lot of fun to drive. But do you
really know how to drive it--safely--the way it's designed to be
driven?
It's very difficult to learn on your own how to
drive hard and safely without endangering yourself, your insurance
rating, and any deer or trees in the vicinity.
You could
spend thousands of dollars at commercial driving schools to learn
this. Or, for the princely sum of $99 (such a deal!) you could sign
up for GGR's beginner autocross school. Ain't it great to be a
member of the Porsche club?
What's more, it's SAFE! The worst
you can do is hit a plastic cone.
Uncle
John Wants YOU
Put on by GGR's own Howard Yao and John Seidell, this school takes
place on Sunday, June 15 at Monster Park (a.k.a. Candlestick). Start
time is 7:30 a.m. and it finishes at 5 p.m. For the incredible cost
to attend, you get:
- Instruction in at-the-limits car control and handling from the
best instructors in the
West
- An introduction to how to participate in an autocross (which
where many of us get together regularly to wear the rubber off our
tires!)
- Lunch and a t-shirt to elicit the wonder and admiration of
your co-workers
To ensure lots driving time, attendance
is limited to only 55 students. This fills up fast every year, so
sign up now at Motor Sports
Registration. You will need to create an account, then go to the
June 15th date. Be sure you sign up for the Sunday, June 15th date
since Saturday the 14th is the car control clinic for drivers aged
16 to 19. Lastly, John Seidell promises to learn new jokes
for this year, but we can't promise they'll be any better. (Just
kidding, John!) Proudly
sponsored by Porboys German Automotive at 3640 East 9th Street in
Oakland.
(510) 437-9400. Owners Joe and Annie Zeiph specialize
in Porsche repairs, maintenance, and smog checks, work on all German
cars, and come highly recommended.
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President's
Message
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 --by Bill Dally, GGR
President
Seeing the Course
Among the Cones
Sometimes people can't see the forest
for the trees. In autocross the equivalent is not seeing the
course for the cones. Sometimes you look out your windshield
and all you see is a sea of orange pylons apparently randomly
scattered across the pavement. Its not clear where the course
is, so you take a random path among the random pylons and get a
random DNF (did not finish).
Finding the course among the
cones involves two key concepts: First, focus just on the
important cones - there are rarely more than 20 on a given course
(if there are more than 20, the course is too complicated).
Second, connect together related cones into a feature and see the
feature, not the cones.
Consider the course segment shown in
Figure 1. The figure shows a course segment defined by
40 pylons consisting of a 90-degree turn to the left followed by a
90 degree turn to the right. A dotted line shows one possible
line through this segment. While this segment is defined by 40
pylons, only four pylons (shown in color) are important, and only
two pylons (shown in red) are really important.
The two red pylons mark the
apexes of the two turns and are critical in that they define the
family of lines that can be taken through this course segment.
An optimal (fast) line will come as close as possible to both of
these pylons. If either of these two pylons is moved in any
direction, the optimal line will change. For example, if the
lower left red pylon is moved up or left, the entry opens up and the
segment gets faster. If you move this pylon down or right the
feature tightens and the line gets slower.
The two orange
pylons also constrain the line, but only in one dimension.
Moving them up or down affects the line. Moving them left or right
has no effect. Also, moving these pylons out (e.g., moving the
first orange pylon down) will make an adjacent pylon become
important. This is because each orange pylons is really part
of a larger feature and is best thought of not as an individual
pylon but rather as part of the feature, in this case an
edge.
Figure 2 shows what our brain should see when we look
at this course segment. We see the two critical apex
pylons (shown in red) and we see the outside exit and entry
edges. These two lines and two pylons are all we need to see
to find the fast line through the segment. The rest of the
pylons - which have been omitted in Figure 2 are just
distractions. We don't need to see, or think about, the inside
edges of the entry and exit paths. We also don't need to
consider any of the pylons along the vertical part of the segment
except for the two apex pylons. By blocking these gratuitous
distracting pylons out of our mind, we are able to look at this
segment and see four simple features - two edges and two pylons -
rather than 40 pylons.
At this point many readers
will say, "when I look at the course, I still see 40
pylons." That is to be expected. Learning to see
the abstract course when looking at a sea of pylons takes a little
practice. This practice starts with the course walk.
