[TR] summer party

[Bud Rolofson]

Caravanning can be enjoyable if you have the right mix of cars,  
people, and agendas.  Some folks are more prepared than others and  
tend to have their cars more prepared for long trips by doing the  
preventive maintenance...newly packed wheel bearings, properly  
inflated tires, cooling system maintenance, etc.... and carrying spare  
parts that can't be had at a auto discount store such as fuel pump,  
water pump, heater valve.  Others will take off with no more prep than  
they would for a 1- hour cruise and when something goes wrong are not  
prepared to do much more than wait for AAA to show up.  If your  
schedule is flexible enough to spend 5-6 days traveling to an event  
rather than 3-4 then its not a problem but I usually have a certain  
number of days allocated (usually dictated by SWMBO) for long  
(3000-5000 mile) trips and don't have the luxury of stopping for the  
almost certain problems, stops, and delays that crop up with 10-20  
other cars.

I have cruise control on my 6 and it makes it difficult to caravan  
with others who don't as the inevitable yo-yo ing back and forth as  
speeds change on the hills and valleys defeats the purpose of the  
cruise which is to keep my right leg rested and off the gas pedal for  
hours on end.  There is also the different agendas that people have  
with wanting to stop and see things along the way such as the world's  
largest ball of string or something of that sort that others don't  
really want to stop for.  And trying to balance the stomach and  
bladder requirements of a bunch of 50-60 yo people can mean lots of  
stops that you would never make on your own.  Caravanning does have  
the benefits of having ready and experienced help if there's a  
problem... Brad Kahler and I fixed a hose on Dave Massey's TR8 pretty  
quickly going to VTR 2000 in Portland... and having company at the end  
of the day is always fun.

As with anything there's trade-offs and everyone has to decide the  
costs and benefits of caravanning.  I've done it both ways and they  
both have their advantages but most of the time I prefer the much  
needed mental therapy of mindlessly cruising along until I get hungry,  
need gas, or need a bio break.  Having said that I'll probably hook up  
with Brad and Susan Kahler in Kentucky to caravan to Jekyll Island in  
October.


Bud Rolofson

71TR6 CC57365 (Good 6)
66TR4A CTC57806 (The Wreck-Almost parts)
66TR4A CTC57529 (The Project)
71F-250 Camper Special (Triumph Support Vehicle)
Z-50A Hardly Davidson 1977 Honda Mini-Trail Bike (Triumph Pit Bike)
levilevi at comcast.net




On Aug 2, 2010, at 6:53 PM, Gary Nafziger wrote:

> One issue for me is the distance to summer party.  I hesitate  
> driving my triumph
> because of the distance (and wife's comfort, a/c yadda yadda  
> yadda).  However,
> it might help and be fun to have various caravans from different  
> parts of the
> country driving to summer party.  People could connect/join the band  
> all along
> the route culminating in one group in Pa.
>
> Might be more security in numbers with the possibility of plenty of  
> tech. help
> in times of trouble.
>
> gary n.
>
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