When you walk the course and draw your map, identify the important
pylons, and group related pylons into features. After a little
practice when you look out your windshield you see, not a sea of
hundreds of randomly placed cones, but the next three or four
important pylons and the next few features. Everything clicks
into place in your brain and you can find your way through the cones
at speed with no difficulties.
Like many things in autocross
the two principles of seeing a course among the cones can also help
us in our daily lives. Often we get inundated with issues -
hundreds of e-mail messages arriving per day, phone calls constantly
interrupting us, requests for trips to visit customers, suppliers,
sponsors, etc. All of these inputs start looking like a sea of
pylons. However, rather than be overwhelmed, we can identify
the few important issues and focus on them - separating the
important from the urgent (or just frequent). We can also
group together related issues and deal with them together - by
solving the underlying problem. Pretty soon we can look at our
inbox full of messages and see a few critical issues, a few groups
of related issues, and a lot of chaff that can be safely
ignored.
In my role as club president, one of the critical
issues (red pylons) that I see ahead is the difficulty of getting
people to volunteer for key jobs. We are an all-volunteer club
and the autocross, time trial, concours, and social events that you
enjoy are all the result of hard work on the part of our
volunteers. The problem we are having is that the same
relatively small set of volunteers is doing all the work, and when
they make a request for help it often falls on deaf ears. For
example, our autocross chairs were unable to find a volunteer to tow
the timing trailer at the last autocross. If people don't
start stepping forward, we will soon have a problem running our
events. We need to renew and expand our core of
volunteers. I encourage you to step forward and get
involved. You will find that its very rewarding and gives you
an opportunity to meet and work with a great bunch of
people.
If you see any red pylons ahead that I should be
aware of or have any other ideas on how to improve the club, please
e-mail me.
Bill |
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Letter from
the Editor
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--by John Celona, Nugget
Editor
The letter for this month is "M" for "Mom." Thank your
mom for bringing you into a world where it is perfectly legal for
ordinary citizens to own and drive Porsches.
No, I'm not
recommending that you take her for a ride. Flowers will do nicely,
instead.
John
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| Competition
Corner |
 --by Dan
Thompson, Competition Director
Well the competition season is
well under way now, we have had two AXs at the new site at Alameda,
and we are starting to get the lay of the land. Andrew Blyholder's
course design was a challenge for all cars, and it appears that the
cars with big horse power liked it best for the most part.
Please remember that we have no garbage service at Alameda,
so just like back packing, what you bring in, you bring out. Please
be mindful that Alameda is keeping an eye on us and they can
withdraw our use permit at any time. We actually have to submit for
a separate permit for each and every event. Please be cautious.
Our next event there is on May 17th, come on out and enjoy
one of the most scenic AX sites in the western US.
We now
have 2 DE/TT events in the books. Thunderhill was a wonderful event,
with three full days of great weather, great cars, great folks and
wonderful track time. Friday was very warm with little wind, each
successive day it got a bit cooler and a bit breezier. Nothing that
Thunderhill veterans are not used to.
Andrew Forrest
and his gang are doing a great job of putting on some wonderful
track events. With our new National guide lines in place, there is
very little you need to do other than bring your car and helmet and
have a fantastic time driving your Porsche.
Our next DE/TT
will be on May 24,25 at Buttonwillow Raceway. On Friday the 23,
Central Coast Region will be hosting a DE day, so you can make this
another 3 day driving event!
Get out there and drive your
Porsche.
Dan |
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February Membership
Report
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--by Jeff Kost,
Membershp Director
The prior membership report made it into
the April Nugget, so Jeff will be back with a new report next month.
--Ed.
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Board of
Directors
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--by John
Celona, GGR Secretary
GGR
Board of Directors Meeting
April 2, 2008 The
meeting was called to order at the residence of the President, Bill
Dally. Present were: Bill Dally, Dan Thompson, Jeff Kost, Claude
Leglise, Mark Powell, Bill Benz, Bill Kerr, John Celona, Matt
Switzer, Larry Adams, Andrew Forrest, and Bob Murillo.
Call to Order
- Call for agenda changes: add discussion of possible Bear
Valley event
- Call for calendar changes: none
Approval of February minutes:
February minutes were previously approved via email.
Postmortem of
eventsDE/TT # 1 Infineon: people had a lot of fun and
the weather was beautiful. Around 85 cars attended.
2/22 Friday Night Social 3/15 Auto X #1
Alameda: very successful. 92 paid participants, plus 9 comps. The
site was quite good, but it is requiring three visits to city
offices to obtain the permit for each event. 3/21 Friday
Night Social 3/29 Ground School Directors' ReportsPresident: nothing to report.
Vice-PresidentVP spoke to
SCCA RE Mike Smith on 3/30 about the Auto X site search. SCCA has
two possible sites in mind. Bob said GGR was still very interested
in participating with the site, and they are interested in that
also. Upcoming event status report: 4/5 Boxster
Brunch 4/12 Auto X #2 Alameda 4/18 - 4/20 Driver's Ed &
Time Trial #2 Thunderhill 4/18/08 Friday Night Social 5/3
Ground School Certificates are ordered for the following
events: None pending Certificates are in place for the
following events: Eee DE/TT # 2 Thunderhill 4/12
Auto X # 2 Alameda Treasurer GGR's tax
returns were filed (state and federal, for a total of 4 returns).
Thanks very much to Olen Creech for doing this. A lot of
prepayments for events are outstanding (Thunderhill and Buttonwillow
for track weekends, and Alameda for autocrosses). Expenses have been
paid for the first autocross at Alameda, but we are still waiting
for the revenue. GGR's bank accounts are down as we continue to
prepay for events, but we are maintaining the rebuilt savings
balance. Secretary:
nothing to report. SocialThe Hiller Aviation
Musuem in San Carlos has been reserved the GGR Annual Banquet on
Sunday, January 11, 2009. A motion to proceed with the event and put
a deposit down for the event was passed unanimously. Mark
also presented a number of ideas for other social events for the
coming year. He will look into getting as many going as possible,
and will need help from other folks to chair and put on the events.
MembershipMembership is up
slightly. Jeff plans to start following up with people who haven't
been renewing as to their reasons for not renewing. CompetitionPCA national
minimum standards for time trials have now been approved and placed
on the PCA web site. DE and Time trial minimum standards for matters
such as seats, belts, etc., are now the same. Instructors will
still have the final say as to whether the condition of the car is
suitable for being placed on the track, in addition to the mandatory
technical inspections. A motion was made to take official
notice that PCA National has now adopted the same set of
requirements for Drivers' Ed and for Time Trials. This motion was
passed with 6 in favor, Mark Powell opposed. A motion was
made for GGR to adopt PCA's minimum standards for Drivers' Ed and
Time Trials, effective immediately. The motion was passed with 6 in
favor, Mark Powell opposed. Webmaster: not
present Topics for
discussionAutocross
timing system: Matt and Carl Switzer have completed
developing specifications for a new autocross timing system, which
includes wireless starting and finishing sensors, a bar code printer
for cars, a bar code scanner, and automated timing software. The
total cost for this system is $7,057.80. It also needs a Windows PC
to run it. The past president, Claude Leglise donated a Sony laptop
PC for evaluation. The is system would use the current
countertop and roof top displays, but everything else is wireless.
The system would involve scanning a bar code on a car at the start,
then scanning it again at the end. At the end of each run group, the
times for the entire run group can be printed out and posted.
Jeff recommended adding another printer or two in case the
printer fails. A backup label printer and result printer were added
to the budget. It estimated that another $500-600 in incidental
expenses will be required to fully implement the system. A
motion to approve the budget with an additional $250 for another
printer was approved unanimously. Goodie store - Bill Kerr. Bill
presented an inventory of the goodie store. The issue is that the
Goodie Store presently has a stock of items which aren't in demand
(clothing in small and medium sizes, etc.) Given the time it takes
and that a lot of items are ordered by people in other parts of the
country, it was suggested that this is not an area the club should
be expending time and energy. A motion was made to (1)
liquidate the existing Goodie Store inventory; and (2) to outsource
production and sale of any items still desired to a firm which does
this commercially. The motion was passed unanimously.
Drivers' Ed Attendance
DeclineAttendance for the first DE at Infineon was
only two-thirds of projected attendance. It was thought that this
was because it was early in the year at Infineon where there have
been rain issues in previous years. Unfortunately, sign-ups for the
second DE at Thunderhill are also looking to be only two-thirds of
the projected attendance. The suggestions were made to allow
certified drivers to run non-Porsches, and to make known the rule
change allowing cars approved for DE to run for time. This will be
done for the next event. It was also suggested possibly doing
another joint event with the Porsche Racing Club (PRC), which may be
possible for a future event if insurance issues can be resolved.
Andrew will look for further actions to address
attendance. Bear Valley
EventBear Valley, Pacific Power, and Iron Horse
winery have approached GGR about working on an event that may
include a car show, an autocross, a hill climb, a rally, and
off-road tours (four-wheeling on dirt fire roads). They want to know
if the club would be interested in participating in and publicizing
an event. The event would be in August. The consensus was that Jeff
should pursue developing the idea. Issues are scheduling and types
of events, and what could be covered under PCA insurance.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:20 p.m.
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2008
Drivers' Ed & Time Trial Schedule
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Rich
Bontempi's HIGH PERFORMANCE HOUSE
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Sat Mar 29, '08 |
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Ground School |
Round Table Pizza,
Concord |
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Apr 18-20, '08 |
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Driver's Ed & Time Trial
#2 |
Thunderhill |
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Sat May 3, '08 |
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Ground School |
Round Table Pizza,
Concord |
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May 24-25, '08 |
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Driver's Ed & Time Trial
#3 |
Buttonwillow |
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Sat Jul 26, '08 |
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Ground School |
Round Table Pizza,
Concord |
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Aug 16-17, '08 |
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Driver's Ed & Time Trial
#4 |
Thunderhill |
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Sat Aug 30, '08 |
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Ground School |
Round Table Pizza,
Concord |
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Sep 20-21, '08 |
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Driver's Ed & Time Trial
#5 |
Thunderhill |
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The Power
Chef
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Ode to Onion Soup
--by
John Celona, The Power Chef
Earlier this month I was staying
at a very fancy "inn" in Arizona and, not really wanting to venture
forth after a day of traveling, I decided to chance the main dining
room.
It was a very fancy place, so naturally I was quite
concerned. Usually, I look for buffets where, as I related last
month, one can nosh quite substantially on healthy stuff and leave
feeling satisfied and not the least bit hungry or guilty. No such
option available here. What to do?
I decided to be brave and
order the tasting menu. How bad could it be? I could always leave
some on the plate if I had to. And I probably had time to go for a
run in the morning and burn off the excess.
First came the
appetizer.
They were not kidding.
It was a tiny bit
of chopped tuna ceviche style with some green onions and capers,
served on a single baby endive leaf with two dollops of Meyer lemon
cream on the side.
Delicious, actually, but I had to
deliberately take two bites to eat rather than down it in one gulp.
I passed the time between the two bites congratulating myself on
identifying the Meyer lemon. I pondered the propsect of asking the
kitchen if I could get a dozen more before deciding they wouldn't
see the humor in my request (was I actually kidding?)
Then,
inexplicably, came another appetizer. I decided I must have been
wrong and the first plate was some sort of teaser just to get one's
stomach grumbling. Probably there was a french word for it, but I
missed it. Excusez-moi, s'il vous plait.
This one was a
little bit of grilled ahi tuna, served with a chopped fennel relish,
and and a tiny pastry, on a bed of vaguely tomatoey-cream sauce. I
guess Arizona must be big on fish since the state is so hot and dry
and far away from any place these fish might live. And don't forget
the orchid tucked next to the ahi. Was it edible?
Again, it
was good for the four or five bites it took to consume it.
Then came the salad.
That consisted
of a handful greens and a few strips of deep fried sweet potatoes on
a bed of sweet creamy sauce (dressing?) with some reduced raspberry
syrup drizzled over the whole thing.
Leaf and fiber count:
low (and it's a salad!). Sugar and fat content: high. I began to
think I should have driven a few block to find some place with an
enormous taco salad for $6.95, but, being in mid-meal, I was now
committed. I was sure that if I tried to leave now, I'd be arrested.
 Finally, it was time for
the "main course."
Fish again, this time halibut. I must be
on to something with this ocean-yearning.
Don't get me
wrong: I love halibut. I grill it all the time after marinating it
with Meyer lemon juice and grated rind (from my tree!), salt,
pepper, and a little olive oil.
This one was good too, all
3-1/2 x 2 inches of it. Topped with another chopped tomato and
"stuff" relish and sitting on a little pastry-bagged bed of mashed
purple potatoes, which in turn rolled on 6 little spears of aspargus
(so you could move it without hurting your back!)--and all on--you
guessed it--a puddle of buttery creamy sauce.
Fine. I should
have known better. But, after relating last month about what I
usually do on the road and not having tried ordering a fancy meal
for quite some time, I felt I should check and see if what I usually
disliked about eating out had changed. Lamentably not. Nutritional
balance was all wrong (too much fat and sugar and too little complex
carbohydrates), and portion sizes were small to boot. Probably
exacerbated because, as the economy starts to turn, the first thing
to shrink is portion sizes in restaurants.
At that point, I
was entitled to a dessert. However, trying to salvage some dietary
dignity out of the meal, I had asked if I could get something else
instead of the dessert. Soup was the suggestion. And the waiter
suggested onion soup.
I debated mightily. I had been so
disparaging of onion soup last month. I should perhaps give it
another try. I agreed to the onion soup.
I was not
surprised. Here it is: a piece of cheese-laden grilled bread sitting
on a surprise underneath. And the underneath (the soup) turned out
to be very salty, slightly beefy broth, with translucent onions
floating in it that betrayed not a hint of the caramelized browning
that lends such an exquisite flavor to a good onion soup.
I
stand on my prior advice: avoid the onion soup.
That was my
fancy tasting meal. All for only $90 plus tip (that was food only; I
passed on the wine pairings for another $50.)
But that got me
thinking as I left the restaurant about how truly wonderful a great
onion soup can be: bursting with grilled onion and beef flavor. I
turn it into an entire meal by adding grilled cubes of lean beef to
it, white beans, and a full-flavored green such as mustard or
collard greens. It epitomizes everything I love about great food:
full of flavor, loaded with yummy vegetables, filling and
satisfying---but not loaded with calories and fat. Something you can
eat until you don't feel like eating any more and not feel guilty
about a single bite.
That's really my philosophy about food
in a nutshell: making great tasting, super-healthy food you can eat
as much of as you like. Only it's so hard to do in a restaurant. As
I found out, once again.
So allow me to dedicate this as an
ode to my Uber-Onion Soup. The recipe follows. Hope you love it as
much as I do.
Bon appetit,
The
Power Chef
Über-Onion
Soup
A classic french soup
fortified with beef, greens and beans to make it a complete and
healthy meal. This recipe is also great for giving a new life to
leftover roast beef or steak.
The Gist
Onions are
caramelized in butter, then simmered in beef broth with white beans.
Fresh greens (collard greens in this version) are added at the end.
The soup is then served with wheat bread toasted with cheese on
top.
Ingredients
2-3 lbs. cubed
beef (leftover roast or fresh)
2 quarts water
3 Tbs. beef
stock base
1 stick butter
5 yellow onions, sliced
1 lbs.
dry white beans (such as the Great Northern variety)
1 pkg. fresh
thyme, minced
1/2 cup white wine or brandy
salt and pepper to
taste
2 large bunches collard greens, chopped
8 slices whole
wheat bread
1 cup mixed grated swiss and parmesan
cheese
Method
Cut the leftover or
fresh beef into small cubes. If you're using leftover roast beef or
steak from one of the marinated, grilled recipes in this book, it
can immediately go into the water to start simmering. If you're
using fresh beef, brown it in the stock pot over high heat first,
then add the water.
Add the stock base to the water and
bring it to a simmer. Leave it simmering while you prepare the
onions. (The stock can also be prepared ahead and simmered for
several hours, but 30-45 minutes will get you most of the flavor.)
Place the butter in the bottom of a large stock pot, then
add the sliced onions. Heat the pan over medium heat until the
butter is melted, then cover the pan and raise the heat to high.
Stir the onions every few minutes as they give up their juices.
After about 15 minutes, uncover the pan, turn the heat down to
medium, and stir the onions every few minutes until golden brown. Be
sure to scrape the bottom of the pan as you stir so it doesn't burn
on the bottom. If the onions start to stick, you can add just a
little water to unstick them.
Rinse the dry white beans
thoroughly in a colander.
When the onions are golden and
caramelized, add the beef stock and cubes, thyme, dry white beans,
and the white wine or brandy. Bring the mixture to a simmer and
taste for salt and pepper. If you're using marinated, leftover beef,
you may not need any more salt or pepper.
Simmer the soup
until the beans are tender (about 1-1/2 hours).
Lightly
toast the slices of wheat bread. A toaster oven can do them all at
once. Place the toasted slices on aluminum foil or a baking sheet
and sprinkle the mixed, grated cheeses over them. Return them to the
oven or toaster oven for a final toasting when you're ready to serve
the soup.
Just before serving, add the greens and shut off the
heat. Give the bread a final toasting, then serve. The greens will
still be bright green an crunchy. Float a slice of toast on top of
each bowl, or-for folks who like their toast crisp-serve it on the
side for dipping.
Variations
I also like this
soup with cannelloni beans (white kidney beans) and kale instead of
collard greens. Any sturdy, cooking green would also do well.
Mustard greens would be an interesting choice if you like mustard
flavor with your beef.
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Porsche
Roads
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--by
Claude Leglise, GGR past president
Carmel Valley Road and River
Road
Carmel is a very popular northern California
destination year-round. Whether for golfing, shopping, sightseeing
or simply hanging out, the area is a magnet for weekend travelers.
Few folks explore the back roads in the vicinity, however, as most
prefer to congregate on Highway 1. In this installment of Porsche
Roads, I want to tell you about a very picturesque and less traveled
alternative.
From the town of Carmel, take Highway 1 going
south and make a left on Carmel Valley Road. The first few miles
consist of shopping malls, housing developments and golf courses,
but don't worry, what comes next is worth the wait.
About
three miles outside of town, the first interesting stop for all
serious car fans is Baja Cantina in
the Valley Hills shopping area on the right side, past the Quail
Lodge. The Mexican menu has a nice Oaxaca flavor, but the real
attraction is all the automotive memorabilia covering the inside and
outside walls. This place is a favorite of all the racing drivers
who come to nearby Laguna Seca. If you happen to be there on a
Thursday evening, you may find several dozen classic cars and hot
rods in the parking lot.
Past the cantina, on the
left-hand side, is Laureles Grade Road, which goes back to Laguna
Seca. It is an interesting road, but not our destination today. Stay
on Carmel Valley Road and the real fun starts past Carmel Valley
Village when you enter Klondike Canyon in the Santa Lucia Mountains.
Traffic disappears as if by magic, the road narrows, oaks hang
gracefully over the pavement; this is what California must have
looked like a couple of centuries ago. As you wind your way through
the mountains, you will soon arrive at the Hastings Natural
History Reservation, where you may well see a bobcat, a mountain
lion or a deer. The road gently climbs to 2000 feet, and soon the
oaks give way to vast grazing pastures and open landscapes. Past the
summit, you begin the descent towards the valley of the Salinas
River. There are many Kodak opportunities along the way as you drive
past ranches, donkeys, wineries, hay fields and more.
Carmel
Valley Road turns into Arroyo Seco Road, and at the intersection of
Elm Avenue, you may choose to turn right towards Greenfield and
Highway 101, if time is running short. If you stay on Arroyo Seco
instead, prepare for an entirely different California, as you are
now on the fertile west bench of the Salinas River.
Follow Arroyo Seco for about
5 miles and turn left on Fort Romie Road. At the end of the 19th
century, the Fort Romie Colony was a Salvation Army agricultural
commune. I do not know if it ever had a proper heyday, but it is not
now. The more interesting sightseeing stop is a mile after the
turnoff at Mission Nuestra Señora
de la Soledad, founded in 1791 and one of the rarely visited
California Missions. Pull over for a quick visit; it is unlikely
that you will see more than 10 other people on the grounds, and you
will get a good sense of how lonesome the place is. The name Soledad
was well chosen.
North of the Mission, Fort
Romie Road becomes River Road and follows the contours of the Santa
Lucia Mountains about 2 miles west of Highway 101. You may want to
stop at the San Saba Vineyards
or the Manzoni Estate
Vineyard for a sampling of the local production, or pull over to
admire the vast fields of cacti that seem to extend all the way to
the foothills.
As Salinas nears, housing
developments reappear in the windshield, and soon you reach Highway
68. There you can turn left and go back to Carmel, or turn right
towards downtown Salinas and Highway 101 if it is time to drive
home.
Claude
Scale: 1* to 5*
Twistiness Pavement quality
Scenery
Carmel Valley Road ****
***
****
River Road
*
****
***
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Enter for
the Carolina Trophy
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September Means More Porsches In The
Carolina Mountains!
--by Paul Misencik, Metrolina Area
PCA, Huntersville, NC
For the past four years now, I've been
organizing and running an event every September called "The Carolina
Trophy," which is a five-day, European-style vintage motorcar road
rally in the spirit of the Mille Miglia and Rallye des Alpes.
The event is based out of Lake Lure, North Carolina and covers
1000km over five days on some of the most sinewy and serpentine
roads anywhere. As a loyal Porsche owner and enthusiast, it
warms my heart that the best-represented marque every year is
Porsche, and 2008 appears to be no exception!
Although registration is
still in its early stages, we already have a four-cam 356 Carrera GS
entered, a stunning 911SC RS rally replica (in Rothman's livery),
two 1955 Speedsters, three 356 coupes, and two early 911's. In
addition, we have vintage Ferraris, Jaguars, Aston Martins,
Austin-Healeys, and Alpine-Renaults coming from all over the United
States, Canada, and even abroad! By the time the field is set,
I feel certain we'll have everything from thundering Corvettes to
snarling MG's taking the starting line.
Although the Carolina
Trophy is technically a "competitive" event, every stage takes place
on open public roadways at legal speeds. Each car is piloted
by a driver and a navigator, and the rally is timed and scored using
a combination of TSD stages and regularity legs, with ample
transition stages mixed in to make ensure teams have plenty of time
to relax and enjoy the roads and scenery. Some of our entrants
take the competitive side of the rally very seriously indeed, while
others don't compete and merely enjoy the routes at whatever pace
they choose. Regardless, the event is set up to make sure the
spirit of adventure, camaraderie, and gentlemanly competition is
accessible to every entrant.
Virtually all-inclusive, the
Carolina Trophy is set in gracious accommodations and includes
meals, beverages and many cocktails, with social events from start
to finish that make up a significant portion of the event's
appeal. By day, entrants are charging through the mountains
and competing against the clock, but lunches and evenings are
invariably chances for teams to connect with on another, relive the
adventure of the day, and tell fish stories about cars and other
topics with a group of passionate, like-minded
enthusiasts.
If you love cars, I urge you to come out and
experience the 2008 running of The Premier Financial Services
Carolina Trophy, which takes place September 14-19, 2008. All
vehicles built in 1980 or earlier are eligible to compete, with a
"special interest" class available to cars of particular interest
built later than that date. We also love to have spectators,
we always need volunteers, and unique and affordable sponsorship
opportunities exist for forward-thinking companies, so come on out
and enjoy the action!
Complete details can be found at
www.carolinatrophy.com, or call (704) 351 2087 and ask for
Paul! See you in September!
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2008 Porsche Parade
Registration
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Hello and
Greetings from Charlotte!
We, the Parade 2008 Team, would
like to thank you for your continued interest in Porsche Parade
2008. As you have probably read in this months' PANORAMA we have a
very exciting line-up of events in store for you here in the 'Queen
City'.
At this time we would like to introduce the official
Porsche Parade 2008 Website. It is now 'LIVE' and available for
viewing at www.paradecharlotte.org. Please feel free to
explore the site and see what we have planned. FYI - More
information will be posted on the website as it becomes
available.
*** Remember that
Registration for the 2008 Porsche Parade opens at 9AM EST on Tuesday
March 11th 2008 - Put it on your Calendar !!! ***
Thanks!
Harvey Yancey || Chair
Porsche Parade 2008 - Charlotte
Carolinas Region
Porsche
Club of America
http://www.paradecharlotte.org
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Snake Eyes
Rally
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Yosemite
Region Concours
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Zone
AX#3
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Topless
Concours
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LPR Swap
& Concours
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